Pennsylvania Rep. Arvind Venkat, D-Allegheny, is the primary Indian-American elected to the State Home and an emergency room doctor.
A graduate of Yale Medical College, Venkat spoke to The Capital-Star about his legislative priorities, which embrace defending reproductive rights, college funding, gun management measures and medical debt aid for Pennsylvanians statewide .
This interview has been barely edited for size and readability.
Q: You lately launched laws to determine a medical debt aid program in Pennsylvania. How a lot of your expertise as a doctor influenced this invoice?
Venkat: One of many nice perks of being an ER physician is which you can handle everybody, no questions requested. An increasing number of sufferers are very delicate, each to the price of well being care, and particularly to the debt they carry with well being care. After I began training on this area 17 years in the past, nobody requested me about the price of remedy. And now, I am going to get common questions from sufferers I see within the ER that I am going to inform them, it is advisable to be admitted to the hospital they usually’re principally like, I am unable to afford this, it is too costly, and I will have this burden.
So one of many issues I campaigned on was like [we can] make healthcare extra inexpensive and accessible.
And this laws is modeled on ones which have really been trialled in cities and counties throughout the nation, together with the town of Pittsburgh, which included it on this most up-to-date price range. It is principally a partnership with an entity known as RIP Medical Debt, which buys distressed medical debt to forgive it, and to do it in order that individuals are advised after their debt is forgiven, that they not have that hanging above the their head. For each greenback you spend, you should buy and forgive as much as $100 in debt.
I believe we’ve got to fulfill the folks the place they’re. Typically we as political figures go the place there appears to be essentially the most noise, and it is as much as us as political leaders to achieve out to everybody.
So, for a comparatively small grant, we on the state degree would have the ability to assist lots of of 1000’s of Pennsylvanians and probably forgive properly over a billion {dollars} in well being care debt. And it is actually a win-win for everybody concerned. It’s clearly a win for sufferers who not have this drawback. It is a good factor for suppliers too as a result of these are unhealthy money owed which can be on their books. And it is an alternative choice to sending sufferers to a debt collector, who will likewise purchase a bad credit score for pennies on the greenback after which flip round and attempt to harass folks to gather pennies on the greenback.
Q: We’re speaking a couple of day when two Pittsburgh excessive faculties have been evacuated over an lively shooter risk that turned out to be a hoax, and the day after a deadly capturing at a college in Nashville. What higher might we do to verify weapons do not find yourself in faculties for use in baby murders?
A: It is a public well being risk. I’ve spoken about it publicly; it is one thing I campaigned on. As an emergency doctor, I’ve handled each sort of gunshot sufferer you’ll be able to think about and people you do not need to think about. I’ve personally seen a child who took a gun from his dad and mom and shot himself and died in my emergency room. One thing I’ll positively always remember.
So, I believe we have to take a public well being strategy to hurt discount. And what I inform colleagues, what I inform households, what I inform the general public is, if it is the individual and never the gun, then we must always have the ability to move issues like purple flag legal guidelines and protected storage legal guidelines and whistleblowing. misplaced property and stolen weapons and superior background checks. As a result of these do nothing to a law-abiding citizen. AND [they] they’ve been proven to maintain weapons out of the palms of those that have proven a propensity for violence, or who’re in a disaster and will use entry to weapons to do nice hurt.
I believe we are able to not settle for the reply of all we are able to do are ideas and prayers, and there may be nothing else we are able to do. We’re the one industrialized nation on this planet that has this drawback. We have now the same degree of psychological sickness and different societal ills. The distinction between the US and different nations is entry, widespread and unhindered entry to firearms. And I believe that is the place we have to put our power at this level.
Q: One other situation you campaigned on was college funding. What are your ideas on the most recent advances on this space, and what else do you assume must be completed to make sure college funding is extra equitable throughout the board?
A: I believe there are three issues that have to occur. The primary is that there must be a 50-50 break up between communities and the state in relation to public college schooling. And clearly, the state has by no means fulfilled its obligation. I consider the earlier administration and now [Gov. Josh] Shapiro [has] they’ve pledged to extend the state’s contribution to public schooling, and I’m very a lot in favor of that.
We want very cautious scrutiny of cyber constitution and constitution financing. I symbolize three of the wealthiest college districts, definitely in Allegheny County, if not the Commonwealth. They usually’ve spent thousands and thousands of {dollars} on cyber-chartered lessons, which nowhere close to measure as much as the infrastructure wants or scholar achievement in these applications. I’ve nothing towards constitution faculties or cyber-charter faculties, but it surely must be an apples to apples comparability when it comes to their funding wants in addition to what occurs with the outcomes which can be measured.
The third factor that I believe must occur is I believe we have to have an sincere dialogue that there is no such thing as a good funding method. I agree that property taxes aren’t the perfect manner to do that, as a result of I do not assume a baby’s schooling must be decided by her zip code, proper? However we’re not going to cease folks from shifting into communities primarily based on the standard of faculties or regardless of the circumstances.
We are going to want an sincere dialogue of what a financing mechanism will probably be like if it’s not primarily based on property tax or isn’t solely primarily based on property tax. Gross sales taxes are largely regressive. Pennsylvania was constitutionally barred from having a graduated revenue tax. Lots of people have a look at marijuana, however the expertise in different states is that marijuana revenues are fairly weak they usually’re happening in a short time, and there are a whole lot of points that I might have considerations about legalizing marijuana.
And so I believe there is no such thing as a good mechanism. And it’ll in all probability be a mix of these three issues.
Q: What do you assume Pennsylvania must do to guard reproductive rights?
A: The outcomes that we have seen within the state home and the gubernatorial race and even within the state senate, is that we’re not going to vary the legislation in Pennsylvania, which preserves abortion rights.
But when the Texas federal decide, as anticipated, places drug-related abortions out of attain, it creates new obstacles. I’ve assisted lots of of pregnant ladies. I’ve talked to ladies and have handled ladies in just about each circumstance the place this drawback arises. I strongly really feel that abortion and abortion rights are a part of wholesome reproductive well being care and protected reproductive well being care.
Pennsylvania voters have to know that their votes will decide whether or not reproductive rights are preserved in Pennsylvania. We noticed within the final legislative session what occurs when we’ve got an anti-choice majority within the Common Meeting: one of many key issues they attempt to do is overturn abortion rights.
What I would wish to see legislatively is we move legal guidelines that hold our well being care staff from being criminalized, as a result of we’re seeing lots of of sufferers coming to Pennsylvania for abortion care, as a result of they’re unable to get it within the states surrounding West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky have been seeing efforts in these states to probably criminalize medical observe. And as a health care provider and as a legislator, I believe that is insupportable.
Q: What ought to Democrats on the state degree do to have interaction with Technology Z voters who made such a distinction within the 2022 midterm elections to reassure them that Democratic Get together politicians have their greatest pursuits in thoughts?
A: I believe we have to meet folks the place they’re. Typically we as political figures go the place there appears to be essentially the most noise, and it is as much as us as political leaders to achieve out to everybody. I’m a father of three youngsters and my oldest simply turned 18, so I will probably be voting within the Could major for the primary time. I definitely spoke to them, they have been a part of my candidacy and hopefully influenced their views, as a result of, it is a cliché to say, but when I am not desirous about the way forward for Pennsylvania, which is their era, I am not doing the my job.
However I believe it’s also a duty of the citizenry. What I say to anybody who asks me is that we get the political leaders we deserve. Crucial issues I might say to any voter about participating within the political course of: definitely vote, but in addition meet folks. Organized. Ensure that the issues that matter to you might be communicated to state legislators.
Throughout the board, 90% of the federal government that occurs, occurs on the state and native ranges. However 90% of individuals don’t know who their state and native officers are. Apathy is totally the way in which to make selections you do not need to.