Senator Smith believes that every person deserves affordable, high-quality health care. As a member of the Senate Health Committee and a leader in the bipartisan Rural Health Caucus, Sen. Smith 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
Sen. Smith joins Dem Women’s Caucus, House and Senate Democrats, in Demanding Health Insurers Fully Cover Birth Control, As Required by the ACA
Washington, DC — Today, Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), along with Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC) Chair Lois Frankel (FL-22), Reps. Ayanna Pressley (MA-7), Kathy Manning (NC-6), and Judy Chu (CA-28), led over 150 House and Senate Democratic colleagues in urging health insurers to fully comply with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) contraception coverage requirement. Specifically, the members urged insurers to adopt a “therapeutic equivalence standard” ensuring coverage—without cost sharing—of every FDA-approved birth control product that does not have a therapeutic equivalent (generic). The letter comes after years of systemic noncompliance by insurance plans, forcing women to pay out of pocket or face administrative red tape to access the birth control that works best for them. “We write to express our concerns that your members are not complying with the Affordable Care Act contraception coverage requirement, and to urge them to consider immediate adoption of the therapeutic equivalence standard outlined by the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury on January 22, 2024,” wrote the lawmakers in a letter toAmerica’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP)—whose membership includes major health insurers across the country—and UnitedHealth Group. Despite the ACA’s protections, the members outlined how multiple investigations—including by the House Oversight Committee, “have revealed that plans routinely violate the ACA by refusing to cover certain products, imposing administrative hurdles like prior authorizations and step therapy (fail first protocols), and requiring patient cost-sharing.” In response to these violations, the Biden Administration recently released additional guidance, outlining a standard that requires coverage
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Cassidy, Cardin, Thune Reintroduce Bill to Remove Barriers to Telemental Health Care
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) joined her colleagues Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), John Thune (R-SD) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) to reintroduce the bipartisan Telemental Health Care Access Act to remove barriers to telemental health services for Medicare beneficiaries. Specifically, the bill removes the requirement that Medicare beneficiaries be seen in person within six months of being treated for mental health services through telehealth. In 2020, Congress permanently expanded access for Medicare patients to be treated virtually for mental health services. Unfortunately, it also included an arbitrary requirement that would require the patient to be seen in-person before they could receive telemental services. The Telemental Health Care Access Act eliminates this in-person requirement so that patients can directly access mental health services via telehealth. “Telehealth has proved to be an important lifeline and tool to close some of the most significant gaps in patients’ access to health care services,” said Senator Smith. “Especially for Minnesotans in small towns and rural places suffering from mental health challenges, long commutes to the nearest provider can mean virtual care is the only feasible option. This bill is an important step in making it easier for mental health patients on Medicare to ask for help and get the care they need, without having to jump through administrative hoops.” “Since the pandemic, we have seen how telehealth expanded health care access for those with substance use disorders, physical ailments, and mental health conditions. It has been an important lifeline for rural communities,” said Dr. Cassidy. “This bill removes barriers to allow Medicare patients to
U.S. Senators Smith, Murkowski, Hassan Reintroduce Bipartisan Bill to Expand Mental Health Care Workforce
WASHINGTON [2.23.23] – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) reintroduced their bipartisan legislation to strengthen the mental health workforce in the face of shortages. The Mental Health Professionals Workforce Shortage Loan Repayment Act would repay up to $250,000 in eligible student loan repayment for mental health professionals who work in mental health professional shortage areas. Sen. Smith has shared her own mental health journey from the Senate floor—and again in an op-ed last week in the wake of news that Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) was seeking treatment for depression —in hopes of breaking
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Pushes Attorney General Garland to Quickly Appeal Likely Verdict in Key Medication Abortion Case
WASHINGTON [2/22/2023] – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland in anticipation of a U.S. District Court ruling that would prevent essential, lifesaving reproductive health care for millions of women. In her letter, Smith urges Attorney General Garland and the Department of Justice to quickly appeal the case should the decision undermine access to medication abortion in any way. The case, Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine et al v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration et al, challenges the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) authority to approve mifepristone, a safe and effective abortion medication. This
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Reintroduces Bipartisan Legislation to Improve Coordination Between HHS and Urban Indian Organizations
WASHINGTON, [02.21.23] – U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) reintroduced bipartisan legislation that would help federal programs – from substance use treatment to Medicare and Medicaid – meet the unique needs of Indigenous communities and improve care. The Urban Indian Health Confer Act would require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to confer with urban Indian organizations regarding health care for American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) living in urban areas – a critical step that will improve care for Indigenous communities and create parity between urban Indian organizations (UIOs) and other components of the
U.S. Senator Tina Smith and Rep. Cori Bush Re-Introduce Legislation to Protect Access to Medication Abortion
WASHINGTON [2.2.23] – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) and U.S. Representative Cori Bush (D-MO) re-introduced a bill to defend access to medication abortion in states where the right to an abortion still exists. The Protecting Access to Medication Abortion Act would protect current FDA guidelines so that women can always access medication abortion through telehealth and certified pharmacies, including mail-order pharmacies. Of the one in four American women who will have an abortion, over half will use medication abortion. In the 23 years since its approval, evidence has shown that mifepristone can be prescribed to patients without an in-person
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