Whether hosting a roundtable discussion with members of the business community, touring a local manufacturing company, or visiting with constituents, I am continually reminded of Minnesotans’ concerns about the President’s health care law. Patients, doctors, health care providers, employers, and workers share one common tenet when it comes to ObamaCare: it weakens health care for American families.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was a colossal 2,700-page bill rushed through Congress without much effort to engage the American people in the process. Then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi embraced this scheme, infamously stating, "We have to pass the bill so you can find out what’s in it."
Despite promises that the health care law would lower costs, premiums are rising for families nationwide. And many Americans have had enough.
As Chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, I am on the front lines of the critical ObamaCare debate. I have been an outspoken critic of the law since day one, and led a committee hearing in July, 2015 to examine the negative effects of ObamaCare. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell tried painting a rosy picture of the President’s health care law in her testimony, but the rhetoric continues to fall far short of reality. Five years into ObamaCare, families, workers, and employers are learning more and more about the harmful consequences of this flawed law, which include:
Less access to doctors – To control costs, it is estimated that insurance plans on the health care exchanges have 34 percent fewer providers than non-exchange plans, including 32 percent fewer primary doctors and 42 percent fewer oncologists and cardiologists.
Waste and abuse – In 2014, investigators with the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office used fake identities to successfully enroll 11 of 12 individuals into subsidized coverage on a health care exchange. Just this month, GAO announced that all 11 fake individuals were reenrolled and receiving taxpayer subsidies.
Costly penalties – More than seven million individuals paid a penalty for failing to purchase government-approved health insurance, roughly 25 percent more Americans than the Administration expected under the worst case scenario.
Cancelled plans – According to the Associated Press, at least 4.7 million individuals were notified that their insurance plans were cancelled because they did not abide by the rigid mandates established under the health care law.
Fewer full-time jobs – The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the law will result in 2.5 million fewer full-time jobs. This reflects concerns of employers who have no choice but to cut hours or delay hiring because of the law’s burdensome mandates.
Skyrocketing health care costs – The New York Times reported that health insurance companies are seeking rate increases of "20 percent to 40 percent or more," suggesting markets are still adjusting to the "shock waves set off" by ObamaCare. And premium increases are expected to get even worse after 2016. Even the secretary’s own actuaries at HHS report that national health care spending will accelerate at a faster rate over the next decade.
For those who opposed this government takeover of health care, this is precisely what we anticipated and it is why the American people deserve a better, thoughtful approach to their families health care.
Solutions:
I remain committed to unraveling this flawed law that is having a devastating effect on our economy and straining family budgets in Minnesota and nationwide. Most importantly, I will continue to pursue health care reform in a way that makes sense, supporting proposals that will actually lower health care costs without budgetary gimmicks, and protect the best interests individuals, families, and small businesses.
Some of the solutions I continue to support are:
Enacting medical liability reform – Skyrocketing medical liability insurance rates have distorted the practice of medicine, routinely forcing doctors to order costly and often unnecessary tests to protect themselves from lawsuits, often referred to as "defensive medicine." I support enacting common-sense medical liability reforms to lower costs, rein in junk lawsuits and curb defensive medicine.
Purchasing health insurance across state lines – Americans residing in a state with expensive health insurance plans are locked into those plans and do not currently have an opportunity to choose a lower cost option that best meets their needs. I support allowing individuals to buy health care coverage outside of the state in which they live.
Expanding Health Savings Accounts – Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are popular savings accounts that provide cost-effective health insurance to those who might otherwise go uninsured. I support improving HSAs by making it easier for patients with high-deductible health plans to use them to obtain access to quality care. The President's health care law prevents the use of these savings accounts to purchase over-the-counter medicine.
Strengthening the doctor-patient relationship –I support replacing President Obama’s government takeover of health care with commonsense reforms focused on strengthening the doctor-patient relationship.
Ensuring access for patients with pre-existing conditions –Health care should be accessible for all, regardless of pre-existing conditions or past illnesses. I support making it illegal for an insurance company to deny coverage to someone with prior coverage on the basis of a pre-existing condition, eliminating annual and lifetime spending caps, and preventing insurers from dropping your coverage just because you get sick. I support incentivizing states to develop innovative programs that lower premiums and reduce the number of uninsured Americans.
Coverage for dependents –A majority of Americans – and members of Congress – acknowledge dependents should be able to remain on their parents’ insurance policies until the age of 25 or 26.
