Health Care & Medicine

Utah’s healthcare system is full of inefficiencies and inequalities. As a doctor with firsthand experience in the healthcare system, I have a unique perspective that I can use to make our healthcare more effective, more efficient and more fair.

Cutting Costs, Increasing Access to Health Care

Utah’s legislature focuses too much on getting people off of Medicaid and Medicare. While it is good to get Utahns to a place where they no longer need these programs, our current system often takes benefits away from those who cannot afford private insurance. This presents two problems for the state. The first is that many people who are kicked off of Medicaid and Medicare end up re-enrolling, which is a complex process that requires more government staff and higher administration costs. The second problem is that many people left without insurance do not or cannot get private insurance and avoid regular check-ups that prevent serious health problems, which creates greater risk of death and increases costs for taxpayers.

I once had a patient, a young girl, whose parents did not qualify for Medicaid because they had recently immigrated (legally) to the US. This girl suffered from chronic headaches that slowly became more and more debilitating, but they put off doctor visits because they had no way to pay for them. Finally, when the little girl’s pain was so great that it became clear something was very wrong, her parents rushed her to the emergency department. I did a brain scan on their daughter and discovered a brain tumor in its terminal stage. I had to tell the family that it was too late. They hadn’t caught the tumor in time. Shortly thereafter, their daughter passed away. Many poor health outcomes are preventable with policies that increase access to care for the uninsured.

Situations like these occur every day in my department, and they cause a terrible loss of life and a great burden on the state. When families without insurance receive emergency medical procedures they often cannot pay their enormous costs. That means that either loved ones or the hospital pick up the bill. When enough medical bills go unpaid, hospitals go bankrupt and either shut down or receive government bailouts. This sort of situation has played out in numerous states where to many people are left uninsured.

In short, to cut costs and save lives, we need to insure the uninsured. I believe that every Utahn has the right to adequate healthcare, and as senator I will introduce legislation to ensure that no Utahn is unnecessarily removed from or denied access to Medicaid and Medicare. No one in our community should be denied their right to healthcare.

Progressive Medicine

Currently, there are no Democrat doctors in the Senate and only a small handful in the House. That is why Utah continues to pass regressive health bills that contradict our values and result in bad outcomes.

• Women’s Rights

  • Every session, conservative legislators introduce bills that add traumatizing and unnecessary prerequisites for a woman who decides to have an abortion. Abortion is a difficult and complex issue that has no obvious solution, but I believe that women and their doctors should decide together on the best course of action, not legislators who have no medical experience and often little understanding of pregnancy. I will fight against any bill that places an undue or medically unnecessary burden on women.

• Trans Rights

  • Multiple bills this session focused on transgender issues. I support the trans community and their struggle to be accepted here in Utah. A bill introduced this year, that is still in the works and will most likely be voted on next session, would ban certain cosmetic surgery for minors. The purpose of this bill is to prevent trans minors from concealing and changing their secondary sexual characteristics. Transgender issues are complicated, but I believe that medical decisions should be made by patients and their doctors, not by politicians. As senator, I will introduce legislation to leave medical decisions to doctors and patients.