Obamacare

As a former hospital board member and the husband of a critical care nurse, Congressman McKinley draws upon his experiences to influence his work on health care.

The rising cost of health care is unsustainable and America is facing a crisis in health care. While advances in technology have brought us treatments our grandparents couldn’t even dream of, the cost of providing care has increased significantly.

McKinley believes that we must lower health care costs, increase access to high-quality care, and put patients in charge of their health care dollars and decisions, not government. President Obama’s new health care law does not achieve this.

Affordable Care Act

Rep. McKinley continues to work to repeal Obamacare and replace it with reforms that will help ensure access to affordable, quality health care to all Americans without hurting our economy and adding to our national debt.

Every day we hear of more problems that our constituents face with different aspects of the health care law, from employers having to cut hours, to canceled insurance plans and increased premiums,  to difficulties  signing up on healthcare.gov and the 1-800 hotline. As more issues emerge as Obamacare goes into effect, we will work to fix the problems and protect Americans from the impacts of this bad law.

 All of the promises that were made about the Affordable Care Act – that you could keep your plan if you like it, you could keep your doctor, premiums would be more affordable, and the plan would insure the uninsured – have not come true. We can do better.

House Republicans have offered alternatives to the current law that will maintain coverage for preexisting conditions, allow consumers to purchase plans across state lines, and give patients and doctors more control, not government bureaucrats.

Congress has already voted over 40 times to reform, delay, and repeal Obamacare. In fact, seven changes initiated by the House have already been signed into law.

For legislation co-sponsored by Rep. McKinley to reform the Affordable Care Act, click here.

The House also continues to maintain close oversight over the implementation of Obamacare and has held dozens of hearings to hold Obama Administration officials accountable for the problems with the health care law. Click here to see Rep. McKinley question Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius on the failures of the health care rollout and healthcare.gov website.

For more information on what the Energy and Commerce Committee  is doing on the Affordable Care Act, click here to access their “Exam Room.”

Access to Critical Treatments and Care

This Congress, Rep. McKinley re-introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at helping patients with chronic, disabling and life threatening conditions.  The Patient Access to Treatments Act (H.R. 460) brings fairness and common sense to millions of Americans seeking access to critical treatments that can save their lives, or improve their quality of life.

Patients with conditions ranging from Rheumatoid arthritis to Multiple Sclerosis to Lupus and some forms of cancer can benefit from specialty and biologic drugs.  Rep. McKinley’s bill allows patients to have access to cutting edge and life-saving treatments and ensures that the high cost of their treatment is not a roadblock to their health and recovery.  Click here to view the legislation. (should we include a list of organizations supporting it?)

Rep. McKinley’s experiences in the health care world have opened his eyes to the important work done by the National Institutes of Health.  The ground breaking research that NIH is the best in the world and it is essential that we continue supporting its mission. 

Full funding for NIH is critical if the agency is to continue to serve as the world’s preeminent medical research institution and our best hope for finding cures, improving treatments, and gaining a better understanding of the complex causes of diseases that affect millions of Americans.  

Rural Health Care

Since coming to Congress, Congressman McKinley has fought for rural issues, especially access to quality health care in rural areas.  Rep. McKinley is working to ensure  people in rural West Virginia have access to the services that they need such as emergency medical services, clinics and community health centers, and large and small hospitals.

Of the 55 hospitals in West Virginia, 19 are critical access hospitals,  including 4 in the  First District alone.  Critical Access Hospitals are hospitals that have less than 25 beds in the facility and are 35 or more miles away from another hospital.  Rep. McKinley has worked closely with these hospitals in ensure that they continue receive crucial funding so that they can perform services in the vital “magic hour” when emergency medical situations occur in our most rural areas.