Healthcare

Congressman Ruppersberger was nearly killed in a car crash while he was working as a prosecutor in Baltimore County. Saved by the doctors at Maryland’s University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, he decided to run for office to give back to his community. He remains committed to making sure all Americans can access life-saving medicine. Dutch believes:

Obamacare should be improved – but not repealed.

Dutch supported healthcare reform because it addresses the unsustainable healthcare costs affecting all Americans, particularly seniors and children. It prevents insurance companies from dropping customers when they get sick or denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. It lifts limits on the services you receive and expands coverage to young adults entering the job market. It offers free preventive care for seniors and lowers their prescription drug costs. During negotiations, Dutch worked to exempt small businesses and would support expanding the exemption threshold to companies with 50 employees or even more.

Medical malpractice reform should be part of the solution to rising healthcare costs.

Dutch worked behind the scenes on a state-level tort reform effort and remains committed to sensible liability limits that experts agree will save taxpayers billions of dollars. Limits on jury awards in malpractice suits will lower insurance premiums for doctors, which are passed on to patients. It will also prevent doctors from ordering unnecessary and costly tests and procedures to avoid misdiagnosis.

Medical research must be part of the solution to rising healthcare costs.

Funding for medical research is key to our country’s economic recovery. In Maryland, the growing life sciences sector has generated one third of all job gains over the past decade and is now supporting more than $9.6 billion in salaries for Maryland families. It’s also our best hope for finding cures, improving treatments and gaining a better understanding of the complex causes of diseases that affect millions of Americans. Dutch has secured federal aid for local research centers including the University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins and Kennedy Krieger and will always support robust funding for federal research agencies like the National Institutes of Health.

We can plan for the future of Medicare and Medicaid without cutting benefits.

Medicare and Medicaid are the cornerstones of healthcare for millions of American seniors, especially those on fixed incomes. Dutch supports reducing costs – without cutting services – by eliminating fraud, waste, insurance overpayment and abuse. Preventing these mistakes alone will save $575 billion over the next decade. Dutch opposes a plan to turn Medicare into a voucher system because it would shift more costs to seniors. He supports a permanent fix to the formula currently used to calculate reimbursements for doctors who accept Medicare. Reimbursements below doctors’ actual costs threaten patient access and the quality of service suffers.

Women should have the right to make their own healthcare decisions.

Time and again, the courts have upheld a woman’s right to choose. Current law already prevents federal tax dollars from funding abortion and protects doctors who decline to perform them.