I believe that every American deserves access to quality, affordable health care, and I stand resolutely against weakening the Medicare guarantee. As California’s Insurance Commissioner for eight years, I understand that the for-profit insurance industry will stop at nothing to maximize its profits at the expense of consumers.
Only two days after I was sworn into Congress, I was proud to vote for a comprehensive health care reform bill that would eventually become the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This plan improves Medicare by providing free annual preventative screenings and making prescription drugs more affordable, enables young adults to stay on their parents’ health insurance plan, offers significant tax rebates for small business owners to purchase health coverage, and ends the deplorable practice of denying health coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. I will continue to fight for better regulation of the insurance industry and more affordability protections.
--Congressman John Garamendi