Health care decisions should be made by patients, their families, and their doctors. Mandates from insurance companies and Washington impede on our ability to make the best decisions for ourselves and our families, resulting in more Americans getting more sick. I want Utahns to have more choices, clearer information about what care actually costs, and access to a system that rewards good, proactive care rather than simply more spending.

Cost is a real problem. Even families with insurance are dealing with higher premiums, prescription prices, and medical bills that can be difficult to understand. We need more competition and transparency in health care, along with continued innovation that gives patients better options and helps bring costs down.

Rural Utah faces an additional challenge: access. In some communities, seeing a specialist or reaching a hospital can mean hours on the road, while shortages of doctors, nurses, and emergency responders put even more pressure on local providers. Federal policy needs to recognize that what works along the Wasatch Front may not work in rural Utah. Telehealth and greater flexibility for rural providers can help fill those gaps.

I have supported initiatives to give patients more options when a provider leaves their network or their prescription drug coverage changes. I also believe we need to protect Medicare for the Utahns who rely on it while getting serious about waste, fraud, and unnecessary bureaucracy.

The goal should be a health care system that costs less, makes more sense, and leaves Utahns with more say over their own care.