Jonathan Jacobs

Jonathan Jacobs graduated from West Hempstead High School. Jacobs earned a bachelor's degree from Yale College in 1976 and an M.D. from the Yale University School of Medicine in 1980. Jacobs' career experience includes working as a medical doctor.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I was born and raised on Long Island and am a graduate of West Hempstead High School, I later attended Yale for my undergraduate and MD degrees. The AIDS epidemic started during my training at New York Hospital. To address the physical, emotional and social needs of patients with this new and deadly illness, I founded what became a model program to provide integrated multidisciplinary care for people with HIV, addressing medical needs alongside the challenges of stigma, mental health, substance use, and food insecurity. I am currently Professor Emeritus of Medicine at Weill Cornell and continue to advocate for affordable, accessible, and effective health care for all. I was motivated to run for Congress when the " One Big Beautiful Bill" funded tax breaks for the wealthy by making unprecedented cuts to safety net programs that provided health care, nutrition and other essential services. It also eliminated subsidies that has led to unaffordable insurance premium increases for tens of thousands of our friends, families, and neighbors here on Long Island.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Whether you have private or public insurance (Medicare and Medicaid) government cuts to healthcare drive up costs for everyone. When people without insurance seek care, those costs are eventually passed on to all of us through higher premiums and other charges. We all need health care, but insurance is increasingly out of reach and too many people avoid doctors' visits or prescription refills because of the prices. Limiting primary care for all also leads to longer waits in the emergency room and more people with untreated mental health disorders. Our healthcare system is the most expensive in the world but far from the best. I have the expertise to help change that.The cost of living on Long Island is too high. In addition to healthcare, the high cost of housing, groceries, education, and utilities make life more difficult and our aspiration of achieving the American Dream less likely. Many feel increasingly pessimistic about their family's future. For too many it is becoming more difficult to maintain the status quo much less feel secure about the future. Government policies such as tariffs directly contribute to our struggle to pay bills.This administration has imposed tariffs, denied due process to immigrants and citizens alike, pursued policies that make it possible that terrible diseases like polio will reemerge in our country, decreased access to student loans, capriciously defunded cancer trials and other scientific studies, made changes that will poison the environment and increase climate related natural disasters -- and this Congress has let them do it. Congress has surrendered its powers and oversight functions. We must restore the constitutional role of Congress as a coequal branch of government.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am passionate about:

healthcare reform

affordabilty and housing

restoring Congressional oversight functions

increasing federal small business grants and low interest lending

expanding workforce training and supporting affordable high quality education

enforcing clean water standards

improve public transportation