I will fight to make health care affordable, accessible, and accountable to patients. That starts with defending and strengthening Medicaid, protecting New Yorkers from federal cuts, and investing in primary care, which New York’s own health planning framework identifies as essential to improving outcomes and reducing inequality. 

The New York Health Act is the best long-term solution to health care, and I will join as a co-sponsor. New York faces persistent primary-care underinvestment and workforce strain despite enormous overall health spending, which is exactly why the state has to focus on access, prevention, and affordability. The health care system in New York remains broken, but we know how to fix it. We just need legislators with the experience and the will to get it done.

I bring a unique understanding of health care to this race, along with singular first-hand experience. Before my community activism, I worked in tax-exempt healthcare finance. When Beth Israel was on the brink, I joined the Save Beth Israel and New York Eye & Ear Campaign and led the Financial Services Workgroup. We produced two major reports — one valuing the property at up to $1 billion depending on zoning, and another detailing Mount Sinai’s systematic dismantling of Beth Israel. When Mount Sinai seeks to monetize that property, I want to ensure that a portion of those proceeds supports healthcare downtown and affordable housing on that campus.

Access to high-quality neighborhood care prevents health crises. I support stronger investment in community health centers, public hospitals, school-based care, and telehealth, including audio-only care where appropriate, so seniors, disabled New Yorkers, working parents, and low-income residents can get treatment without unnecessary barriers. New York Medicaid already covers multiple telehealth modalities, and the state must build on that to expand continuity of care, especially for mental health, chronic illness, and preventive services.

Mental health and substance-use care are core health care. Every five hours, someone in New York City dies from an overdose. This is unacceptable. I support sustained state investment in harm reduction, treatment on demand, supportive housing, and a larger behavioral-health workforce. It is not enough to respond to crisis after crisis while leaving the system underfunded, understaffed, and fragmented.

Healthcare freedom and access are essential to public health. I fought for the successful passage of Prop 1 and will stay in this fight. New York law firmly protects abortion rights and gender-affirming care, and the state has expanded shield-law protections for providers and patients against out-of-state investigations and penalties. I support continued action to safeguard abortion access, contraception, and gender-affirming care, and to make sure providers can practice safely in New York without political intimidation from hostile states.

Successful health policy reduces disparities in the real world. That means targeting resources to underserved communities, addressing maternal and infant health, and recognizing that housing, nutrition, and environmental conditions shape health outcomes just as much as what happens in a clinic. My goal is straightforward: a health care system that is affordable, preventive, equitable, and there when people need it.