“Reclaiming Affordability” is an op-ed series in partnership between Independent Women and the Washington Examiner. Each day this week, a policy expert at Independent Women will tackle the top concern on the minds of voters this election cycle from a different angle, putting forth realistic solutions to the affordability crisis.

This past year, a family friend was diagnosed with cancer and received two positron emission tomography scans — one before treatment and one after. Both of those scans were initially denied as medically unnecessary. Fortunately, both scans were covered after her doctors pushed back but not everyone is as lucky. My friend’s story illustrates what many Americans struggle with in healthcare.