During last week’s State of the Union address, President Barack Obama stood before the American people and openly mocked Republicans for attempting to repeal Obamacare. His comments drew boisterous laughter and eager applause from his Democrat allies.
While Obama and Congressional Democrats had their fun, millions upon millions of Americans are suffering. Health care premiums have skyrocketed. Millions of families have lost their individual policies and millions more are set to lose their employer-provided coverage. Patients are learning they may not be able to see their preferred physicians. Doctors are considering fleeing the field of medicine. Medical innovators are considering putting the brakes on developing the technologies that will improve, extend and even save lives.
There is no group more critical to this law’s success, yet more harmed by its implementation, than young Americans. In fact, a recent study concluded that a healthy, 30-year-old male non-smoker should expect his health care premiums to increase on average by 260 percent. Prominent economists have even claimed that the fines imposed for not complying with Obamacare were a far better deal for millennials than living under costly government-run health care.
In short, real people are being hurt by this law, and it’s no laughing matter. So, what’s the alternative? As a physician, I know that the status quo in health care is unacceptable. Even before Obamacare became law, too many medical decisions were made by either government or insurance companies.
That’s why, for three straight Congresses, I have proposed a positive, patient-centered alternative to government-run health care, the Empowering Patients First Act (HR 2300). In order to undo the damage caused by Obamacare, we begin the reform process by repealing it. The reform would be to implement positive, patient-centered solutions that keep patients, families and doctors in charge of health care, not Washington, D.C.
The average millennial will have 12-15 different employers in her lifetime. Unfortunately, that means she’ll also have 12-15 different health care plans and the prospect of losing her doctor each time she switches jobs. This disrupts the critical continuity of care that fosters quality through a caring physician-patient relationship.
The Empowering Patients First Act would fix that. Our plan finally creates a system of insurance portability. This would allow individuals to own their policies, no matter who is paying for them. Employees will be able to change jobs, or even careers, without worrying about an interruption in their coverage or care.
While the majority of the country disapproves of Obamacare, some still find the protection of those with pre-existing conditions to be one of this disastrous law’s brighter spots. Republicans agree that no one should be priced out of the insurance market due to a previous illness, prior injury or adverse health status.
But, we disagree on how such coverage should be achieved. We think the Empowering Patients First Act offers Americans a better way: allowing individuals from all across the country to form large insurance pools — a practice currently prohibited by law — to enjoy the purchasing power of millions. Once these insurance pools are widened, prices fall and risks associated with covering those with pre-existing conditions vanish.
In addition to redirecting our health care system to patient-centered solutions, the Empowering Patients First Act also acknowledges that the greatest barrier to obtaining coverage is its rising costs. We help lower costs by allowing the purchase of coverage across state lines. When insurance companies compete for your business, you’ll get a better product at a better price.
The Empowering Patients First Act also addresses one of the costliest components of health care — the practice of defensive medicine. Jackson Healthcare estimates that one third of our health care expenses are for tests or exams to shield doctors from frivolous lawsuits. That’s $800 billion each year! Our proposal would provide meaningful lawsuit abuse reform, while still preserving patients’ rights. This would significantly decrease the costs doctors are forced to pass on to their patients.
Right now, Obamacare punishes those who don’t purchase the kind of coverage the government forces them to buy. We think that’s wrong. The Empowering Patients First Act replaces punitive mandates with financial incentives to get folks covered. Through a system of tax deductions, credits, refundable credits and advanceable refundable credits, our plan makes it financially attractive to purchase health insurance, instead of penalizing those who choose not to buy it.
Many young professionals would like to take advantage of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) to pay for their medical care. Our plan bolsters and strengthens HSAs so that people have more control over their health care dollars.
While Obama and his allies dig in — even as millions of people suffer, Republicans will continue to offer our patient-centered solutions to help all Americans experience true quality healthcare and economic freedom.
