Congressman Scott Tipton Votes to Repeal Federal Health Care Act

Press Release

Stressing the need to prevent tax increases and focus on effective patient-centered solutions to soaring health care costs, today, Congressman Scott Tipton voted to repeal the President's health plan.

Tipton said, "Congress must find a solution that increases access to affordable patient health care, which the current act fails to achieve."

According to a report from Americans for Tax Reform, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act creates two dozen new tax increases, including mandates that penalize individuals and employers if their health care coverage fails to meet the government standard.[1] Dr. Stuart Butler of The Heritage Foundation estimates that as many as 180 new bureaucratic entities will be created to deal with the new administrative burdens associated with the Act.[2]

In preparation for today's vote, Tipton reached out to all sides of the issue, seeking out a wide array of viewpoints, as well as getting input on what should be included in future legislation. To that end, Tipton hosted a tele-town hall meeting on Tuesday to check-in with constituents prior to the vote, and recently spoke with the Colorado Medical Society and Colorado Hospital Association.

"Based on the significant input I got from voters in the third district during my campaign, I promised to vote to repeal the President's health plan. This decision has been reaffirmed by recent conversations with my constituents, who told me that they are not supportive of mandated coverage, and feel that the current act does more to create new bureaucracy and expand government, than increase affordability and access to quality patient care."

That being said, Tipton is in favor of carrying over some provisions from the existing health care act over to new legislation, like coverage of pre-existing conditions (Section 2704) and expansion of dependent coverage (Section 2714). "There are pieces of the current act that are valuable and should be implemented into new legislation," Tipton said. "However, there is a lot that needs to be done differently."

Tipton emphasized the need for solutions to increased numbers of Medicaid patients, rather than just passing the cost off on already stressed state budgets.

"We can't continue passing the buck and expanding government. Today's vote is only the first step in that direction," Tipton said. "We must work toward legislation that places decisions about health care plans and coverage costs back in the hands of patients. The focus needs to be on reform that promotes personal control through market-based solutions, increases portability of coverage, cuts costs, prevents lawsuit abuse, and decreases the size of government."

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