7.31.2009
House Republicans agree that health care in America is too expensive and too many families don’t have access to affordable, high-quality health care. In contrast to the Democrats’ approach that costs too much, covers too few, and forces too many to lose the coverage they currently have, House Republicans have a common-sense plan to reduce costs, expand access, and increase the quality of care in a way that America can afford.
The House Republican health care plan is designed to:
• Make quality health care coverage affordable and accessible for every American, regardless of pre-existing health conditions.
• Protect Americans from being forced into a new government-run health care plan that would: a) eliminate the health care coverage that more than 100 million Americans currently receive through their job; b) limit your choice of doctors and medical treatment options; and c) result in the federal government taking control of your health care.
• Let Americans who like their health care coverage keep it, and give all Americans the freedom to choose the health plan that best meets their needs.
• Ensure that medical decisions are made by patients and their doctors, not government bureaucrats.
• Improve Americans’ lives through effective prevention, wellness, and disease management programs, while developing new treatments and cures for life-threatening diseases.
The House Republican health care plan will:
• Change federal laws to help families keep their health insurance regardless of a change or loss of a job, and encourages new and existing local programs to ensure all Americans have access to affordable health care.
• Give states the tools to design innovative programs that make health care coverage more affordable for everyone.
• Let small businesses band together to purchase high-quality health care for their employees at a more affordable price, just as large corporations and unions do.
• Make it easier for Americans to find a health plan that fits their needs by using easy to understand health-plan finders for those Americans working in jobs that don’t offer health benefits.
• Focus on prevention and wellness programs to help avoid serious – and costly – illnesses.
• Rein in junk lawsuits that make health care more expensive for everyone.
• Improve Medicare and Medicaid by rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse that costs taxpayers billions of dollars every year.
• Continue to encourage the development of advances in treatment that help people live longer, healthier lives, while the Democratic plan will shut down research into new cures.
###