As the founder of Atrómitos, a healthcare and human service consulting firm dedicated to creating healthier and more resilient communities that encompass fairness and inclusion, I have seen the impact federal policies have on our clients and partners.
They are concerned about how potential changes in governmental programs will affect everything from funding and regulatory protocols, to reporting requirements and the scope of services they can provide legally.
As a daughter of parents on Medicare, I know how even a small budget cut or reallocation can change the quality of healthcare and breadth of the prescription drug benefits they, and millions of senior citizens, need today and tomorrow.
As the mother of a teenage son, who will leave the “nest” and strike out on his own in a few years, I worry if he will have access to safe, affordable housing and responsive and low-cost healthcare.
After years of watching the repercussions of shifting public policies in both my professional and family roles, I feel compelled to get off the sidelines and do something I have never considered before – publicly endorsing a presidential candidate.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve wrestled with sharing my political views on wide-reaching digital media platforms knowing negative blowback could harm the people I care about. But the times we live in are anything but ordinary, so it’s time I do something extraordinary.
In these final hours before Election Day, I urge you to visit Vote.gov, confirm your polling place, and vote for the only candidate with the courage and big ideas our country needs to move forward — Vice President Kamala Harris.
Under a Harris administration, my healthcare provider clients won’t have to worry about their legal liabilities around reproductive health services because women would regain their bodily autonomy. She will stop any nationwide abortion ban and fight like hell to pass legislation restoring a woman’s right to choose and a doctor’s obligation to preserve the overall health of their patient.
As a member of the “sandwich generation” with aging parents and a child living at home, I welcome Vice President Harris’ “Medicare at Home” plan, which would cover the costs of in-home care services and nurses to avoid costly nursing homes, lessening the financial burden for both parents and adult children.
Projected savings from the expansion of Medicare’s prescription drug negotiation program, which would allow the agency to set caps for more drugs at a faster pace, would pay for the Medicare home care plan. That’s what I call a win-win.
I also applaud the Vice President’s plan to make affordable healthcare a right, not just a privilege, by strengthening and expanding the Affordable Care Act. Harris plans to make the Biden-Harris tax credits enhancements, which have lowered health insurance premiums by an average of $800 a year, permanent. Meaning when my son ages out of my health insurance plan, he will have healthcare coverage regardless of his income or any preexisting health condition.
Thanks to the Harris plan to build three million more homes and rental units in four years, my son will be able to live in a safe place he can afford once he leaves home. And when he is ready to buy his own house, the proposed $25,000 down payment plan will help him and millions of others first-time home buyers achieve the American dream.
While I agree with her policy proposals in other areas, the most important reason I support Kamala Harris is because she values people.
She believes everyone has the right to not just survive but thrive and live up to their potential. Harris understands many Americans, like me, are constantly juggling multiple responsibilities associated with all the roles we take on within our families, workplaces, and communities.
Thankfully, she has a bold, fearless, and workable plan to make life just a little bit easier and better for everyone. What business owner, daughter, and mother wouldn’t endorse that vision of the future?
Please vote for Kamala Harris to be president of the United States of America.
Sincerely,
Michealle Gady, JD
Atrómitos Founder, President & CEO