Senator Smith believes that every person deserves affordable, high-quality health care and is fighting to protect, improve, and expand comprehensive health care coverage for Minnesotans.
A top priority for Sen. Smith is addressing the high cost of health care. Too many Minnesotans are burdened by the high cost of their health care coverage, and others are going without insurance or prescription medications. Sen. Smith is working with her colleagues on both sides of the aisle to address the underlying issues that make health care expensive, starting with the high price of prescription drugs.
While working to make health care more affordable, Sen. Smith is also working to ensure that every Minnesotan has access to mental health care, which she believes is an essential part of comprehensive health coverage. She is working to enforce federal laws that require equitable coverage of mental health and medical care, and she is fighting for expanded access to mental health services across the age continuum.
Sen. Smith also opposes any efforts to limit coverage for Minnesotans, slash Medicaid or Medicare, deny coverage to people with preexisting conditions, and interfere with a woman’s right to make decisions about her own health care. Minnesotans and people across this country rely on their health coverage, and believes that any attempt to take that away is unacceptable.
Finally, Sen. Smith is a champion for rural communities, who face unique barriers that limit their access to quality, affordable health care. As co-chair of the bipartisan Rural Health Caucus, Sen. Smith is working with her colleagues to eliminate the health disparities between rural and urban communities.
Latest Releases
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Elizabeth Warren, Patty Murray Introduce Bill to Protect Federal Funding for Birth Control, Reproductive Health Care Services
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) introduced the Expanding Access to Family Planning Act, a bill that would safeguard funding for Title X – the country’s only federal program dedicated to providing family planning and preventive health services, including birth control, cancer screenings, testing for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and reproductive health care – following attacks on the program by the Trump Administration last week. Title X clinics serve 4 million people annually, and in 2023 alone, more than 1.5 million visits to Planned Parenthood health centers were made possible by the program. The bill is co-led in the House of Representatives by Representative Sharice Davids (KS-03), Judy Chu (CA-28) and Dina Titus (NV-01). “We are at a time when Americans’ reproductive freedoms are under attack from extremist Republicans – which makes the Title X Family Planning Program more important than ever,” said Senator Smith. “Title X funding provides American women with access to critical reproductive health services. I invite my Republican colleagues who claim to champion family planning services to join us in supporting this commonsense legislation that will protect women’s access to life-saving services and birth control, pregnancy counseling, infertility services, and more.” “For more than 50 years, Title X funding has helped women across the U.S. get cancer screenings, contraception, pregnancy tests, STI treatment, and so many other services that are critical to helping women—especially women with the tightest budgets—stay healthy and plan their futures,” said Senator Murray. “I’m proud to co-lead the Expanding Access to
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Amy Klobuchar Press Administration on Potential Closure of Indian Health Service Office in Bemidji
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.), a member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) wrote a letter demanding answers about the potential termination of the Indian Health Service office lease in Bemidji. In a letter to General Services Administration (GSA) Administrator Stephen Ehikian and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the Senators highlighted the devastating impact this decision could have on the health and well-being of thousands of Native Americans across the region. “Thousands of members of federally recognized Tribal Nations receive healthcare within the Bemidji Area Office’s purview. This includes emergency care, substance use disorder treatment, mental healthcare, primary, specialty, and dental care, and much more. Without an operational Area Office, recipients of this care will face immediate disruptions in care and health consequences. It is unconscionable to risk the healthcare of children and families in this way,” wrote the Senators. The Bemidji Area Office is responsible for healthcare services for 34 Tribal Nations and 4 urban Indian health programs in 5 states. In the letter, Senators Smith and Klobuchar underscored that IHS services are provided under the federal government’s trust and treaty obligations to Tribal Nations and that any disruption in operations could jeopardize essential medical services. They demanded clarity on whether GSA intends to terminate the lease and if so, what plans exist to prevent service disruptions. You can access full text of the letter here.
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Helps Introduce Legislation to Clean Up Toxins Within Schools
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), a member of the Senate Health and Education Committee, introduced the Get Toxic Substances Out of Schools Act to remove toxic substances from school buildings across the country. The legislation, unveiled on World Children’s Day, comes on the heels of a report from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) that found less than half of public schools in the state were tested for radon between 2018 and 2022. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer and occurs more frequently in Minnesota due to the state’s geology. The bill was led by Senator
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Joins Colleagues to Introduce Resolution to Make Sure Every Woman Can Access Emergency Health Care
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) joined her colleagues to introduce a resolution to ensure that every patient has the basic right to emergency health care, including abortion care, regardless of where they live. The introduction comes as new reporting from ProPublica states that Republican abortion bans are preventing women from receiving lifesaving emergency health care and resulting in preventable deaths. Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade over two years ago, nearly two dozen US states led by Republicans have banned or severely restricted access to abortion. These strict laws have created confusion around the treatment doctors can provide even when a pregnant
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota Department of Education, Minnesota Department of Human Services Announce Expansion of School-Based Health Services
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar (both D-MN), the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), and the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) announced that the state has been selected to receive funding to improve school-based health services. Medicaid and CHIP cover over 41 million children, and this program presents an opportunity to provide health care for kids where they spend a significant amount of time: at school. Some care is easiest to provide at school, such as preventive medicine, mental health care, physical and occupational therapy, and disease management. Providing care at school can help ease transportation for parents, reduce stigma and missed school-time. The funding was made available by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, legislation
U.S. Senator Tina Smith’s Statement on SCOTUS Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) Decision
Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) released the following statement on the Supreme Court’s Decision on Moyle v. United States: “The Supreme Court ruled on process, not on policy. This is a reprieve, not a vindication. While Idaho can resume providing emergency reproductive care, this ruling does nothing to reassure women that their health and wellbeing is protected. “Let’s be clear: President Biden’s work to ensure access to emergency abortion care under EMTALA is not safe under this decision. There are other challenges to EMTALA pending in the ultra-conservative Fifth Circuit — challenges that could come before the Supreme Court
English