US Rep. Horn Unveils Her 25-Point Health Care Plan

With the number of COVID-19 cases rising across Oklahoma and a legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) before the Supreme Court next month, health care is top of mind for many voters.

On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Kendra Horn, OK-5, Democrat, unveiled a 25-point plan with proposals to fix the Affordable Care Act, increase access to health care and mental services, lower prescription drug prices, improve and sustain Medicare and Medicaid and increase workforce development.

“Let me be very, very clear. I do not now nor have I ever supported Medicare for all. I do not think that we need to throw out the system we have,” Horn said.

Horn said her plan to fix the ACA includes subsidizing out-of-pocket costs for health plans offered on the exchange. I would also expand health savings accounts and qualifying expenses among other things.

Horn said she’s likely done more on health care savings accounts than any Democrat in Congress, but she emphasized, they are good tools alongside insurance options.

“Right now, the cost average cost of a stay at hospital for COVID-19 is $73,000. I don't know many Oklahoma families that can afford $73,000 and without insurance,” she said.

Horn said her plan would increase access to healthcare by allowing physician assistants and nurse practitioners to provide care in rural health clinics. The plan would also expand Medicare to cover dentures, hearing aids and glasses.

To lower prescription price, Horn wants to negotiate prices for insulin products and brand-name drugs that do not have generics. The plan also calls for drug manufacturers to report information on high-price drugs.

“The ACA is not perfect. Absolutely not. But it has made a difference,” Horn said. “It is reducing our uninsured rate. It has increased access to health care, and I think these are things worth fighting for.”

Even if Democrats were to see sweeping victories across the country on election night, the Affordable Care Act could still be in jeopardy as it goes before the U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 10.

Horn said Congress would have to act quickly if the monumental health care law were to be overturned.

“We have to make sure that we go back and we get the fundamentals right,” Horn said. “We've got to protect people preexisting conditions, lifetime caps, we've got to go back and take action to address these things. Then continue on, but it doesn't require extreme solutions.”

News 9's Caleigh Bourgeois has state Sen. Stephanie Bice's opinion on health care.