I’m Dr. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, and I’ve spent my life in service to others. I served for 24 years as a nurse and physician in the U.S. Army, and I’m the only current member of Congress who has also served as a state public health director. I’ve seen the challenges patients face from the bedside to the highest levels of public service, and I’ve made it my mission to fix a system that has failed far too many for far too long.

After nearly 15 years of broken promises under the so-called Affordable Care Act, families have been left with higher premiums, fewer choices, and prescription costs that are simply out of control. For too long, big insurance companies have profited while working families have paid the price.

Recently, the House took a major step forward. My bill, the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act, passed with strong support, delivering real solutions to finally put patients and their doctors back in control.

The numbers speak for themselves. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, our bill will lower premiums by 11 percent across the board, with even greater savings of up to 30 percent for small businesses that join together through Association Health Plans. It will reduce the deficit by $36 billion, without raising taxes or expanding bureaucracy.

We’re ending blank checks to insurance companies and making reforms that benefit the American people. We’re requiring transparency from the pharmacy benefit managers who’ve quietly inflated drug prices behind the scenes. We’re empowering employers and workers with more choices, and more freedom to pick the coverage that fits their needs, not Washington’s.

Unfortunately, 210 members of Congress voted against my bill. They voted to keep the status quo, a system that benefits profitable insurance companies and leaves patients behind. That’s unacceptable.

To every Iowan and American who’s been squeezed by rising premiums or felt like the healthcare system is working against them, help is on the way. This is just the beginning.

I’m proud to have led this legislation, and I’ll never stop fighting to make healthcare more affordable, more accessible, and more accountable, for Iowa, and for all Americans.

Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks represents Iowa’s 1st District in Congress.