Healthcare access is homelessness prevention. When people can't afford care, they don't just get sicker — they lose wages, rack up medical debt, and eventually lose their housing. The cascading cost of NOT covering people — in ER visits, shelter stays, crisis services, lost workforce participation — far exceeds what universal coverage would cost.
Republicans just gutted over $1 trillion from Medicaid and let ACA subsidies expire, and 1.2 million Americans have already dropped their coverage because premiums skyrocketed. Clinics are closing. Rural communities are being abandoned. Seniors and people with disabilities are being left to choose between medicine and rent.
This is what I want my elected officials to fight for:
- Restore and permanently extend ACA premium tax credits
- Reverse Medicaid cuts and expand coverage
- Cap prescription drug prices
- Make mental health and substance use care universally accessible
- Put forward a bold vision — Medicare for All or a robust public option — as the 2026 platform
Healthcare isn't a luxury. It's infrastructure. It's public safety. It keeps people housed, employed, and alive. I want candidates who will say that plainly and fight like they mean it.