Patients Over Profits

One shift, I walked into a patient’s room and found them sitting on the edge of the bed, quietly crying. When I asked if there was something I could do to help, they didn’t start with pain or symptoms.

They started talking about insurance.

They had no coverage and didn’t know how they were ever going to pay for the treatment that might save their life. That moment stayed with me.

I’ve felt a version of that fear myself. My own monthly health insurance payment for a single person went from $750 to $2,500. That is simply unsustainable.

Across our communities, people are asking the same questions:

Can I afford this prescription?

What happens if there’s an emergency?

Will I get the care I need—or will I go bankrupt trying?

That is why I signed the Patients Over Profits pledge.

The pledge exists because CEOs and lobbyists for Big Pharma, corporate insurers, and private hospital systems have formed a front group called the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future. Their goal is simple: protect profits and block reforms that would make healthcare more affordable for patients.

By taking the pledge, I am committing not to accept contributions over $200 from executives, lobbyists, or PACs affiliated with the corporate healthcare industry—including private insurers, pharmaceutical corporations, and private hospital systems that are working to preserve a system where profit often comes before patient care.

The pledge is designed to reduce the political influence of large healthcare corporations that spend millions lobbying against reforms like lower drug prices, an end to surprise billing, and universal coverage.

It’s a simple principle: the people writing our healthcare laws should answer to patients—not corporate healthcare executives.

As a nurse, I have seen what happens when people delay care because they are afraid of the bill. As a cancer survivor, I know how quickly medical costs can become overwhelming even for people who are insured. No one should have to choose between paying the rent and filling a prescription, or delay going to the doctor because they are terrified of what the bill will be.

Signing this pledge is one way to make clear whose side I am on.

I hope other candidates and elected officials in Michigan will take the same step so their constituents know exactly where they stand.

Ask every candidate who wants your vote a simple question:Will you refuse corporate healthcare money?

If they won’t, voters deserve to know why.

—Rhonda