Op-Eds

  • Roe and Price: Plenty of alternatives to government health care
    Jul 24, 2012  - By Reps. Tom Price and Phil Roe Special to USA Today President Obama and congressional Democrats are proclaiming that in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling, those opposed to the president's health care law ought to sit down and keep quiet. The president has said, "The law I passed is here to s... More
  • Student loans latest casualty of politics
    May 9, 2012  - Since our economic downturn, college graduates have suffered tremendously, experiencing fewer and fewer job opportunities. Nearly half of college graduates are unemployed or underemployed, and debt from student loans is piling up — totaling more than $1 trillion. We need to address these problems wi... More
  • Roe, DesJarlais and Bucshon: GOP Doctors Eager to Talk Health Care With Obama
    Jun 21, 2011  - By Reps. Phil Roe, Scott DesJarlais and Larry Bucshon Special to Roll Call June 21, 2011 After a recent meeting at the White House with President Barack Obama and Republican House Members, we asked the president to meet with the GOP Doctors Caucus to discuss concerns that we have about how the healt... More
  • Give patients control of health care
    Jun 20, 2011  - Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds released a report on the two programs’ financial status and news was not good: Medicare is likely to go bankrupt by 2024 —five years earlier than last year’s estimate. This threatens senior care. At this rate, Medicare will not be available fo... More
  • DRS. PHIL ROE & LARRY BUCSHON SPECIAL TO THE COURIER: Health care law has consequences
    Jun 16, 2011  - As doctors, we've seen personally how the rising costs of health care can place even greater strain on individuals, families and employers. Year after year the cost of care goes up, leading some patients to neglect the treatments or care they need simply because they cannot afford it. Employers ofte... More
  • New Security Bill Designed To Protect The Public At Congressional Events
    Feb 1, 2011  - The devastating tragedy that occurred in Tucson, Arizona left many concerned about their safety at Congressional events. While I have continued to meet with my constituents and feel safe in our dealings, I have heard from some Tennesseans that they are concerned about their own security at official ... More
  • ROE: After Obamacare: Principles for reform
    Jan 14, 2011  - Next week, the House will vote to repeal and replace Obamacare with reforms that will keep control of health care decisions in the hands of patients and their doctors. As a physician, I've seen firsthand the problems insurance companies have created for patients. I've seen firsthand how government p... More
  • Social Security COLA & Impacts on Seniors
    Oct 20, 2010  - On Friday, the Social Security Administration announced there would be no cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) for 2011, which marks the second consecutive year that there will be no COLA. While the consumer price index (CPI) shows that average prices on a number of categories haven’t risen, that’s not ... More
  • A board Congress should nail
    Jun 23, 2010  - Tucked away in the 2,000-plus pages of the health care law is a provision that would create a harmless-sounding entity called the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). Its job, as laid out in the law, would be to enact savings from the Medicare program when actual spending exceeds targeted spen... More
  • TennCare Lessons For Modern Health Care Reform
    Jul 29, 2009  - Tennessee was home to a failed attempt at universal single payer care, and has lessons to teach a President who has promised that in pursuing his goal of universal health care, he will learn from the policy failures of the past. In 1994 Tennessee implemented managed care in its Medicaid program, cre... More