11.4.2009
Kansas City Star
Health reform need not be bloated, expensive
Rep. Roy Blunt
As I’ve met with patients, doctors, small business owners and families to talk about health care, one thing is very clear: Missourians want to keep what works and fix what is broken. They are tired of bills whose importance is measured in length, rather than effectiveness. But the Washington Democrats’ response is to introduce a budget-busting, 1,990-page health care plan.
This plan is so unwieldy that no one knows exactly what’s in it. We do know that it will cost more than $1 trillion, increase premium costs, put a bureaucrat between you and your doctor and pay for most of it with Medicare cuts.
A rhetorical trick in this debate is arguing that we can do what the White House wants or we can do nothing. These aren’t the only two choices. I’ve drafted or sponsored 10 health care bills that can be debated individually. Find them at blunt.house.gov. Nothing I’ve proposed is hidden in a 1,990-page bill.
A significant hurdle to health coverage is a pre-existing medical condition. I’ve sponsored legislation to offer tax credits for Americans who purchase their own health insurance and expand risk pools for patients with pre-existing conditions, resulting in lower costs and more options (HR 3218).
I’ve sponsored legislation allowing small businesses to band together to provide coverage for their employees through small business health plans (HR 2607). Companies that don’t offer coverage could provide tax-free contributions to employees’ insurance plans under HR 3822.
Currently, Americans must buy their health insurance within their state, limiting the size of the insurance pool and inflating costs. Individuals should have access to any plan, regardless of whether it’s based in Kansas City, Mo., or Kansas City, Kan. (HR 3824).
Some young, healthy workers choose to forgo employer-offered health care plans. Thirty percent of Americans age 19 to 24 are uninsured. I introduced legislation to allow insurers to cover dependents up to age 25 under their parents’ plans, expanding options for 7.3 million Americans (HR 3887).
I support a plan to encourage workers to take advantage of available coverage by enrolling them automatically in employer-provided plans unless they actively decline (HR 3821).
Health insurance is expensive; one reason is skyrocketing liability costs. I support malpractice reform, specifically caps on awards and limits on the number of years plaintiffs can sue (HR 1086).
I’ve introduced legislation to lower costs through expanded health information technology, which will help prevent duplicative testing and other expensive, unnecessary medical procedures (HR 3987).
If you knew how much medical procedures cost, you might shop around, just as you do with your groceries. Giving physicians incentives to post procedures’ prices would lower costs through transparency and competition.
When you need health care, it’s personal. The Democrats’ plan to impose a “public option” will place a bureaucrat between you and the physician you trust. I support a plan to protect the doctor-patient relationship by prohibiting rationing of care (HR 3002).
A plan improving health care doesn’t have to be 1,990 pages long or cost a trillion dollars. Read these bills online and engage in this debate. Research how these changes would affect your family. Health care matters, and it shouldn’t be too complicated for us to have an honest conversation about it.
--------
Republican U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt of Springfield represents southwest Missouri. He is the chairman of the GOP Health Care Solutions Group.