Health Care
All Americans should have comprehensive, affordable, quality health care as a fundamental right. The Affordable Care Act, which I voted for in 2010, has been a major step in the right direction. It has expanded health coverage and protected patients, no matter how you get your insurance. However, we have more work to do to reduce costs, including out-of-control prescription drug costs, and to further improve the quality of care.
In Congress, I strongly oppose efforts to repeal or undermine the Affordable Care Act, weaken Medicaid for vulnerable Americans, or endanger Medicare for seniors today and in the future. I strongly support creating a public option in our health care system, efforts to address health disparities, and policies that will address the rise of prescription drug costs. We must also do more to ensure all Americans have access to mental and behavioral health services. To fulfill our goal of a true universal health care system, I have proposed the America’s Right to Health Care Amendment, which would enshrine a fundamental right to health care in our Constitution.
More on Health Care
Congresswoman McCollum will welcome Susan Shepard Carlson as her guest for the 2020 State of the Union address on February 4, 2020.
Mrs. Carlson is a current Board Member and Chair of Legislation and Public Policy Committee at the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS). She founded the Minnesota Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (MOFAS), which has led the fight against Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) nationwide.
Congresswoman Betty McCollum (DFL-Minn.) released the following statement today after Planned Parenthood formally withdrew from the federal Title X program:
Congresswoman Betty McCollum (DFL-Minn.) released the following statement after the passage of H.R. 2740, which consists of the FY2020 Labor-HHS-Education, Defense, State and Foreign Operations, and Energy and Water appropriations bills.
The four-bill minibus rejects President Trump’s harmful budget cuts and invests in hardworking families across the nation with provisions important to Minnesotans and the American people, including:
Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi joined Congresswoman Betty McCollum and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan for a round table discussion today in St. Paul.
The round table focused on strengthening Community Health Centers and the ways in which federal, state, and local leaders can help boost these centers and the important health care and other services they provide to communities across the country.
Congresswoman Betty McCollum (DFL-Minn.) today joined House Appropriations Democrats in voting to approve the FY 2020 Labor-HHS-Education bill, which invests in improving lives and rejects President Trump’s harmful budget cuts.
The Labor-HHS-Education bill includes $189.9 billion in discretionary funding, an increase of $11.8 billion over the 2019 enacted level and $47.9 billion over President Trump’s 2020 budget request. The bill provides:
Congresswoman Betty McCollum (DFL, MN-04) has introduced an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to make health care a right for all Americans. The Health Care for All Amendment (H.J. Res. 17) states:
“Health care, including care to prevent and treat illness, is the right of the people and necessary to ensure the strength of the Nation. The Congress shall have power to enforce and implement this article by appropriate legislation.”
Congresswoman McCollum released the following statement:
WHY ARE MEDICARE COST PLANS SUNSETTING?
Congresswoman Betty McCollum (DFL–Minn.) introduced a five-year reauthorization of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) that reaffirms the U.S. commitment to combating HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.
The bipartisan fiscal year 2019 Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act includes a provision offered by Representative Betty McCollum (DFL-Minn.) that enables individuals who are diagnosed with cancer to defer payments on their public student loans while actively receiving lifesaving treatment.
Congresswoman Betty McCollum (DFL-Minn.) released the following statement after she voted against the Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2017 (H.R. 184):
The medical device industry serves a vital role in Minnesota by supporting thousands of jobs and providing lifesaving technology.