The high cost of health care means many California families are one accident or illness away from financial distress or even bankruptcy. In August, Katie voted for a law to reduce the cost of Affordable Care Act premiums for millions of Americans. This legislation also caps what seniors on Medicare pay for their prescriptions at $2,000 per year total. Millions of seniors will see their health care costs go down, including those who need life-saving insulin, which is capped at $35 per month.  

This law also allows Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs, finally holding Big Pharma companies accountable and saving taxpayers $100 billion dollars over 10 years. It also included Katie’s bill to prevent the big pharmaceutical companies from price gouging patients and taxpayers.

Katie also led the successful bipartisan effort to make it easier for families with medical expenses to save on their taxes and pay their medical bills. 

In the first month of the pandemic, her questioning of a Trump Administration official during a Congressional hearing resulted in a guarantee that Americans wouldn’t have to pay for COVID tests. This was a huge win for battling COVID and reopening our economy safely.

Katie will always look for ways to stretch our tax dollars, without sacrificing the quality and choice of health care. Medicare delivers a bigger network, lower prices, and better health outcomes than private insurance. For these reasons, Katie supports Medicare for All.

In listening to people in Orange County, Katie has heard about the importance of mental health care. She successfully passed a law to enforce the requirement that insurance companies cover mental health services and has introduced legislation to address student mental health needs.