Health care is a complex and important issue facing our country.  Many people are concerned about rising costs, accessibility and quality. Increased affordability and accessibility are two goals that I believe we should be working toward when considering legislative changes.  I also believe that doctors and patients should be making health care decisions and not the insurance industry.  I am committed to improving the nation's health care system, reducing the number of uninsured individuals and families, and decreasing the costs of health care.

Rob's 13 health care principles are:

1. Make quality health care coverage affordable and accessible for every American, regardless of pre-existing health conditions.
2. Protect Americans from being forced into a new government-run health care plan that would:  a) eliminate the health coverage that more than 100 million Americans currently receive through their job; b) limit choice of doctors and medical treatment options; and c) result in the federal government taking control of health care.
3. 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.
4. Ensure that medical decisions are made by patients and their doctors, not government bureaucrats.
5. Improve Americans' lives through effective prevention, wellness, and disease management programs, while developing new treatments and cures for life-threatening diseases. 
6. Bring fairness to the tax code by providing individuals with incentives to purchase health care coverage.
7. Enact medical liability reforms to expand patient access to care and reduce unnecessary defensive medicine.
8. Improve individuals' ability to buy innovative, portable and affordable health insurance products of their choice, including the sale of health care coverage across state lines.
9. Ensure that Americans have the information they need to make good decisions by requiring the timely public disclosure of health care price and quality information.
10. Develop new models to encourage individuals to plan for long term care needs.
11. Create public private partnerships to encourage research and product development for unmet medical needs and increase funding for medical research.
12. Crack down on waste, fraud and abuse.
13. Incentivize the use of Health Information Technology and protect patient privacy.

First Congressional District Health Advisory Council