This model policy affirms the fundamental right of parents to make medical decisions for their children, including decisions regarding immunization. It restores the proper locus of decision-making by ensuring that choices regarding non-therapeutic medical interventions remain with families rather than institutions.
When a child has a fever, a doctor prescribes antibiotics, or a surgeon recommends an operation, parents must weigh the risks and benefits and decide what to do. American legal tradition entrusts parents to navigate these and other complex decisions on their children’s behalf (Parham v. J.R., 1979). The state should only become involved when parental choices place a child in immediate danger.
Chairman Allen, Ranking Member DeSaulnier, and members of the subcommittee. Thank you for inviting me to discuss legislation to codify the President’s Great Healthcare Plan and put patients first. My name is Hannah Anderson, and I lead Healthy America Policy at the America First Policy Institute (AFPI). We focus on patients-first health care, and like President Trump has declared -- transparency is a foundational piece in bringing about higher quality, lower prices, and a health care system that supports Americans taking back their health.
Los Angeles is one of the most expensive cities in the United States. The explanations most often offered—land scarcity, coastal geography, population density—are real but incomplete. Embedded in the cost of living in Los Angeles is a governance premium: the invisible surcharge that residents, ratepayers, and businesses pay because their city government has systematically chosen insiders over accountability.
You don’t need a policy brief or a speech from Washington to know when legislation is working. You see it in decisions made and discussions had around the kitchen table on thousands of family farming operations across our state.
Hannah Anderson, Director of Healthy America Policy at the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), testified before the House Education and the Workforce’s Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions to discuss the “Great Healthcare Plan” and increased transparency for patients-first health care.