Congresswoman Porter has made standing up for Orange County patients a top priority—because every family should have quality, affordable health care.

Congresswoman Porter is dedicated to reducing the skyrocketing health care costs that Orange County families face. She believes that no family should ever be forced to go without care or medicine due to high costs. Her Freedom from Price Gouging Act—which passed the House in 2020 as part of the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act—would prevent drug manufacturers from profiting off unreasonable price hikes. She also introduced the Lowest Price for Patients Act, which would require that pharmacists disclose whether a prescription is less expensive without insurance. Her bill to lower the income threshold for tax-deductible medical expenses was signed into law, protecting 4.4 million Americans with high medical costs from more expensive tax bills. Congresswoman Porter hosted a roundtable in Orange County with leading medical experts, local advocates, and children and families living with Type 1 Diabetes to discuss how we drive down the costs of insulin.

Congresswoman Porter isn’t afraid to take on Big Pharma. Her office issued a report detailing how pharmaceutical mergers curb innovation and contribute to the skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs. She’s also confronted Big Pharma CEOs directly about price gouging and stock buy-backs. When members of the Sackler family testified before Congress in 2020, she called them out for their role in the opioid crisis and for fraudulently transferring billions of dollars that would have otherwise helped families who lost loved ones.

Unaffordable medical bills are crushing Orange County families, and Congresswoman Porter is working to protect them. She introduced the bipartisan No Surprise Bills for New Moms Act, which would simplify the process for enrolling newborns in health coverage. To protect patients from long-term financial harm from unaffordable medical bills, Congresswoman Porter introduced the Medical Debt Relief Act to remove settled medical debts from patients’ credit records. 

Hearing from older Americans at town halls and in the community, Congresswoman Porter understands the need to protect and strengthen Medicare. She introduced the Medicare Economic Security Solutions Act to guard against unfair Medicare penalties for delaying enrollment. Congresswoman Porter is fighting to keep private equity firms and corporate special interests out of Medicare. She raised concerns about the Medicare direct contracting program, which allows for-profit companies to manage health care for Medicare beneficiaries, and later joined more than 50 of her colleagues demanding an end to the program. 

In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, Congresswoman Porter secured a commitment from the Trump Administration that tests would be free for every American. When Orange County families received unexpected bills for tests, she called on the Biden Administration to crack down on test providers that improperly billed patients.She was proud to introduce the Patients Before Profits Act to protect patients from reductions in their insurance during public health emergencies.

Congresswoman Porter has fought to protect the more than 5 million Californians  with pre-existing conditions. She stood up against the Trump Administration’s legal campaign to eliminate protections provided by the Affordable Care Act.  She later introduced the Justice for Patients Act to remove mandatory arbitration clauses from insurance agreements and empower patients to join class action lawsuits. She joined her colleagues in passing the Protecting Americans with Preexisting Conditions Act of 2019, which would protect Americans with pre-existing conditions by preventing insurance companies from selling “junk” healthcare plans. The bill included her amendment to prohibit the administration from taking any action that would reduce the number of individuals enrolled in comprehensive coverage.

Understanding that mental health care is health care, Congresswoman Porter is working to make it easier for Orange County families to get mental health treatment. Her bill to hold insurance companies accountable for treating mental health care the same as physical health care was signed into law in 2020. After learning that plans covering public servants fell short in covering mental health care, Congresswoman Porter introduced a bill to close a legal loophole and improve their coverage. She’s also introduced legislation to better protect students struggling with mental health challenges and to reduce violence against individuals with mental illness and disabilities.

Congresswoman Porter knows that Orange County’s communities of color often face challenges in getting the culturally appropriate care they need. She helped introduce the Medical Education for a Diverse America Act, which would include culturally competent and language training in medical schools. Congresswoman Porter secured an amendment in House-passed legislation that would require federal agencies to provide accurate monthly data on specific communities enrolling in health care coverage. This proposal would increase understanding of the communities that are uninsured and help improve outreach and enrollment services. She has also continuously called for enhanced oversight of the government contractors that procure organs for transplants, supporting efforts to promote equity and crack down on fraud.