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tapping Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris has found
a running mate who complements her record as an advocate for public
health and abortion rights. Walz was quick to implement Covid restrictions like stay-at-home orders and social distancing in the early days of the pandemic. He has been a supporter of legalizing recreational marijuana.
He has also incentivized major health-care companies and research
centers to keep their operations in the state, such as device maker
Medtronic and Mayo Clinic. For
months, Harris has made health care a cornerstone of her speeches,
encompassing maternal mortality, postpartum coverage, prescription drug
prices and standards for nursing homes. As Walz joins Harris on the
campaign trail over the next three months, his wins on policies that the
Biden-Harris administration has pursued at a national level are
likely to take a prominent role.
Here’s where he stands on some of the biggest health-care issues facing the nation: Reproductive health
Walz
is staunchly pro-choice, and has promoted Minnesota as a regional
leader on women’s health care. After signing a law enshrining the right
to abortion in the state constitution in 2023, he issued executive
orders protecting out-of-state patients and Minnesota reproductive care
providers from neighboring states’ abortion bans. This March, Walz attended
Vice President Harris’ visit to a Minnesota Planned Parenthood clinic,
considered to be the first visit by a sitting president or vice
president to an abortion provider. He has also spoken publicly about his own family’s experiences with IVF, and vowed to ensure access to the procedure for Minnesotans, even as it comes under attack in other states. Mental health
Walz is a longtime advocate for veteran mental health. As a US Congressman, Walz introduced a veteran suicide prevention bill
that was signed into law in 2015. Two years ago, as governor, Walz
signed into law a $92.7 million mental health bill that increased
hospital bed capacity, granted greater mental health services to
defendants deemed unfit to stand trial and supported mobile mental
health crisis services. Medical debt
During Walz’s tenure as governor, he has championed protections for patients with medical debt.
Starting in October, health care providers in Minnesota will not be
able to withhold necessary medical care due to medical debt. Medical
debt will also no longer automatically transfer to patients’ spouses. Drug costs
Minnesota has aggressively pursued limits on drug prices, and this year secured a $35 per month price cap on Eli Lilly and Sanofi insulin products for all Minnesotans regardless of insurance status. The business of care
Health
care is big business in Minnesota. Mayo Clinic is the state’s largest
private employer with over 48,000 employees and UnitedHealth Group is
the largest company based in the state. These companies have influenced
Walz at times. In Congress, he cosponsored a bill to repeal the
Affordable Care Act’s medical device tax, which was disproportionately
felt by Minnesota’s medical device makers. Mayo Clinic’s threat to pull
investment in the state also led to the dilution of state laws
targeting hospital staffing and health care affordability. Though Walz
and Mayo Clinic had a more tenuous relationship when he was a
congressman whose rural district was negatively affected by Mayo’s acquisition of a local hospital, he has since partnered with them many times. — Sophia Vahanvaty |