There is a severe shortage of doctors in Western Massachusetts, with 1^st District residents having to wait four to six months to get an appointment, even for urgent issues, then even longer to receive the medical care they need. This is a crisis, especially for our elderly and rural residents.

Richard Neal helped create this crisis. In 1997, he voted to impose a permanent cap on the number of resident physicians whose training Medicare supports, limiting the supply of doctors available to provide Americans the high-quality care they deserve. Since then, as the former Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee for four years and now Ranking Member, he’s done nothing to solve this problem despite having jurisdiction over health care issues.

Nadia Milleron will join efforts to bring more doctors and healthcare and mental health professionals to the district to solve the health care shortage crisis. She will support bipartisan legislation that increases the number of available medical residencies nationwide. She will secure funding to pay the medical debt for medical students who come to practice in Western Massachusetts. And she will support policies that strengthen health care access including telehealth, mobile health clinics, and incentives for health care professionals to work in underserved areas.

In addition to increasing access to timely health care, Nadia will work to make health care more affordable and accessible. Working families are struggling to afford health care as costs for insurance and medical care skyrocket.

Nadia will advocate for policies that increase health insurance coverage and affordability. She will promote programs that support healthy lifestyles, access to preventive care, and management of chronic conditions. She will fight for funding for mental health and substance use disorder services, and support policies like the Strengthen Opioid Misuse Prevention (STOP) Act. And she will shine a spotlight on health disparities among disadvantaged communities.

This is a stark contrast with her opponent, Richard Neal. As one of the largest recipients of campaign contributions from the insurance and pharmaceutical industries, Neal has been widely criticized for obeying his special interest donors instead of helping low income and middle-class families. Neal killed legislation that would have protected families from surprise medical bills and fought against expanding Medicare access.