Health Care Reform
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Health Care Reform The U.S. healthcare system remains the greatest in the world. Constantly evolving to meet future generation’s needs, our nation’s vast network of medical professionals and cutting edge facilities continue to improve Americans’ health and life expectancy. However, this gold standard is not without its challenges. Rising costs have made access to care difficult for many, and impossible for some. In response, the current Administration has crafted a massive piece of legislation which only worsens the problem. The proposed bureaucracy and potential elimination of free market forces will lead to widespread inefficiency and even higher costs.
I, along with a majority of Americans, believe that putting the federal government in charge of healthcare decision making is a mistake. The healthcare reform law (P.L. 111-148) includes over $500 billion in tax increases and burdensome IRS 1099 paperwork requirements. Furthermore, P.L. 111-148 institutes an employer mandate provision which would fine honest American businesses who fail to provide their employees with government approved insurance coverage. According to the Medicare Trustees, approximately 7.5 million seniors will lose access to retiree drug coverage by 2016. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicts that health insurance premiums for Americans buying private health coverage on their own will increase by $2,100 in 2016 compared to what would have happened without the healthcare reform law.
Our current health care system is in need of reform. While two-thirds of Americans have health insurance coverage, mostly through benefits offered to them by their employer, there are nearly 44 million non-elderly uninsured. Some of these individuals work for small businesses that cannot afford to offer insurance like larger employers do; some make a conscious decision not to purchase insurance because they are young and healthy and do not want to spend the money on it; others have just fallen through the cracks. Programs such as Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) extend health coverage to low and middle income families, the elderly, the blind and the disabled. However, this still leaves a significant number of people left without health care insurance coverage.
Worse than the number of uninsured is the growing number of those without adequate access to health care. There is a growing shortage of doctors and nurses in this country, and a large number of current health providers are set to retire soon. I believe that this is a bigger part of the current problem, more so than the lack of insurance coverage. After all, what good would insurance for all be if there were no practitioners available to see the patients? It’s easy to give every person an insurance card, but the underlying problems still go unsolved. This will lead us to a health care system that is overseen by inefficient, government bureaucrats.
Before we implement an enormous new federal program, we need to be sure that “new” is “better” and not just “different.” For these reasons, I chose to vote in favor of H.R. 2, which would repeal the healthcare law. I was pleased to see H.R. 2 pass the House on January 19, 2011. Applying a one-size-fits-all federal standard out of Washington to every state is a mistake. I will continue working with my colleagues in Congress on health care reform legislation that would truly benefit Americans through better access, lower costs, and more flexibility and portability. To view the healthcare bill being considered by the House, click here.
Related Documents:
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Rep. Young Votes to Repeal ObamaCare – Again
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