No family should have to worry about medical bankruptcy. While much of health care is a national issue, there are things we can do to help families right here in Utah.
The first is to expand Medicaid as envisioned by the ACA. We are already paying for this expansion—Utah tax dollars are going to Washington for this purpose—but because of the Utah Legislature’s ideological stubbornness, those dollars are staying in Washington or going to other states. We can bring those dollars back to Utah and at the same time help thousands of Utah families keep their children healthy.
The next step is to give our doctors new tools to fight the opioid crisis, which kills twenty-three Utahns a month. Medicine derived from the CBD in cannabis could be a nonaddictive, nonfatal alternative to opioids. That’s why I support the ballot initiative that would legalize medical cannabis. The fact that this initiative exists is another sign that our current Utah legislature has failed to honor the desires of their constituents.
