Public Record
Healthcare and Andy Harris
Andy Harris is a physician in Congress who says he fights for affordable, accessible healthcare. This page documents his voting record across five areas where that claim meets the public record: Medicaid, Social Security, Medicare, veterans healthcare, and marijuana.
Medicaid
What Harris says publicly
Harris describes Medicaid as a program with serious waste and abuse problems that must be reformed to be sustainable. He frames cuts as responsible fiscal stewardship, not a reduction in care. As a physician, he presents himself as uniquely qualified to redesign healthcare delivery for vulnerable populations.
Voting record
Secured grants for community health centers serving Medicaid patients
Federal grants were awarded to Choptank Community Health System in Denton, Three Lower Counties Community Services in Salisbury, and West Cecil Health Center — facilities that serve a significant Medicaid population on the Eastern Shore. Harris announced these grants in his role as district representative. (HRSA — Health Center Program; Choptank Community Health)
Championed the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program
Harris backed a $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program to shore up rural hospital systems — many of which depend on Medicaid reimbursements to stay financially viable. Rural hospital closures disproportionately affect low-income patients who rely on Medicaid for their care. (Baltimore Sun)
Voted repeatedly to repeal the ACA — which included Medicaid expansion
Harris voted repeatedly to repeal the Affordable Care Act, including its Medicaid expansion provision. Maryland's Medicaid expansion extended coverage to hundreds of thousands of low-income residents — including working adults in Eastern Shore counties who earn too much to qualify for traditional Medicaid but too little to afford private insurance. (Common Sense Eastern Shore; Congress.gov — Harris)
Voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill — cutting Medicaid by $800 billion
Harris voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill, which the Congressional Budget Office estimated would cut Medicaid by approximately $800 billion over ten years — the largest single Medicaid cut in the program's history. The bill imposes new work requirements, more frequent eligibility checks, and caps on federal matching funds. An estimated 8.6 million people are projected to lose Medicaid coverage as a result. (CBO — One Big Beautiful Bill analysis; KFF — Medicaid cuts analysis)
Supported budget frameworks requiring Medicaid reductions
Harris backed House Republican budget resolutions that required deep cuts to Medicaid to offset tax reductions — frameworks the CBO said could only be achieved by reducing benefits, restricting eligibility, or shifting costs to states. Maryland would face the choice of absorbing the cost or cutting enrollment. (GovTrack — Harris report card)
Impact on Maryland's Eastern Shore
Rural hospitals depend on Medicaid reimbursement
Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury and smaller facilities across the Shore rely heavily on Medicaid payments to stay financially solvent. A cut of $800 billion nationally translates directly to reduced reimbursements for the hospitals Eastern Shore residents depend on for emergency care, labor and delivery, surgery, and chronic disease management. When rural hospitals close or reduce services, there is no nearby alternative.
Working families in the coverage gap
Many Eastern Shore residents work in agriculture, seafood processing, hospitality, and retail — jobs that rarely provide employer-sponsored health insurance and pay wages that fall in the range Medicaid expansion was designed to cover. Somerset, Dorchester, and Wicomico counties have some of the highest uninsured rates in Maryland. Medicaid cuts would push these residents back into the uninsured pool, where a single illness or injury becomes a financial crisis.
Children, seniors, and people with disabilities
On the Eastern Shore, Medicaid covers not just low-income adults but also a large share of children in poverty, adults with physical and developmental disabilities, and low-income seniors in nursing facilities. The $800 billion in cuts Harris voted for would reduce coverage for all of these groups — not just able-bodied working-age adults, as the "work requirement" framing implies.
What Harris says
“We need to reform Medicaid to eliminate waste and make it sustainable for the people who truly need it.”
How Harris voted
- Against Medicaid expansion under the ACA — repeatedly
- For the One Big Beautiful Bill — cutting Medicaid by $800 billion and projecting 8.6 million coverage losses
- For budget frameworks requiring deep Medicaid reductions to fund tax cuts
Medicare
What Harris says publicly
Harris, as a physician, says he supports Medicare and wants to protect it for seniors. He expresses support for Medicare Advantage options and opposes what he calls "government price controls." He frames opposition to Medicare drug pricing reform as protecting patient choice and physician independence.
Voting record
Supported Medicare Advantage options for Eastern Shore seniors
Harris has publicly supported Medicare Advantage preservation, which allows seniors to receive Medicare benefits through private insurers. Medicare Advantage enrollment has grown significantly among Eastern Shore seniors, in part because some plans offer dental, vision, and hearing benefits not covered by traditional Medicare. (CMS — Medicare Advantage; KFF — Medicare Advantage)
Championed the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program
Harris backed funding to shore up rural hospital systems that depend heavily on Medicare reimbursements. Rural hospitals operating on thin Medicare margins are particularly vulnerable to reimbursement reductions, and Harris has publicly supported infrastructure investment to keep them viable. (Baltimore Sun)
Voted against Medicare drug price negotiation
Harris voted against the Inflation Reduction Act, which for the first time allowed Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices directly with pharmaceutical companies. The CBO projected the provision would save Medicare beneficiaries billions annually — including on insulin, which was capped at $35/month for Medicare patients. Harris voted no. (GovTrack — Harris votes; CBO)
Voted repeatedly to repeal the ACA — eliminating Medicare improvements for seniors
Harris voted repeatedly to repeal the ACA, which included closing the Medicare prescription drug "donut hole" — a gap in coverage that had cost seniors thousands of dollars per year out-of-pocket — and expanding preventive care benefits for Medicare enrollees at no cost-sharing. Repeal would have reinstated the donut hole and eliminated those preventive benefits. (Common Sense Eastern Shore)
Backed budget frameworks proposing to convert Medicare to a premium support system
Harris supported House Republican budget resolutions proposing to replace traditional Medicare with a "premium support" model — giving seniors a fixed voucher to purchase private insurance. Analysts at CBO and independent health economists projected this would shift significant costs onto beneficiaries, particularly the oldest and sickest seniors whose coverage needs exceed the voucher amount. (GovTrack — Harris report card; CBO)
Impact on Maryland's Eastern Shore
Prescription drug costs for Shore seniors
Medicare beneficiaries on the Eastern Shore — where median incomes are below the state average — spend a disproportionate share of fixed incomes on prescription drugs. The insulin cap Harris voted against would have saved diabetic seniors up to hundreds of dollars a month. The drug price negotiation he opposed would reduce costs on the ten most expensive Medicare drugs. These are not abstract policy debates for seniors managing heart disease, diabetes, and cancer on the Eastern Shore.
Rural hospital Medicare reimbursements
Peninsula Regional Medical Center and critical access hospitals across the Shore operate on thin margins heavily dependent on Medicare reimbursement rates. Any shift to a voucher or premium support model that reduces the number of traditional Medicare enrollees — or that reduces reimbursement rates — directly threatens the financial viability of these facilities. Hospital closures in rural areas are rarely reversed once they happen.
Preventive care and the donut hole
The ACA's Medicare improvements Harris voted to repeal — closing the prescription drug donut hole and eliminating cost-sharing for preventive care — benefited hundreds of thousands of Maryland Medicare beneficiaries. Eastern Shore seniors, who face longer travel times to specialists and are statistically less likely to have supplemental insurance, benefit most from preventive screenings and affordable prescription coverage. Rolling back those protections means more skipped medications and delayed care.
What Harris says
“I support protecting Medicare for Eastern Shore seniors — they earned it and depend on it.”
How Harris voted
- Against Medicare drug price negotiation — blocking the $35 insulin cap and lower drug costs for seniors
- Against the ACA — which would have reinstated the prescription drug donut hole and eliminated free preventive care
- For budget frameworks converting Medicare to a premium support voucher system
Veterans Healthcare
What Harris says publicly
Harris is a Navy Reserve veteran who trained at a VA hospital. He speaks frequently about honoring veterans, improving VA accountability, reducing wait times, and ensuring servicemembers receive the highest quality care. He presents his military service as evidence of personal commitment to the veteran community.
Voting record
Championed the Veterans Choice Program for rural veterans
Harris was an early advocate for the Veterans Choice Program, which allows Eastern Shore veterans to receive care at local providers rather than traveling across the Bay to Baltimore VA facilities. This is a genuine and documented benefit for rural veterans who would otherwise face multi-hour round trips for routine care. (VA — Veterans Choice Program; Congress.gov — VACAA)
Secured community project funding for veterans' mental health on the Eastern Shore
Harris submitted community project funding requests for the Klein Family Center, a 24/7 mental health and addiction care center in Salisbury serving veterans and others on the Eastern Shore. Mental health care access is a documented gap in rural veteran services nationally. (Congress.gov — Community Project Funding; Klein Family Center)
Voted against the Honoring Our PACT Act — the largest veterans healthcare expansion in decades
Harris voted against the PACT Act, which expanded VA healthcare and benefits eligibility for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits — affecting an estimated 3.5 million veterans nationwide, including a significant number in Maryland. The bill passed with broad bipartisan support, including the majority of House Republicans. Harris was among the minority who voted no. (Wikipedia — Andy Harris; Common Sense Eastern Shore)
Voted against the FY2023 National Defense Authorization Act
Harris voted against the FY2023 NDAA, which included military pay raises, housing allowance adjustments, and readiness investments for active duty servicemembers and veterans — one of only 71 Republicans to oppose it. No public explanation reconciles this vote with his stated commitment to supporting those who serve. (Wikipedia — Andy Harris)
Backed budget frameworks cutting VA administrative capacity
Harris supported House Republican budget resolutions that proposed reducing discretionary spending across federal agencies — frameworks analysts said would affect VA funding, military retirement benefits, and veterans' healthcare programs. DOGE-aligned workforce reductions have also affected VA staffing, increasing wait times for the rural veterans Harris says he serves. (GovTrack — Harris report card)
Impact on Maryland's Eastern Shore
Burn pit veterans on the Shore
Maryland has a substantial veteran population with members who served in Iraq and Afghanistan — theaters where burn pit exposure was widespread. These veterans may be living with respiratory disease, cancer, and neurological conditions linked to toxic exposure. The PACT Act Harris voted against was specifically designed to streamline their access to VA care and disability benefits — removing the burden of proving service connection for conditions the VA now recognizes as presumptively linked to burn pit exposure.
Rural VA access and wait times
Eastern Shore veterans already face some of the longest travel distances to VA medical facilities in Maryland. VA staffing reductions and budget cuts translate directly into longer appointment wait times and fewer available providers — for the veterans Harris has long said the Veterans Choice Program was meant to help. When the VA system is understaffed and underfunded, Choice program referrals become harder to coordinate and slower to complete.
Mental health and addiction care gaps
Veteran suicide rates in rural areas are significantly higher than in urban ones. The Eastern Shore has limited mental health infrastructure overall, and veteran-specific resources are sparse outside of Salisbury. Harris's community project funding for the Klein Family Center is a genuine local investment — but it sits alongside a vote against the PACT Act, which would have substantially expanded the pool of veterans eligible for VA mental health services at no cost.
What Harris says
“I am committed to Eastern Shore veterans — they deserve the best care this country can provide.”
How Harris voted
- Against the PACT Act — blocking expanded healthcare for 3.5 million burn pit–exposed veterans
- Against the FY2023 NDAA — which included military pay raises and readiness investments
- For budget frameworks cutting VA administrative capacity and veterans' services
Marijuana
What Harris says publicly
Harris frames his opposition to marijuana legalization as a public safety and public health position — protecting communities from impaired driving, youth access, and the social harms of drug use. He positions himself as acting in the best interests of families and rural communities, drawing on his background as a physician.
Voting record
Supported the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act
Harris voted for H.R. 6, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, a bipartisan opioid response package that expanded treatment access and passed with wide support in 2018. This is his most substantive documented contribution to drug-related public health on the Eastern Shore. (Congress.gov — H.R.6 SUPPORT Act)
Engaged on opioid treatment and port-of-entry drug interdiction
Harris toured addiction treatment facilities including Ashley Addiction Treatment in Havre de Grace and accompanied Vice President Pence to the Port of Baltimore to discuss fentanyl detection equipment. These are documented local engagements on substance use, though distinct from marijuana policy. (Ashley Addiction Treatment)
Blocked Washington D.C. marijuana legalization — overriding voters
In 2015, Harris inserted a rider into federal spending legislation preventing Washington D.C. from using its own local tax revenue to regulate and tax marijuana sales — directly overriding a ballot initiative D.C. voters had passed by a wide margin. This is one of the most cited examples of Harris using federal authority to impose his personal policy preferences on a jurisdiction's voters. (Wikipedia — Andy Harris)
Opposed federal decriminalization and rescheduling
Harris has voted against multiple bills that would have decriminalized marijuana at the federal level or rescheduled it from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. Schedule I classification — which Harris supports maintaining — legally prohibits most federal research into cannabis as a medical treatment, including research into its potential for treating PTSD, chronic pain, and other conditions prevalent among veterans. (GovTrack — Harris votes)
Opposed cannabis banking reform — leaving legal dispensaries without banking access
Harris has opposed the SAFE Banking Act, which would have allowed state-licensed cannabis businesses to access basic financial services like bank accounts and payment processing. Without banking access, legal dispensaries operate primarily in cash — which creates exactly the public safety risk Harris says he wants to prevent. Maryland voters approved recreational marijuana in 2022; Eastern Shore dispensaries operate legally under state law but remain locked out of the banking system Harris has refused to reform. (GovTrack — Harris votes)
Impact on Maryland's Eastern Shore
Legal dispensaries operating in cash — a safety risk Harris created
Maryland voters legalized recreational marijuana in 2022, and legal dispensaries now operate on the Eastern Shore under state law. Because Harris and others have blocked federal banking reform, these businesses cannot open standard bank accounts or accept credit cards. They operate largely in cash — which increases robbery risk, makes tax compliance harder, and undermines the public safety argument Harris cites for his opposition. His vote against banking reform makes the situation he objects to worse, not better.
Veterans blocked from medical research options
Many Eastern Shore veterans manage chronic pain, PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and other service-related conditions. There is growing peer-reviewed evidence and strong veteran advocacy for cannabis as a treatment option for some of these conditions. Maintaining Schedule I classification — which Harris supports — legally prevents VA doctors from recommending it and limits the federal research that would answer questions about safety and efficacy. Harris cites the need for more research while voting against the legal framework that would allow it.
Racial disparities in marijuana enforcement
Marijuana prohibition has been enforced unevenly across racial lines for decades. Black residents on the Eastern Shore — in communities like Cambridge, Princess Anne, and Salisbury — were arrested and convicted for marijuana offenses at significantly higher rates than white residents, even where usage rates were comparable. Harris has also voted against expunging federal marijuana convictions. His opposition to reform sustains the legal consequences of a policy that was applied unequally, without offering a remedy for those who were disproportionately harmed.
What Harris says
“I oppose marijuana legalization to protect families, public safety, and community health.”
How Harris voted
- To block D.C. voters from enacting their own marijuana law using their own tax dollars
- Against cannabis banking reform — forcing legal dispensaries to operate in cash, increasing robbery risk
- Against rescheduling that would allow federal research into cannabis as a medical treatment
- Against expunging federal convictions from a policy enforced unequally by race
Bottom line
What Harris says
“As a physician in Congress, I fight for affordable, accessible healthcare for Eastern Shore families, seniors, and veterans.”
How Harris voted
- For cutting Medicaid by $800 billion — projected to cost 8.6 million people their coverage
- For budget frameworks requiring cuts to Social Security and Medicare to offset tax reductions
- Against Medicare drug price negotiation — blocking lower drug costs for seniors
- Against the PACT Act — denying expanded VA care to 3.5 million burn pit–exposed veterans
- Against cannabis banking reform — making legal dispensaries less safe while blocking medical research
The pattern is consistent across five healthcare areas: Harris invokes his medical background and concern for patients when speaking publicly, while voting against the specific measures that would lower costs, expand coverage, and protect the programs Eastern Shore families, seniors, and veterans depend on.
Eastern Shore residents who rely on Medicaid, Social Security, Medicare, the VA, or who have been affected by marijuana policy can weigh that record for themselves.
Social Security
What Harris says publicly
Harris regularly tells seniors he will never vote to cut Social Security. He frames the program as an earned benefit that workers paid into their whole lives, and presents himself as its defender against "government waste" and fiscal irresponsibility. He uses language of protection and stewardship.
Voting record
Has not sponsored legislation directly cutting Social Security benefits
A review of Harris's sponsored and co-sponsored legislation does not show bills he personally introduced to cut Social Security benefits or raise the retirement age. His stated position is that he supports protecting the program. (Congress.gov — Harris)
Backed budget frameworks that would require Social Security cuts
Harris supported House Republican budget resolutions proposing to convert Social Security to a premium support model and make structural changes to eligibility. The CBO and nonpartisan analysts found these frameworks could only achieve their deficit targets by reducing benefits for current and future retirees — despite Harris's public assurances to the contrary. (GovTrack — Harris report card; CBO)
Voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill — adding $4.1 trillion to the debt while cutting programs
Harris voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill, which adds an estimated $4.1 trillion to the national debt over ten years while cutting Medicaid, SNAP, and other safety net programs. Fiscal analysts warn that exploding debt — without new revenue — creates future political pressure for Social Security cuts, as it becomes harder to justify maintaining benefit levels. (CBO — One Big Beautiful Bill)
Supported DOGE-related federal workforce cuts affecting Social Security Administration
Harris has aligned with efforts to reduce federal agency staffing and spending, including at the Social Security Administration. The SSA processes disability claims, survivor benefits, and retirement benefits. Staff reductions have led to longer wait times, increased call abandonment rates, and delayed decisions for beneficiaries — particularly harming elderly and disabled claimants. (SSA.gov; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)
Impact on Maryland's Eastern Shore
Fixed-income seniors on the Shore
Dorchester, Somerset, Wicomico, and surrounding counties have higher-than-average senior populations and lower-than-average median incomes. For a large share of Eastern Shore retirees, Social Security is not a supplement — it is their primary or sole income. A structural change to benefits, a delayed COLA, or a reduction in the SSA's ability to process claims on time has immediate, concrete consequences for people who cannot absorb even a modest income reduction.
SSA office closures and processing delays
Eastern Shore residents already face geographic barriers to in-person government services. SSA field offices serve constituents filing for disability, appealing decisions, and handling survivor claims. Staffing cuts and office closures mean longer phone wait times, slower processing, and more errors — all of which fall hardest on elderly and disabled claimants who depend on correct, timely benefit payments to pay rent and buy groceries.
Debt-driven pressure on future benefits
The $4.1 trillion Harris voted to add to the national debt via the One Big Beautiful Bill will eventually require either new revenue, spending cuts, or both. Social Security and Medicare together make up the largest share of federal mandatory spending. Analysts across the political spectrum note that debt at this scale makes future benefit cuts more politically likely — not less — regardless of current promises.
What Harris says
“I will never vote to cut Social Security. Eastern Shore seniors earned those benefits.”
How Harris voted