Dr. Raul Ruiz, an emergency room physician from Coachella, California, defeated seven-term Republican incumbent Rep. Mary Bono Mack in the redrawn California 36th District.
Ruiz, the son of migrant farm-workers, is the first Latino to receive three graduate degrees from Harvard University – a Medical Doctorate, a Masters in Public Policy, and a Masters in Public Health – and he also served as the Senior Associate Dean at the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine.
Ruiz is the founder and director of the Coachella Valley Healthcare Initiative, an organization dedicated to improving public health and healthcare access for those living in the Coachella Valley, and he also opened clinics that give free care and health education to underserved communities.
Ruiz is committed to lowering overall healthcare costs, and has said that the U.S. should allow Medicare to negotiate with drug companies to lower prices, which he says would save taxpayers nearly $200 billion over the next ten years alone, and continue to root out waste, fraud and abuse in the system.
Ruiz also believes that another other big step toward controlling health costs would be curbing medical malpractice litigation and damage awards.
Ruiz says he will seek committee assignments that give him a hand in shaping health and education policies.
For more background information on incoming Rep. Ruiz, visit his website.
