Providing Healthcare For All
Congressman Ryan believes that affordable and accessible health care is a basic right for all Americans, and that health insurance is an investment not only in quality of life for our citizens, but also in our economy.
Healthcare Overview:
As Congress continues to work to promote accountability in the budget and avoid unnecessary spending I believe it is imperative that we continue to fund important programs to improve our Nation’s healthcare. That is why I am a longtime supporter of continuing to fund the National Institute of Health, which provides funding for research grants and clinical trials for such diseases as cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s.
Furthermore, I am proud supporter of the Affordable Care Act which put in place a patient bill of rights. The ramifications of a repeal of the Affordable Care Act for Ohioans are real. In Ohio alone, 35,500 young adults would lose their insurance coverage through their parents’ health plans. Nearly 6.7 million residents of Ohio with private insurance coverage will be vulnerable again to having lifetime limits placed on how much insurance companies will spend on their health care. More than 1.8 million seniors in Ohio who have Medicare coverage would be forced to pay a co-pay to receive important preventive services like mammograms and colonoscopies.
Addiction Treatment and Recovery Caucus:
I am proud to be the co-chair of the Addiction, Treatment and Recovery Caucus with Congressman John Fleming. Our mission is to educate and raise awareness about addiction and treatment issues.
According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, in 2013, an estimated 22.7 million individuals aged 12 or older in 2013 needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol use problem (8.6 percent of the population aged 12 or older); only an estimated 2.5 million received treatment at a specialty facility for an illicit drug or alcohol problem. That is why I am a supporter of making sure the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration and the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant get the appropriate funding to make sure people suffering from this illness get the help and treatment they deserve.
I joined with Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner in introducing the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), which provides for a robust response to the twin epidemics of opioid and heroin addiction that includes prevention, law enforcement strategies and the expansion of evidence based-treatment.
Nutrition Curriculum:
There is no doubt that healthcare spending in the United States continues to rise around the nation. Expenditures in the United States on healthcare surpassed $2.3 trillion in 2008, with costs from chronic disease treatment accounting for over 75 percent of national health costs. Many chronic diseases, such as heart disease, cancer and stroke are linked to dietary and lifestyle choices.
Unfortunately, according to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, many physicians feel inadequately trained to provide proper nutrition advice. Furthermore, the same can be said for physical activity—although expert recommendations encourage more medical schools to teach physical activity only 13 percent of medical schools integrate it into the curricula. That is why I introduced the bipartisan Expansion of Nutrition’s Role in Curricula and Healthcare (ENRICH) Act (HR 1411), which would create a grant program for U.S. Medical Schools and Osteopathic Colleges to create an integrated nutrition and physical activity curriculum program.
