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Marilyn Goldffarb
State College
Glenn Thompson talks a good game. His self-promotion, however, far exceeds his performance.
Take health care.
In a recent newsletter, Thompson celebrated his bipartisan legislation to expand veterans' access to mammograms. An important pursuit, certainly. But why did he feature it under "Bad News"? This constituent would rather hear what he's doing to address the real bad news: inflation, high gas prices, hospital closures and the Iran war.
I applaud efforts to improve health care. But one promising initiative hardly compensates for Thompson's votes to make health care less affordable and accessible.
He supported massive tax cuts for the wealthy while voting to slash food assistance and Medicaid. Pennsylvania Department of Human Services projections show 144,000 Pennsylvanians could lose SNAP benefits and 310,000 could lose Medicaid coverage.
These cuts threaten struggling rural hospitals with reduced services or closure. Already, eight north-central Pennsylvania counties lack local maternity services, leaving 35,000 women of childbearing age without nearby labor and delivery care.
Thompson also opposed extending health insurance subsidies. Without them, Pennie premiums doubled on average. More than 200,000 Pennie coverage cancellations have been recorded this year, with rising costs a leading reason.
Some seniors also face disruptions as Medicare Advantage insurers withdraw plans from certain areas.
Thompson's newsletter offers the highlight reel. His voting record tells another story.
It's time to call his bluff.
Vote for Ray Bilger for Congress.