Issue Position: Health Care

Issue Position

As a physician with more than 30 years of experience--and co-chairman of the GOP Doctors Caucus--taking care of patients has been my life's work. That's why my top priority in Congress is repealing ObamaCare and replacing it with patient-centered health reforms that will improve access to care, lower costs, and improve equality.

ObamaCare

I voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the 111th Congress, and have since been leading the charge to repeal the law and replace it with commonsense reforms.

In just a short period of time, this flawed law has proven to be a disaster. There have been numerous technical problems with the ObamaCare website, millions of Americans have been forced out of insurance plans they liked, and patients are finding it harder to keep their doctors--just to name a few of the many problems. That is why I cosponsored H.R. 596, legislation that would fully repeal the Affordable Care Act, and voted dozens of times to repeal ObamaCare in whole or part.

Though supporters of the law claim it will lower health care costs, give more choice to Americans regarding their care, and offer a higher quality of services, this law will do -- and is already doing--just the opposite. When Tennessee adopted TennCare--a proposal similar to the ACA--in the 1990s, it failed both to keep costs under control and to extend universal coverage. The cost of the program tripled within 10 years, putting an unbearable strain on the state budget. Additionally, access to health care for TennCare beneficiaries was poor.

My top priority in Congress will continue to be the full repeal of this law, and its replacement with patient-centered health reforms.

The American Health Care Reform Act

ObamaCare has--and will continue to be--a disaster for the American people. But we must also remember that there were serious challenges in American health care even before the president's law came into effect.

To address these challenges, I introduced H.R. 3121, the American Health Care Reform Act. This bill, supported by a majority of House Republicans, puts free-market competition to work for patients and their families. Specifically, H.R. 3121 would:

* Fully repeal President Obama's health care law, eliminating billions in taxes and thousands of pages of unworkable regulations and mandates that are driving up health care costs.
* Spur competition to lower health care costs by allowing Americans to purchase health insurance across state lines and enable small businesses to pool together and get the same buying power as large corporations.
* Reform medical malpractice laws in a commonsense way that limits trial lawyer fees and non-economic damages while maintaining strong protections for patients.
* Provide tax reform that allows families and individuals to deduct health care costs, just like companies, leveling the playing field and providing all Americans with a standard deduction for health insurance.
* Expand access to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), increasing the amount of pre-tax dollars individuals can deposit into portable savings accounts to be used for health care expenses.
* Safeguard individuals with pre-existing conditions from being discriminated against purchasing health insurance by bolstering state-based high risk pools and extending HIPAA guaranteed availability protections.
* Protect the unborn by ensuring no federal funding of abortions.

IPAB

Among the worst parts of the ACA is the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). The IPAB is an unelected, unaccountable bureaucracy that has been granted sweeping powers to "reduce the per capita rate of growth in Medicare spending." Medicare cuts proposed by the IPAB are to be considered using "fast track" procedures and--absent a three-fifths vote of the Senate--Congress can only modify the type of cuts, not the amount. Should Congress fail to act on the board's recommendations, they automatically go into effect. To make matters worse, the IPAB is exempt from administrative or judicial review.

I have grave concerns that the IPAB will function as a denial-of-care board that will slash Medicare payments just to meet an arbitrary budget. It is likely that the IPAB's proposed cuts will include reduced payments to physicians and other health care providers. Given that Medicare currently pays physicians only 80% of what private insurers do, any additional cuts could severely limit patients' access to care.

I am the sponsor of H.R. 1190, the Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act, which would repeal the IPAB. This bill passed the House of Representatives in the 112th Congress as part of H.R. 5, the Protecting Access to Health Care Act.

Medicare Physician Payments

Since 2002, Medicare has been scheduled to cut payments to physicians annually because of the payment update formula known as the Sustainable Growth Rate, or SGR. Congress has had to act 17 times, at a cost of $170 billion, to temporarily fix the formula to prevent seniors from losing access to their doctors. I am pleased the House acted by passing H.R. 2, bipartisan legislation that would permanently repeal and replace the SGR and create certainty for seniors. The legislation included several Medicare reform important provisions that begin the process of preserving Medicare for future generations.

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