Rep. Colin Allred (D-Dallas), who wants to make health care a top issue in this year’s Texas Senate race, gathered with local medical experts in San Antonio on Monday.
At a roundtable at the Northeast Bexar County Democratic Party’s office, San Antonio leaders weighed in on the growing burden of hospital closures, like the one recently closed on the South Side, and the growing number of residents receiving Medicaid during the pandemic. The focus was on how to deal with the increase in the insured population. removed from roll.
Mr. Allred said that in his district, When Baylor Scott & White Medical Center closed several years ago, He was able to have the facility donated to the Department of Veterans Affairs. To prevent communities from completely losing hospital beds.
“We know what we’re facing in North Texas,” said Allred, who used the conference to learn about San Antonio’s unique challenges ahead of the statewide race this November. . South Texas allergy and asthma medical experts and leaders from the equity research nonprofit Every Texan attended the event.
2024 Election Cycle So Far Immigration and border control dominatean NFL player turned civil rights lawyer, sees the potential for Democrats to revive themes that have been successful in the past.
Affordable Medical Care Act
all red is Famous Republican Sen. Ted Cruz vs. shut down the government He campaigned against the Affordable Care Act in 2013, at a time when Republicans were gaining seats due to opposition to the Affordable Care Act.
However, Obamacare has since became more popularand Cruise’s continued efforts to figure it out — by cutting off protections for people with pre-existing conditions. — provided Democrats with the most effective means of attack. to the national Republican Party In 2018.
Mr. Cruz’s own camp says he 11th hour advertising hurts suggested that he wanted to push people out of medicine and contribute to his own limits. 2.6% victory over Democrat Beto O’Rourke That year.
“It’s amazing that this man still wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act and go back to the days when people with pre-existing conditions were discriminated against,” Allred said Monday. spoke at the gathering.
Mr. Cruz’s campaign declined to comment, but Mr. Cruz spent the money. Easter holiday campaign on border security.
In an interview after Monday “I’ve never seen an election where health care wasn’t one of the most important issues,” Allred said at the event, because “health care is very personal” and “for Texans. “This is because it is such an ongoing problem,” he said.
“We are in the position of being the state with the highest uninsured rate because of policy decisions,” he said. “I think the Texans are struggling under the current system, so for me, that’s going to be very important.”
Since the last Texas Senate election, health care has received more attention due to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, paving the way for Texas to set its own abortion restrictions, Allred said.
“We are experiencing what a near-total ban on abortion looks like,” said Allred, who singled out OGGGN Dr. Austin Dennard, who fled the state for his own abortion. Told. his state of the union guest. “It looks like health care providers are afraid to provide life-saving medical care.”
personal experience
Allred is trying to put health care at the forefront of his campaign, and he and guests U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio) and state Rep. Josie Garcia all talked about health care at Monday’s rally. He spoke candidly about his personal experiences with the system. To gather.
Allred, who was raised by a single mother, said she is especially grateful that Obamacare protects people from being fired or denied health insurance if they develop a serious illness. .
“My mother had breast cancer and had a mastectomy,” he said. “This kind of thing happens often, right?”
Mr. Castro, who underwent surgery to remove a cancerous gastrointestinal tumor about a year ago, spoke of expensive ongoing treatments that many voters cannot afford.
“I was diagnosed with cancer two years ago and underwent major surgery last year. [with] 10-day stay at MD Anderson [Cancer Center in Houston]” Castro said. “So as part of my treatment, I have to take a drug called lanreotide every month.”
lanreotide is used To slow the growth of tumors that cannot be removed. Castro said he is doing “well” physically but still has tumors in his liver and lungs, which have not grown in size over the past year and a half.
Castro said the list price for lanreotide is $24,000 per injection, but the price negotiated with insurance companies and hospitals is $6,500. He anticipates needing to take this drug for the rest of his life.
“We know that there are so many people who are underinsured or have no insurance at all that they’re not getting the care that they need,” he says. “We can change that.”
Texas Republican leaders have shown no interest in participating. 41 states expanded Medicaid This is based on the Affordable Care Act, which uses federal funds to reimburse states for much of the cost of health care for people who otherwise would not be able to afford it.
Garcia, who has adult twin sons on the autism spectrum, said that reality was one of the most disappointing aspects of his first legislative session last year.
“For us, the fear of what life will be like for young people with intellectual disabilities is heartbreaking, extremely stressful and at times a very bleak prospect,” she said.
