When I announced my candidacy to be your next State Representative for the 12th Middlesex District, I highlighted the growing problems in our health care system that I see firsthand as a practicing physician: people waiting in the ER for hours before being seen; waiting weeks to see a specialist; putting off care due to being uninsured or underinsured, and more.
Like me, you’ve probably been reading about the Steward Health crisis: A new mother bled to death shortly after giving birth because the equipment needed to stop her bleeding had been repossessed for non-payment. When a hospital cannot save a new mother because of missing equipment then it's clear our system is broken and failing you. Our US Senators said it best: Steward's hospitals are dangerously close to shutting down because of years of mismanagement, private equity schemes, and executive profiteering. Steward put healthy profits ahead of healthy patients.
I applaud Governor Maura Healey for telling Steward to leave Massachusetts.
As a primary care physician for over 25 years, my job is to lead with empathy and compassion, while analyzing a problem and formulating a solution -- and fight for my patients and their families. As your next State Rep, I will fight to prevent another Steward Health Care tragedy from happening in Massachusetts.
If elected, I will be the only medical doctor in the entire state legislature. That matters because Beacon Hill plays a vital role in regulating healthcare. As a physician I have advocated for healthcare reform as a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society’s House of Delegates and public health committees, and I helped lead an effort to amend the Massachusetts state constitution to establish a right to health insurance.
My eight years on the Newton City Council and over 25 years as a primary care physician, make me uniquely qualified to serve as your State Representative and lead on issues that are important to you. I am eager to put my experience to work making our state an even healthier place to live, work and raise a family. I am a parent of two teenagers; Emily is in her freshman year at Harvard and Sarah is a sophomore at Newton South. When approaching issues, I think of their future and what kind of world they will inherit from us. I ask for your support, so I can fight to put the health of you and your family first.
With gratitude,
