Li says she’ll fight health care for all for
To the Times: More than 50. That’s how many times the Republicans have tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act, without offering a viable alternative.
It’s hard to find an issue more personal than health care, which now comprises 18 percent of our national Gross Domestic Product. Despite the massive amounts of money that we spend on our health, we have little to show for it, with high infant mortality, rampant obesity, and an opioid epidemic. We are a first-class nation with third-class health care. I’m running for Congress to ensure that you have access to high-quality and affordable medical treatment, regardless of your age, gender, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, and any preexisting conditions.
I work in cancer research now and see firsthand Americans losing their hard-earned life savings because of a bad diagnosis. In the America that I envision, no one will go bankrupt because they are sick. At the end of the day, I’m a Democrat because I believe that the government has a positive role to play in society, helping us weather through the unexpected hardships of life that all of us endure and none can escape.
Health care is a basic human right, not a privilege for the wealthy few. Being a woman should not be considered a pre-existing condition. Women should not be forced to pay more for health insurance because of their gender.
Further, employment and health care should not be linked. Employer-based health insurance is a vestige of World War II. I will champion a single-payer system so you don’t have to stay in a job you don’t like solely because of the benefits. An employer-based system ignores major structural changes in our economy since the 1940s, including the loss of good union factory jobs, the frequency of involuntary layoffs, and the need to cobble together a living from parttime jobs.
The best part of this congressional campaign has been getting to know you. Too often you tell me how you are forced to decide between getting the medical care you need or buying that article of clothing your children so sorely need; or between paying for a doctor’s visit or next month’s rent.
Vote for me on Tuesday, May 15. In Congress I will work hard to ensure that you are never again trapped in this heartbreaking calculus — choosing between health care and the other necessities of life.