“I am committed to providing more affordable and accessible healthcare that gives Americans more control and more choices.” - Congressman Steven Palazzo
I support policies that:
Preserve and protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
Protect the healthcare of our Veterans and Service Members. We should honor them by keeping costs TRICARE costs as low as possible.Encourage competition in the insurance industry by allowing the purchase of health insurance across state lines.
Reduce frivolous lawsuits against doctors that drive up the costs of your healthcare. Crack down on waste, fraud, and abuse.
Reduce taxes, penalties, and insurance premiums by repealing and replacing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).
PPACA’s Individual Mandate and the Palazzo Right to Refuse Amendment:
The federal government should not be able to dictate what products you must purchase. Under the President’s healthcare law and beginning in 2014, every American must purchase health insurance or else face a tax penalty. This is known as the individual mandate under PPACA. This tax penalty is expected to hit millions Americans, with the majority coming from the middle class. By 2016, the average penalty could reach $1,200 per family.
It is important that we repeal this government mandate. It is simply bad policy that leads to middle-class tax hikes and strips away your freedoms.
That is why I sponsored the Right to Refuse Amendment. This constitutional amendment reverses the health care mandate tax. It simply states: “Congress shall make no law that imposes a tax on a failure to purchase goods or services.”
The significance of the Right to Refuse Amendment is that it would also permanently prevent Congress from passing legislation that forces Americans to choose between the purchase of goods and services or tax penalties.
I introduced this bill I believe the government has no business taking your hard-earned money just because you don’t spend it the way Washington wants. Click here to learn more about the Right to Refuse.
Legislation that Supports these Reforms:
I’ve co-sponsored over 20 bills that seek to improve your healthcare and protect the lives of the innocent unborn, including:
H.R. 2: Repealing the Job-Killing HealthCare Law Act: The bill repeals PPACA in its entirety. The bill passed the House by a vote of 245-189 on January 19, 2011. H.R. 21: The Reclaiming Individual Liberty Act: This bill repeals the PPACA mandate (Individual Mandate) requiring individuals to purchase health insurance. H.R. 371: The Health Care Choice Act of 2011: This legislation provides for the purchase of health insurance across state lines. H.R. 374: The Life at Conception Act: This legislation declares that life begins at conception, and that the right to life is guaranteed by the Constitution. H.R. 436: The Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2011: This legislation repeals PPACA’s 2.1% excise tax on medical devices to ensure greater medical innovation. The bill passed the House by a vote of 270-146 on June 7, 2012. H.R. 452: The Medicare Decisions Accountability Act of 2011: This legislation repeals the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) established under PPACA. The House-passed H.R. 5 included repeal of IPAB. H.R. 1179: The Respect for Rights of Conscience Act of 2011: The bill amends PPACA to allow healthcare plans and their providers the right to not cover and provide a service for drugs or treatment that violates their moral or religious views. H.R. 1285: The Military HealthCare Affordability Act: This legislation prohibits increases in healthcare costs (including TRICARE premiums) or limits on benefit adjustments for those serving in our Armed Forces, retirees, and dependents. H.R. 2363: The HealthCare Over Use Reform Today Act (HealthCOURT Act) of 2011: This bill focuses on medical liability reform by limiting damages if certain guidelines have not been followed. H.R. 4930: ACE Kids Act of 2014: Which would restructure services and reimbursement systems for children with medical complexity who are enrolled in Medicaid. We partnered with the University of Mississippi Medical Center and the rest of the Mississippi delegation on this bill to improve the healthcare of Mississippi's children. H.R. 1070: Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening: ?This legislation would allow Medicare patients to receive colorectal cancer screening without an unexpected bill in the case of polyp removal, helping to ensure at least 80% of eligible Americans are regularly screened for colorectal cancer by 2018. H.R. 4190: This bill would allow pharmacists to qualify as healthcare providers and therefore allow them to be paid under Medicare for therapy management and patient consultation services.
