Senator Reed believes that health care should be affordable and accessible to all.  He has long supported efforts to improve the quality of our health care system and reduce costs for consumers, and he has continued this steadfast work throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.  Reed has also been nationally recognized for his work on children’s health, and he helped author key provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), in order to give individuals and families more choice and more control over their health care.

Reed is a leader when it comes to lowering prescription drug costs, and is committed to preserving and protecting Medicare and Medicaid, improving the quality of the care Rhode Islanders receive, and lowering costs without slashing benefits.  He has sought to allow Medicare to negotiate for lower prices for American consumers, and worked throughout his career to infuse Rhode Island’s Medicaid program with additional federal funds.

Reed helped broker a bipartisan agreement that prevented over 600,000 children nationwide from potentially losing their health insurance and boosted Rhode Island’s funding for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) from $13.2 million to $69.5 million – the highest percentage increase of any state.  This increase bolstered Reed’s longstanding efforts to ensure more federal dollars to support our state’s health care system.

Senator Reed has strenuously opposed any attempts to dismantle the ACA and undo protections for people with preexisting conditions.  These repeated efforts do nothing to provide Rhode Islanders with expanded health care choices or lowered costs, and Reed has consistently defended the coverage and protections the ACA affords millions of Americans.