Health Care

I believe that that Congress must do everything it can to help working families in Arizona to obtain access to affordable health insurance.  But we are not going to get there by raising taxes, growing government, increasing the regulatory burden on our community businesses, and enacting the massive new trillion dollar entitlement program that the President’s health care law calls for.  

Instead, I believe we can extend care to those in need through a few simple, commonsense, pro-growth steps.  These include:

•    Allow individuals to shop for insurance across state lines: Right now, individuals have the ability to shop for auto, home, and life insurance from multiple companies.  Allowing individuals to purchase health insurance across state lines will inject the same type of choice and competition into health insurance markets and allow families to shop for the most affordable plan.
•    Association health plans: Many individuals receive insurance through their employers.  An alternative to this approach is to allow groups to form health insurance plans over different associations like a church, local chamber of commerce, or alumni association.  Doing so would provide access to coverage without tying insurance directly to a job.
•    High risk pools: In cases where an individual cannot access care due to a chronic or pre-existing condition, state-based high risk pools with federal backing can provide access to insurance.
•    Use the tax code to help families buy insurance: Currently, the tax code rewards those who receive employer sponsored care with a tax free benefit while punishing those who purchase health insurance on the individual market by providing no benefit at all.  This can be changed by providing a tax credit to those who purchase individual health insurance policies.

Since Arriving in Washington I have supported a number of bills that improve an individual’s access to healthcare and ensures that medical decisions are made between a patient and a doctor. These bills include:

•    H.R. 452, the Medicare Decision Accountability Act. This legislation repeals President Obama’s health care rationing board, also known as the Independent Payment Advisory Board, or IPAB.
•    H.R. 5, the PATH Act, which  establishes common sense tort reform to address the rising cost of medical liability insurance that is forcing doctors to shut their doors.
•    H.R. 4064, the Keeping Promises to Taxpayers Act of 2012, which repeals twelve middle class tax hikes imposed on the American people under President Obama’s health care law.
•    H.R. 1744, the American Job Protection Act, which repeals the job killing employer mandate in the President’s healthcare law that will cost 800,000 jobs.