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Democratic 2022 United States Representative

Raul Ruiz

U.S. Representative Raul Ruiz, M.D., grew up in the community of Coachella, California, where both of his parents were farmworkers.

Dr. Ruiz achieved his lifelong dream of becoming a physician through public education. After graduating from Coachella Valley High School, Dr. Ruiz graduated magna cum laude from UCLA. He went on to Harvard University, where he earned his Medical Degree, as well as a Masters of Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government and a Masters of Public Health from the School of Public Health, becoming the first Latino to earn three graduate degrees from Harvard University. He completed his Residency in Emergency Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and a Fellowship in International Emergency Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. During his training, Dr. Ruiz served as a consultant to the Ministries of Health of both Serbia and El Salvador.

 

SENIOR CITIZENS

I will always stand up for our seniors and protect Medicare and Social Security. We have an obligation to take care of our seniors and ensure they receive the benefits they have earned and planned on in their golden years. These critical programs are commitments we have made to retirees, and I will oppose any effort from either political party that would cut these hard-earned benefits.

To help find cost savings in our health care system, we must identify ways to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse and make our health care system more efficient. Some of the most effective ways to do that include expanding the use of electronic medical records to eliminate costly duplicative tests, and allowing Medicare to negotiate with drug companies for lower prices on prescription drugs.

Recently Introduced Legislation: 

  • H.R. 4401, the Protecting Seniors from Health Care Fraud Act of 2021, which would educate seniors on the most prevalent health care fraud schemes to help them avoid falling victim to scams, and to encourage them to report fraud to law enforcement.
  • H.R. 5238, the Grandparent Grandchild Medical Leave Act, which would expand the Family and Medical Leave Act to grandparents and grandchildren.

Recently Cosponsored Legislation: 

  • HR. 5723, the Social Security 2100 Act, which is a comprehensive update to Social Security benefits and repeals the Windfall Eliminating Provision and Government Pension Offset.
  • H.R. 2337, the Public Servants Protection and Fairness Act of 2021, which fixes the Social Security Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) for future retirees and provides meaningful relief to current WEP retirees.

Dr. Ruiz's Legislation Signed Into Law for Seniors:

  • H.R. 5605, the Advancing High Quality Treatment for Opioid Use Disorders in Medicare Act, was signed into law as part of the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act on October 24, 2018. My bill expands access to wraparound services for seniors with opioid use disorders. 
  • H.R. 849, the Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2017, was signed into law as part of H.R. 1892, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 on February 9, 2018. This bill will protect seniors' access to the health care that they need by eliminating the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), an unelected panel created through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) tasked with reducing Medicare spending.
  • H.R. 5714, the EDU Act of 2018, was signed into law as part of the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act on October 24, 2018. 10/24/2018. This bill reduces the chances of addiction both for seniors and anyone who might have access to their medicine cabinets.
  • H.R. 2477, the Beneficiary Enrollment Notification and Eligibility Simplification (BENES) Act of 2019, was signed into law as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021 on December 27, 2020. My bill will ensure that seniors will no longer be forced to wait for Medicare, facing harmful coverage gaps and potentials leaving them without access to health care, just because they inadvertently missed their initial sign-up period.