The very mission of our County’s health care system is to serve everyone, regardless of insurance coverage or ability to pay. This year my Board of Supervisors colleagues and I rescued two local hospitals and a clinic that were in bankruptcy. The facilities will now continue to provide critical health and emergency care to residents in Santa Clara County. The purchase ensures that the hospitals will remain open and the employees who want to remain at those facilities will keep their jobs.

Nationally, there are growing issues with so-called big-Pharma. Insurance premiums are exorbitant for most people, some local governments are buckling under the pressure of paying premiums on behalf of their employees. Those are issues I want to address in the State Senate. In our county we have led and innovated.We have ensured that every child has access to healthcare and have kept our clinics, hospital beds and emergency rooms open to everyone who needs medical assistance regardless of whether they’re insured. These are the things we need to replicate at the state level.