Full 2016 Platform

46^th DRAFT 2018 HEALTH CARE

Health care is a fundamental human right. Our government should work to improve our overall health while ensuring fair and equitable access to high-quality, affordable care for all.

We support:

1. A national universal single-payer system, that is comprehensive, cost effective and accessible, as a step towards national universal health care
2. A state waiver under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to establish a single-payer system for all Washington residents
3. Comprehensive health care, including: outpatient and inpatient services, acute and long-term care; home care and hospice,  palliative care, end-of-life counseling, behavioral health care (including on-demand substance use treatment), dental and oral prosthetics, vision care services/glasses, hearing services (including hearing aids and devices), preventive services, reproductive health care, family planning, contraception (including access to safe abortions and emergency contraception), transgender and gender affirming health care (including: blockers, hormones, counseling, surgical transition services; timely tape test and screenings), doula and midwife services, prescription drugs, medical supplies, durable medical equipment and medical technology, and rehabilitation
4. Patient-centered medical decisions made primarily among patients, their life partners and families, spouses and providers
5. Patients’ freedom of choice in their health care, including selecting a personal provider and a "medical home," a team that provides coordinated care with continuity
6. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services negotiating prices for medical devices and drugs
7. Transparency in pricing health care services, until a universal health care system is achieved
8. Prompt FDA approval of new treatments based on solid data from reputable clinical trials that demonstrate both safety and effectiveness
9. Expanded funding of basic science and clinical research under the NIH, based on scientific merit, not a political agenda
10. Congress adequately funding the FDA for researching and monitoring the safety of our food supply, and ensuring that drugs and medical devices are safe
11. Recognition of gun violence as a public health issue
12. Government education grants and student-debt forgiveness for primary care providers, in exchange for service to underserved populations

We oppose:

1. Cutting Medicaid, privatizing or rationing Medicare, or raising the age of Medicare eligibility
2. Overdiagnosis and overtreatment
3. Direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs and devices
4. Employers limiting health care access for religious reasons
5. Conversion therapy
6. Health care discrimination based on age, race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, creed and religion