As the 2018 elections approach, now is the time for people to speak out to candidates about the kind of health care system they want, and to hold candidates accountable for delivering on it. Whether at a town hall, in the media, or one-on-one, voters can hold candidates for federal, state, and local offices accountable for working to protect health care, instead of tearing it down.

Health care is a top-of-mind issue for voters. In 2017, people across the country feared losing their health care due to tumultuous efforts by Republicans in Congress to repeal insurance.

Millions of seniors and people with disabilities rely on Medicare for their health care, but it does not cover their oral health care. Even if someone needs dental care in order to have a medical procedure—like a kidney transplant patient who needs an oral infection treated to begin surgery -- Medicare won’t cover the oral health care. Luckily, coverage of “medically necessary” dental care could be added to Medicare through CMS’s administrative authority fairly easily without any need for legislation.

This week, as part of the Childhood Asthma Leadership Coalition (CALC), Families USA and other coalition members submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) expressing concern with the proposed rule, “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science,” which would limit the use of critical research in EPA decision-making. We believe this rule would have the effect of erecting barriers to science-based decisions in the regulatory process, and could remove consideration of public health studies that might otherwise improve health outcomes of children with asthma.