Strengthening Health Care for Lehigh Valley and Pocono Families

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Access to affordable, high-quality health care is a priority for families across the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos. That’s why I have worked with colleagues in both parties to advance practical solutions that lower costs, improve access to care, and strengthen our health care system for patients and providers alike. Improving health care has been a fo

cus of mine throughout my time in public service. As a Pennsylvania State Representative, I worked to enact a law strengthening Pennsylvania’s stroke care system to help ensure patients are taken to facilities equipped to provide the level of care they need.

Through bipartisan collaboration and ongoing conversations with health care leaders, my focus has been on policies that improve transparency, support local providers, and ensure families can access the care they need close to home.

This work includes:

• Meeting with hospitals, physicians, community health centers, and patient advocates 
• Identifying bipartisan solutions that improve transparency, increase accountability for middlemen, and reduce unnecessary costs in the health care system
• Working to lower prescription drug costs and ensure patients can access the medications their doctors determine are right for them
• Supporting efforts to expand access to fertility treatments and help families afford the care they need to start or grow a family
• Advancing reforms that put patients and their doctors—not insurance companies or other middlemen—at the center of health care decisions
• Bringing the concerns of families and health care providers in our region back to Washington as we work toward commonsense reforms

A key part of this effort is the Common Ground Health Care Plan, a bipartisan framework supported by members of both parties that focuses on practical reforms to make health care more affordable and effective for patients and families. It outlines a set of commonsense policy solutions designed to reduce costs, increase competition, and improve access to quality care.

I’m also supporting bipartisan legislation that addresses some of the specific health care challenges families face. This includes the Safe Step Act, which would help patients access the medications their doctors determine are right for them without unnecessary insurance barriers, and the HOPE with Fertility Services Act, which would help families facing infertility access the care they need to start or grow a family.

Because of our bipartisan work, I have received honors like the Distinguished Community Health Center Advocate Award from the National Association of Community Health Centers, and the Good Governance Award from Center Forward. I’ll keep working to support the patients, providers, and families of the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos as we work toward practical, bipartisan solutions that improve health care for our communities.

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Prescription drug prices remain too high for many families, and one reason is the role played by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) — the middlemen that negotiate drug prices between insurers, pharmacies, and manufacturers. For too long, these middlemen have operated with little transparency or accountability, contributing to higher costs and a more complicated health care system for patients and employers.

That’s why I introduced the bipartisan, bicameral PBM Fiduciary Accountability, Integrity, and Reform (FAIR) Act  alongside my democratic colleague and a bipartisan group of senators. This legislation would require PBMs that manage employer-sponsored health plans to act as fiduciaries, meaning they must legally put the interests of the plans they manage and the patients they serve. By bringing greater accountability and transparency to the system, the bill helps address practices that drive up prescription drug costs and ensures decisions are made in the best interests of patients and plan beneficiaries.

In addition to introducing this legislation, I have also supported reforms enacted through the appropriations process that increase oversight and transparency for PBMs in Medicare plans. These reforms require more transparent contract terms, provide greater insight into PBM spending practices, and remove incentives that can drive up drug prices.

I recently joined colleagues for a press conference to highlight these new reforms and discuss the importance of holding PBM middlemen accountable. I’ve been on the frontlines of this issue since my time as a Pennsylvania state representative, and I will continue working to bring greater transparency, accountability, and affordability to the health care system.

Watch the full press conference HERE.

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Improving health outcomes for families also means addressing some of the most serious challenges facing our health care system, including maternal mortality and access to mental health care. As a husband and a father to two young children, I’m passionate about ensuring that mothers and children get the care and support they need. That’s why I’ve been a longstanding advocate for policies that tackle the longstanding challenges impacting families. 

As a Pennsylvania State Representative, I authored the law creating Pennsylvania’s first Maternal Mortality Review Committee, which brings together healthcare and maternal health professionals to study cases and develop life-saving strategies that are making an impact today. After coming to Congress, I doubled down on this work by co-leading the Preventing Maternal Deaths Reauthorization Act of 2025, which assists states in finding solutions to enhance health care quality and outcomes for mothers.

I’ve continued building on this work by supporting policies that improve care for mothers, babies, and families before, during, and after childbirth. I introduced the Neonatal Care Transparency Act of 2026 to ensure expecting parents have clear information about the life-saving care available to premature babies at their hospital and options for transferring to facilities equipped to provide that care. I also support the bipartisan Dads Matter Act, which recognizes the important role fathers can play in supporting mothers and improving maternal and infant health outcomes during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum.

I’ve also worked to secure the resources needed to tackle these challenges on the ground. Through the appropriations process, I’ve helped to secure targeted funding that supports programs helping mothers, infants, and families receive the care and support they need. This includes funding for maternal mental health screening and treatment programs, the Maternal Mental Health Hotline, and initiatives that support early childhood and community mental health services. These programs help connect families with critical care, expand access to treatment for maternal depression and substance use disorders, and strengthen mental health services in communities across the country.

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I’m working to bring resources home that support patients, hospitals, and health care providers across the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos.

After advocating for increasing the number of federally qualified health centers, I helped secure $300 million for these facilities through the appropriations process. As a result, HHS announced the largest investment in federally qualified health centers since 2019, creating more than 100 new centers in communities across the country.

That includes Valley Health Partners Community Health Center, which became the first New Access Point in our region since 2017. Community health centers like VHP deliver high-quality care at affordable rates to families throughout the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos. As a federally qualified health center, VHP will receive more than $600,000 in annual federal funding, along with access to new grants and other opportunities.

I also worked to secure the release of long-overdue FEMA funding for health care providers across Pennsylvania. In March, I led a letter to FEMA requesting the release of Pennsylvania’s funds. FEMA later released more than $585 million for health care providers across Pennsylvania, including over $103 million for hospitals and providers in the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos.

Local funding included support for Lehigh Valley Hospital, Lehigh Valley Physicians Group, Jefferson Health Network, St. Luke’s, Good Shepherd Rehabilitation, and Holy Family Senior Living.

I’ll continue working to bring resources home that strengthen our health care system and support the patients and providers who serve communities across the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos.