About Mike
Born and raised in the Mid-West, Mike Garman grew up in a home that respected hard work and compassion. Mike's father, a Korean War Naval Veteran and a post-war United Auto Worker, lived the adage of 'an honest days work for an honest days pay.' He was a fine example of a real American hero. Mike's father proudly instilled these traditions while Mike's mother, as an artist and homemaker, passed on her creative and balanced approach to life. Both have prepared Mike well for the successes he currently enjoys and for the challenges ahead.
Mike is currently Vice-Chairman and 6th District Director of Saint Charles Ambulance District. Mike has a degree in Health Management and specializes in urgent care diagnostic imaging for Saint Johns Mercy Health Systems.
Growing up, Mike's parents were fortunate that they could afford to take him to the doctor or dentist. Mike knows all to well, however, that is not the case anymore for most Americans. Mike knows all to well as a health care provider, that families often cannot pay for or access the care they need and are often one sickness away from bankruptcy or worse. Positioned on the front lines, Mike witnesses this injustice everyday. Fifty-million people are without healthcare and have no place to turn. What has happened to our priorities when a healthcare system worries about payment over the treatment of a sick or injured child? Healthcare has to be a right for every American.
Now that Mike's mother is 77, like many other senior citizens, Medicare and Social Security help make her comfortable but only because she has other savings. Always in the back of Mike's mind is, what happens if Medicare goes bankrupt, Social Security become insolvent, or her pension gets raided by a corrupt corporation? Since Mike cares for his mother, he knows all too well the frailties of the system and the challenges of fulfilling our promise to the greatest generation and boomers alike.
Additionally, many seniors today still have to decide between food and medication. Mike recently visited with a woman who had fallen prey to the Medicare Part D donut hole. She hoped he could help her find some samples of her medications because she did not have the money to fill her prescription. Mike was outraged because she has to go without, when the pharmaceutical and insurance companies are making billions of dollars in profits. Seniors should not suffer for a bigger bottom line and profits should never be placed before people.
Mike's father taught him the value of hard work, considering all the facts when finding solutions to problems and to do what is necessary for success. His mother impressed upon him the importance of compassion and empathy for others while always keeping an open mind. Those lessons have continued through his wife, children and grandchildren who remind Mike everyday to live in the service of others with an abundance of patience.
These teachings and life experiences will inform all of Mike's decisions. He shares in your problems, challenges, hopes and values and that is why Mike is asking for your support. Please send him to Washington to represent you in Congress. Missouri's 2nd Congressional District has been in the wrong hands for long enough. Let us make things right and send Mike Garman to Congress.