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Shubuta, MS — Democratic nominee for Congress Michael A. Chiaradio released a statement Thursday outlining a comprehensive framework for American healthcare focused on both reducing the financial burden on patients and expanding the country’s capacity to deliver care.
On the consumer side, Chiaradio’s framework calls for expanded premium assistance, reduced deductibles and coinsurance liability, expanded Medicaid eligibility, and substantially more comprehensive Medicare coverage. He also proposed eliminating out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for seniors on Medicare and expanding home healthcare so more seniors can age in place when medically appropriate.
The framework then addresses healthcare capacity through two areas: human capital and physical infrastructure.
Chiaradio called for substantially expanding federally supported graduate medical education and providing forgivable tuition and other educational assistance in exchange for healthcare service commitments. He also proposed financing the construction and modernization of hospitals, outpatient facilities, skilled nursing facilities, and other needed healthcare infrastructure.
The statement applies Chiaradio’s broader economic framework to those investments. When federal capital is invested directly into private, revenue-producing healthcare enterprises, Chiaradio argues taxpayers should receive securitized financial interests in return. Those interests could ultimately be distributed to Americans through the federal tax system, allowing the public to participate financially in productive assets that public investment helped create.
Chiaradio acknowledged that addressing America’s healthcare problems will likely require significant near-term investment and rejected limiting potential solutions based on whether they are traditionally considered liberal, conservative, or progressive.
The statement concludes by arguing that America cannot build a functional healthcare system simply by reducing access to care and that reform must address both the cost of receiving healthcare and the country’s ability to provide it.
[CLICK HERE TO READ FULL STATEMENT]
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