Mike Garcia on Health Care

Maintain integrity of Medicare; against Medicare for All

Garcia: The majority of seniors insure medical costs not covered by Medicare with supplemental insurance plans. Simply cutting benefits to address fiscal challenges won't reduce costs to seniors. Medical billing transparency and prescription drug cost reform and upfront pricing are attainable objectives to manage costs and maintain the fiscal integrity of Medicare. Efforts to expand Medicare to cover all Americans are misguided and fiscally unsustainable.

Q: Your prescription drug policy?

Garcia: Medical billing transparency and prescription drug cost reform are obtainable objectives to manage the cost and maintaining the fiscal integrity of Medicare.

Christy Smith: We need to make sure that we are tying what we spend here to an international prescription drug reference pricing, so that we know that we're not paying huge and disproportionately out-of-line costs here for our prescription drugs compared to what they are paying in other countries.

Strongly anti-universal coverage, according to AFA survey.

The AFA inferred whether candidates agree or disagree with the statement, 'It is the government's responsibility to ensure everyone has health insurance'? Self-description: (American Family Association helps produce iVoterGuides): "Grounded in God; rooted in research"; they "thoroughly investigate candidates"; when they cannot "evaluate with confidence, they receive an 'Insufficient' rating" (& we exclude)

Pro-private insurance, according to AFA survey.

The AFA inferred whether candidates agree or disagree with the statement, 'I support the elimination of private healthcare insurance'? Self-description: (American Family Association helps produce iVoterGuides): "Grounded in God; rooted in research"; they "thoroughly investigate candidates"; when they cannot "evaluate with confidence, they receive an 'Insufficient' rating" (& we exclude)

Anti-ObamaCare, according to PVS survey.

Project Vote Smart inferred whether candidates agree or disagree with the statement, 'Health Care: Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("ObamaCare")?' PVS self-description: "The Political Courage Test provides voters with positions on key issues. Historically, candidates have failed to complete our test due to the advice they receive from their advisors and out of fear of negative attack ads."