Healthcare

Championing access to quality healthcare as a fundamental human right

Image courtesy of Mick Haupt.

The courage of "&" in optimizing healthcare access and affordability

Healthcare should be a guarantee, not a gamble. The United States remains the only developed nation without universal healthcare, leaving millions uninsured or underinsured while simultaneously spending more per capita than any other country. The courage of "&" means expanding access and improving quality; reducing costs and supporting innovation; protecting choice and ensuring no one is left without care because they cannot afford it. A system that works for everyone must balance personal freedom with collective responsibility.

Financial security

America’s privatized healthcare system is extraordinarily expensive, both for individuals and for the economy as a whole. High premiums, deductibles, and surprise medical bills function as a hidden tax on families, while employers shoulder rising insurance costs that suppress wages and strain small businesses. Although universal healthcare involves public funding, those costs are largely offset by eliminating inefficiencies, administrative waste, and price-gouging inherent in fragmented private systems. Countries with universal healthcare consistently spend less per capita while achieving better outcomes. The question is not whether we pay for healthcare, but whether we pay through unpredictable private costs or transparent, shared investment.

Human dignity

Human dignity requires that people can seek care without fear of financial ruin, delayed treatment, or medical bankruptcy. No one should have to choose between seeing a doctor and paying rent, or staying in a job solely to keep insurance. Universal healthcare affirms that illness is not a moral failing and that access to care should not depend on employment status, income, age, or geography. It protects the most vulnerable while preserving choice for those who want additional coverage, ensuring healthcare is a foundation, not a privilege.

Real solutions

• Establish universal healthcare coverage in Utah as a baseline guarantee

  Ensure that every person has access to essential healthcare services regardless of income or employment, while allowing private insurance options for those who choose supplemental coverage.
  

• Lower costs through negotiation and system-wide efficiencies: Reduce overall healthcare spending by negotiating drug prices, simplifying administration, and shifting from profit-driven incentives to patient-centered care models.
  

• Expand access to preventive care and medical research: Invest in early intervention, chronic disease management, and robust medical research to improve outcomes and reduce long-term costs associated with untreated conditions.
  

• Relieve employers and small businesses of healthcare burdens: Decouple healthcare from employment so businesses, especially small employers, can compete, grow, and pay higher wages without absorbing unsustainable insurance costs.
  

• Empower workers with mobility and security: Free workers to change jobs, start businesses, or reduce hours without losing access to healthcare, strengthening both labor flexibility and economic resilience.
  

• Lower prescription drug costs: Enhance price transparency and strengthen negotiating capabilities to guarantee fair pricing. Encourage the development and swift approval of generic medications, establish limits on out-of-pocket expenses, and regulate pharmacy benefit managers to prevent excessive charges to patients.
  

• Support Rural Hospitals: Focus on attracting and retaining healthcare professionals in rural areas by improving reimbursement rates for Medicaid and Medicare, which can accelerate payment processes for hospitals. Ensure rural facilities receive necessary funding to serve as essential employers and healthcare providers while integrating these programs into a state-managed universal healthcare framework.
  

• Ensure veterans receive their earned services: Oppose any initiatives aimed at privatizing the VA and allocate sufficient funding to the agency, ensuring that every veteran can access the high-quality care they deserve.