(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, ended weeks of speculation after selecting Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate on Tuesday.
During his time as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and governor of the North Star State, Walz has pushed for access to abortion and other reproductive health care. He’s also lowered drug prices and has proposed a public buy-in option for insurance.
Here’s where Walz stands on various health care issues:
Reproductive rights
Walz has been a supporter of abortion rights and was vocal about protecting access after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
In January 2023, he signed the Protect Reproductive Options (PRO) Act, which says everyone has a “fundamental right to make decisions about reproductive health” including abortion care, fertility treatments, contraception, sterilization and other care.
Prior to the PRO Act being signed, Minnesota already had strong abortion laws. The state does not prohibit abortion based on how far along someone is in their pregnancy and a 1995 state Supreme Court case held that the state Constitution protects the right to choose to have an abortion.
Walz, however, said the law is a “firewall against efforts to reverse reproductive freedom.”
In April 2023, he also signed the Reproductive Freedom Defense Act, which protects patients who travel to Minnesota to seek abortion care — as well as abortion providers — from legal action in other states.
Additionally, when Harris became the first vice president to visit an abortion clinic run by Planned Parenthood this year, she was joined by Walz.
The governor has also spoken about protecting access to fertility treatments and IVF. The issue is a personal one for Walz; his wife, Gwen, underwent IVF procedures for years before welcoming the first of their two children.
“When my wife and I decided to have children, we spent years going through infertility treatments,” Walz said Tuesday during his first joint appearance with Harris at a rally in Philadelphia. “I remember praying every night for a call for good news, the pit in my stomach when the phone rang and the agony when we heard that the treatments hadn’t worked.”
Access to health insurance
During his inaugural speech in 2019, Walz called health care “a basic human right.”
“What Minnesotans want from their health care is simple,” he said. “They don’t want to get sick in the first place. But if they do, they want care at a price they can afford and at a location close to home.”
During his time in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served from 2007 to 2019, Walz voted for the Affordable Care Act in 2010, the landmark health care bill that was signed into law by then-President Barack Obama.
Walz and the Democratic leadership in Minnesota have attempted to expand MinnesotaCare, the state’s public health insurance program, to allow all residents — regardless of income — the option to buy in.
There are two bills currently under consideration in the Minnesota Legislature – HF 4745 and SF 4778 — but the governor’s office told local media the bills would not likely pass this year.
The governor has worked to expand access to health care with a record 146,445 residents signing up for private health plans for 2024 during the open enrollment period for MNsure, the state’s official health insurance marketplace, the governor’s office said.
Capping drug prices
In 2020, Walz signed the Alec Smith Insulin Affordability Act, allowing those in urgent need of insulin to go to their pharmacy once in a 12-month period and receive a one-time, 30-day supply of insulin for a $35 co-pay.
The long-term component of the law allows eligible individuals to receive insulin for up to one year, with an option to renew, and receive a 90-day supply with a co-pay cap of $50.
The governor also announced earlier this year that the state’s Department of Health was publishing a list of more than 300 drugs whose prices will be required to be reported by manufacturers, wholesale retailers and pharmacies.
These policies are similar to those implemented under the Biden-Harris administration. The cost of insulin has been capped at $35 per month for many Americans, and the federal government has begun direct price negotiations on 10 widely used drugs paid for by Medicare Part D, with plans to add more drugs to the list in the future.
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