Issue Position: Health Care

Issue Position

While there may be differing opinions on how best to improve access to quality, affordable health care, most North and Northwest Floridians agree that reforms to the current system are necessary.

By opening up competition across state lines, insurance companies will be compelled to innovate and reduce premium costs. By implementing tort reform, we can clear the backlog of frivolous lawsuits that artificially inflate costs for responsible consumers. By expanding access to health savings accounts, families will find it easier to pay for the services they need. And by covering patients with preexisting conditions, we can ensure that no illness or injury will prevent you from accessing quality, affordable care.

As a father of four daughters, the son of a senior-aged mother and father, and a third generation small business owner, I believe we can and must do better than the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), reform legislation that was signed into law in 2010.

As our nation struggles to emerge from the deepest recession in a generation, independent analysis has indicated that the health care law will cause significant job losses for the U.S. economy while stifling future employment growth. In fact, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the health care law could destroy up to 650,000 American jobs.

One of my first actions in Congress was to co-sponsor H.R. 2, the Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act, which would repeal PPACA. I also co-sponsored legislation to defund the accounts set aside to implement the law. I remain committed to replacing the current law with common sense reforms that expand access to quality, affordable health care without imposing massive tax increases, crippling mandates, or bureaucratic red tape.

During these tough economic times, we must focus on empowering our job creators to create jobs. As a small business owner, I am proud to co-sponsored H.R. 1744, the American Job Protection Act, which repeals the job-crushing employer mandate in the health care law. I also supported bipartisan efforts to remove the burdensome 1099 tax reporting requirement from the PPACA.

I believe that we must get serious about making quality health care services more affordable and accessible by empowering patients and their doctors, not the federal government. I am concerned for our doctors and other health care professionals who have faced reductions in Medicare reimbursement rates, which limits the ability of seniors to access high quality heath care services. I am committed to fighting further reductions in reimbursement rates and the unrealistic expectation that our doctors and other health care providers should have to shoulder the financial burden for the services they provide.

Repealing the health care law is just the first step towards putting the American people, as opposed to the government, back in control of their personal health care choices. We must continue working together to find health care solutions that improve quality, access, and affordability.

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