Andrea Miller is the Democratic candidate for Congress in Virginia’s fourth congressional district.

UPDATE! Down with Tyranny says it is time to take a look at Miller’s race.

Miller’s views on healthcare:

Universal Single Payer Healthcare
When an injustice burns in your chest, you feel compelled to work passionately for change. Such is the case for me when it comes to fixing America’s growing healthcare crisis. Ensuring access to quality health care for all Americans is one of my priorities as your Representative. Across America, the reality is the working poor, the middle class, children, and the elderly are falling through the cracks of the current system by the millions. There is no reason why the wealthiest nation in the world – a nation that spends more per capita on healthcare than any other – should be the only industrialized democracy without a universal healthcare program for all its citizens.

* There are over 47 million people in our nation without health care, including 11 million children.
* Administrative costs in private insurance run between 20-30%, while administrative costs in Medicaid amount to only 2-3%.
* Prescription drugs are unaffordable for a growing number of Americans, the uninsured, and those with inadequate insurance.
* Both large and small businesses are increasingly unable to offer coverage to their employees or even afford good coverage for themselves.
* Americans spend more than twice as much on healthcare as any other nation, yet we rank 37th in overall health and well-being.
* Three quarters of the uninsured are in families headed by a full-time worker.
* Medical bills are the biggest cause of personal bankruptcies.
* Health insurance premiums have risen 4 times faster than wages over the past 6 years.

Too little is spent on prevention and public health: The nation faces epidemics of obesity and chronic diseases as well as new threats of pandemic flu and bioterrorism. Yet despite all of this less than 4 cents of every health care dollar is spent on prevention and public health. Individual states are taking initiative, but America needs reform at the national level. Too many hopes, futures, and lives hang in the balance.

In a just and fair society, quality healthcare is essential for human life and dignity, for a strong economy, and for healthy American families and communities. Quality healthcare must be available to all Americans as a simple matter of justice and human rights. Healthcare should not be a commodity of privilege that is rationed according to an individual’s ability to pay or because of place of employment. Americans need a healthcare system that is accessible, adequate, and affordable for all. Adequate healthcare should be every American’s birthright. The kind of system I will work for would include the following services and priorities:

* Incentives to help Americans choose healthier lifestyles
* Quality primary care, which is the least expensive and most cost effective initial point of care, and helps build a long-term patient-provider relationship
* Prescription drugs available to all Americans and not rationed only to those who can afford them
* Mental health and substance abuse care as part of the total healthcare program
* Dental and vision coverage
* Alternative medical care services, including acupuncture, chiropractic care, and midwifery
* Hospice and long-term medical assistance for the elderly and those with terminal conditions Healthcare decisions need to be made by patients and their doctors, not by clerical employees working for insurance companies. Between 20-30% of the premiums we pay goes to support an unproductive insurance bureaucracy

Healthcare professionals in growing numbers are supporting single payer health care where we use a system similar to Medicare to pay bills, and focus our efforts on improving the efficiency of care, especially treatment of chronic diseases.

Americans value choice, and every American should be free to choose a Medicare-style option if they like. Yet individuals and employers would be free to purchase coverage beyond, or outside, the federally funded system. A good analogy is our school system: everyone has access to the public schools. If, for whatever reason, they choose to pay to send their children to private schools, they are free to do so, but they must still pay the taxes that support the public school system.

I will work to assure good access for all Americans based on need, not income. Americans must have the freedom to choose their physicians and hospitals. Approved medical and healthcare providers should be independent members of the public or private sector. Efforts must be made to find ways to balance cost efficiency with compassionate and effective treatments. I will work for a system where all children have health care coverage. Obama will expand the number of options for young adults to get coverage, including allowing young people up to age 25 to continue coverage through their parents’ plans.

Over 133 million Americans have at least one chronic disease and these chronic conditions cost a staggering $1.7 trillion yearly. I will support implementation of programs and encourage team care that will improve coordination and integration of care of those with chronic conditions. I will strengthen antitrust laws to prevent insurers from overcharging physicians for their malpractice insurance and will promote new models for addressing errors that improve patient safety, strengthen the doctor-patient relationship and reduce the need for malpractice suits. Mental illness affects approximately one in five American families. The National Alliance on Mental Illness estimates that untreated mental illnesses cost the U.S. more than $100 billion per year. I will support mental health parity so that coverage for serious mental illnesses are provided on the same terms and conditions as other illnesses and diseases.

Swing State Project tells us that Virginia’s fourth congressional district has one of the highest concentrations of African American voters in among seats currently held by Republican incumbents, so who knows, maybe we will get lucky.