Health Care
Our healthcare system is in more trouble now than it has ever been. With the passage of Obamacare, we have stepped into new territory. We have redefined the relationship between taxpayer dollars and funding for abortion, we have enacted the first federal mandate that every US citizen must purchase a product, we have set the stage for bureaucratic intermediaries between us and our doctors, we have allowed the federal government to define what every individual’s health insurance must look like within a few years, we have cut half a trillion dollars from an already struggling Medicare system, and we have raised future premiums and tax burdens in the process.
Obamacare is now law, and will not be repealed while he sits in the White House. The best that we can do now is to effectively mitigate the damages caused by this bill through careful legislation, which I will help to craft and support. By limiting the spending set forth in the healthcare bill, we can lessen the burdens on individuals and small businesses. By continuing the fight for healthcare cost reduction measures, like tort reform, we can ease the pain that this bill will cause as it taxes us today for supposed future benefits.
America will continue the fight to maintain the world’s greatest system of health care. Whether it’s the medical education provided by our renowned institutions, the cutting edge research and development conducted by our unparalleled facilities, the quality of our healthcare professionals, the safety and effectiveness of U.S. pharmaceuticals, or the system by which medical treatment is dispensed, America still has no peer.
Background: Bundled into the health care discussion are three separate issues: Health, Health Care, and Health Care Insurance. Each must be addressed if we are to make any improvements in what is already the global standard of medicine.
Health is often an exclusively personal issue. With the exception of those who suffer from an affliction, many of those whose health is in jeopardy must take responsibility for their behavior, habits and activities. Any reform that asks all Americans to pay for the care of another must take into account the deliberate decisions of the recipient.
Health Care, our overall “system” of medical delivery, is without equal. In spite of punitive regulatory policies that stifle innovation and advances our researchers, practitioners and managers continue to deliver world-class treatment. Tort reform that protects the patient and the providers will lower costs for all of us. With lower malpractice premiums and a reduction in “preventive” care to avoid lawsuits, the reduced costs of operating will be passed along to customers by providers seeking to compete with the reduced costs of other practices.
Health Care Insurance, like other indemnity products, is something that we all dislike but that we all need. The question is how to best provide it. Although some decry the notion of “for profit” carriers, history and common sense dictate that the free market will continue to bring the most benefit to the most people. Competition will drive companies to offer better benefits, better customer service and be more responsive to our demands. When the government bureaucrats seek to provide a service, the inevitable tendency is higher costs and less satisfaction. I challenge those who trumpet a single-payer option to provide one example of a government agency outperforming the private sector. As your Congressman I will look for ways to improve the Health Care Insurance environment, and at the core of any approach will be my faith that American companies are the answer, not administrators in Washington.
