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Health Care
![Health professional examining a young patient. Health professional examining a young patient.](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130106033656im_/https://capps.house.gov/sites/capps.house.gov/files/styles/section_front_boilerplate/public/health.jpg)
Health Care issues affect us all and determining the best means of addressing them is an important part of my work in Congress.
There’s a saying that goes “once a nurse, always a nurse” and that couldn’t be more true as I apply my nursing background to my role in reforming health care. As a member of the Energy & Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee, I am working hard in Congress to increase access to affordable health coverage and quality health care for everyone.
Our nation’s health care system is broken, but through health care reform we are now taking critical steps to repair it. The new law, the Affordable Care Act, makes significant investments into improving the health of our nation and controlling health care costs. Moreover, the new law shifts our system from a sick-care system focused on the number of services you receive, to one that promotes prevention, wellness and improved quality of care. The reforms in this law will benefit the health of our communities and our economy by reducing the long term deficit.
As a legislator, I often call on many of my experiences as a nurse in understanding the health care field. In particular, I have focused on issues relating to heart disease, maternal, infant, and child health, cancer, and work-force issues. I am a co-chair of the House Cancer Caucus, as well as the Congressional Heart and Stroke Coalition, and was a founding member of the Congressional Nursing Caucus, the Infant Health and Safety Caucus and the School Health and Safety Caucus.