Health

Healthcare  

Healthcare is a basic human right. It is inexcusable that in one of the world's wealthiest nations, many Americans cannot access quality, affordable healthcare. 

Last year in OH-11, 51% of residents used government-sponsored health insurance to access care. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) works to expand the reach of ACA subsidies and further reduce healthcare costs for Ohio families and veterans. 

More specifically, the IRA helped to ensure over 11,000 people in OH-11 have been able to access affordable healthcare coverage. This is especially important for communities of color, who are more likely to be uninsured or underinsured than white Americans.  

The IRA will also expand healthcare coverage throughout Ohio. Without the IRA, individuals could have seen their healthcare premiums rise or lost coverage altogether at the end of the year. This is a major step in the right direction to narrow gaps in healthcare coverage and access to care. 

Further, the IRA stipulates that those with Medicare will be able to have their covered insulin prescriptions capped at $35 per month–even if they have not met their deductible threshold.  And, thanks to the IRA, a family of four in Ohio's Eleventh Congressional District making $75,000 could save $2,832 on their healthcare premiums in 2023. 

Right now, the cost of prescription drugs is 2-3x higher for Americans compared to citizens of other countries. The IRA addresses this inequity by granting Medicare the authority to negotiate prices for high-cost drugs—saving thousands of Ohioans from exorbitant drug costs. 

Also, through the Inflation Reduction Act, annual Affordable Care Act (ACA) premiums in Ohio were reduced by an average of $810 per year. 

The work isn't done—I will continue to fight to ensure every Ohioan and American has access to quality, affordable health care.  

Health Disparities  

Black and Brown communities have been overwhelmingly affected by health disparities—yet ignored in healthcare conversations for too long.  

In 2020, the infant mortality rate was 7.6 per 1,000 live births in Ohio’s Eleventh Congressional District. Cuyahoga County's infant mortality rates are declining overall, but Black babies continue to die twice as often as white newborns. 

Affordable health coverage is essential in a country that, according to CDC data, continues to experience the highest maternal mortality rates among the world’s wealthy nations—including largely preventable deaths. Women of color consistently experience higher maternal mortality rates than white women, primarily due to various social determinants coupled with generations of health inequities.  

In Cuyahoga County, Black women are up to three times more likely than white women to die of causes related to childbirth. In order to address this crisis, I will continue to voice my support for programs like the Cleveland Clinic's Initiative to improve infant and maternal health and University Hospitals’ Rainbow Center for Women & Children, First Year Cleveland, and CenteringPregnancy.

When addressing mental health challenges, it is crucial that legislation is informed by research. In the 118th Congress, I introduced SNAP Access for Medically Vulnerable Children Act to ensure that families never have to choose between feeding their sick children and putting food on the table.  

Additionally, I co-led a letter urging the FDA to investigate the health risks of chemical hair  straighteners marketed to Black women. The increased risk of these products disproportionately impacts Black women and contributes to national racial health disparities.  

We must eliminate discrimination and bias in healthcare, and I will continue to advocate for community-driven solutions to the racial health disparity crisis. 

Medicaid 

Providing healthcare coverage to over 93 million people, Medicaid is essential to providing quality care in the United States. According to reports, Medicaid covers 30 million women nationwide, and more than 20 million women of reproductive age are covered by Medicaid, which gives them access to birth control, cancer screenings, and maternity care without cost sharing.  

Women of color, who generally experience higher poverty rates than white women and have limited access to quality health services, rely heavily on Medicaid.  

Almost half of births are also covered by Medicaid: including 59% of births to Latina mothers, and 65% of births to Black mothers. As a result, improving and expanding Medicaid is vital not only to mothers and women, but to reproductive rights. 

The importance of these services has increased since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision that overturned Roe v. Wade protections. In states with more restricted access to birth control and abortion, Medicaid's reproductive health coverage is particularly important.  

Critical also to the care of our children, over 50% of American children are enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP, the Children’s Health Insurance Program. The uninsured rate for children dropped to an all-time low after Medicaid was expanded under the Affordable Care Act. And, research has shown that Medicaid helps to prevent child deaths. 

Expanding Medicaid would not only saves lives, but funds: compared to an average cost of $92 billion for the program, Medicaid for children saves the government about $200 billion. We must highlight the urgent need for Medicaid expansion in remaining states that have not implemented Medicaid expansion so more of our children can have the care they deserve. 

As a leader in the Democratic Women’s Caucus, and a Member of the Pro-Choice Caucus and the Black Maternal Health Caucus, I will fight relentlessly to safeguard Medicaid for everyone. 

Mental Health and Wellness 

Mental healthcare is healthcare, and mental health matters. In Ohio, 33.1% of adults in Ohio reported symptoms of anxiety and/or depressive disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In the 117th Congress, I introduced The Mental and Physical Health Care Comorbidities Act, which would authorize the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to support innovative interventions at hospitals to address how mental and physical health challenges interact and affect one another. 

The opioid epidemic is an equal opportunity offender—it affects people from all age groups and backgrounds. In addition to making Narcan readily available, it is also crucial that we continue to invest in addiction and mental health support services to prevent overdoses before they happen. 

Protecting our communities can often leave public safety officers with invisible wounds. It is long past time we addressed the impact protecting our communities can have on our public safety officers.  

In the 118th Congress, I introduced the bipartisan Fighting PTSD Act of 2023 to ensure our public safety officers have access to the mental health services they need to serve and protect our neighborhoods in Northeast Ohio. 

I remain committed to supporting legislative initiatives to support and expand access to mental health services and resources.