STATEWIDE–Now that Dr. Larry Bucshon has been re-elected to a sixth term, he will continue to work on one of his biggest priorities: getting the cost of healthcare down.
Bucshon defeated Democrat Thomasina Marsili and Libertarian James Rodenberger Tuesday night.
Bucshon has been the U.S. Representative for Indiana’s 8th congressional district since 2011. His district covers southwest and west-central Indiana and includes Evansville, Jasper, Terre Haute, and Vincennes.
“There needs to be more transparency to the consumer. I want to make sure that we protect things like the Healthy Indiana Plan for the 400,000 people were able to provide insurance for,” said Bucshon Tuesday night after his win. “The big problem is the consumer doesn’t know what the healthcare costs are because there is no transparency.”
Bucshon is also anti-abortion and pro-gun, which has allowed him to earn high marks from the National Right to Life and the National Rifle Association. He was asked Tuesday night by Abdul-Hakim Shabazz of Indy Politics how to function with a Congress where he will be in the minority. Democrats will have the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“I’m on the Energy and Commerce Committee. Our committee is traditionally very bipartisan. For example, Raul Ruiz, who’s a physician from southern California, is on the committee. He works on the other side of the aisle (Democrat), but he and I work together all the time. I work with other doctors too. My committee does a lot of bipartisan work. We have some disagreements on the big issues, but behind-the-scenes I’m optimistic we can accomplish a lot of things,” said Bucshon.
Bucshon specialized in cardiothoracic surgery and has performed hundreds of heart surgeries. From 1995 to 1998, he was in private medical practice in Wichita, Kansas. He was named St. Mary’s Medical Staff Physician of the Year in 2007. He also served as Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Medical Director of the open heart recovery intensive care unit at St. Mary’s Hospital.
LISTEN: Conversation with Larry Bucshon with Chris Davis and Abdul-Hakim Shabazz
