Issue Position: Promote Truly Affordable, Quality Health Care

Issue Position

Giving Americans access to affordable, quality health care plans starts with repealing Obamacare. That's a must. But, as a conservative, I don't just want to go back to a pre-Obamacare health insurance system. I believe we owe it to the American people to put real solutions on the table.

Before Obamacare, insurance companies had too much power over your health care. Now, under Obamacare, government has control over your health care.

Here's a novel idea: how about we put consumers in charge of their health care? Instead of a top-down system largely run by politicians, bureaucrats and big insurance companies, how about a bottom-up system in which people buy the types of plans best suited for themselves and their families?

True health care reform starts with the premise that consumers should be in control over their health care decision-making instead of third parties (big government and big companies). Any health care legislation I advocate or vote upon must start with this premise.

As a member of Congress, I will work toward conservative solutions that yield positive results by getting government and insurance companies out of the way and putting consumers in charge.

* Repeal Obamacare: Health care reform starts with repealing Obamacare. It's that simple. Obamacare puts government politicians and bureaucrats in charge of our health care, interfering with personal decision-making and the patient-doctor relationship (not to mention killing jobs and adding tremendously to our national debt). Obamacare must be repealed.

* Consumer-driven health care: Americans should have the ability to purchase affordable, catastrophic insurance plans accompanied by health savings accounts. Not everyone needs an expensive Cadillac insurance plan that covers every treatment and procedure. Many just want the peace of mind that they will have coverage in the case of a catastrophe. Our health care policy should reward the creation of these affordable options and the availability of health savings accounts, pre-tax accounts funded by employers and employees by which consumes can cover routine health care costs out of pocket.

* Allow consumers to purchase health plans across state lines: Currently, Americans can only purchase health plans within state lines. A New Jersey resident, for instance, cannot purchase a health plan in Delaware. In many states, costly regulations and mandates have driven up the costs of health insurance enormously. It's the 21st Century. We purchase goods and services across state lines. Isn't it time we let people buy the best insurance plan, in-state or out-of-state?

* Let individuals have access to the same preferential tax treatment that employers have: Currently, employment-based health insurance qualifies for a generous tax exclusion. But if you are an individual purchasing insurance on your own, you do not qualify for the same tax exclusion, meaning you pay a great deal more for the same coverage. I believe we should fix our code so non-employment-based insurance is provided the same tax treatment as employment-based coverage.

* End lawsuit abuse: A tremendous cost-driver for the American health care system is medical-malpractice premiums and defensive medicine. Health care should not be a means by which trial lawyers get rich. I will fight for common-sense limits on medical malpractice lawsuits against doctors who act in good faith.

* Block-grant Medicaid: America's insurance system for the poor is a classic example of a top-down system run by politicians and bureaucrats. While Medicaid is ostensibly administered by the states, Washington imposes complex rules and burdensome regulations on the system, robbing states of discretion over how to treat their populations. I will work to block-grant Medicaid. Give states resources, and, with few rules and regulations, let them figure out how to give consumers more control over their health care and cut costs.

* More transparency: Health care is a highly distorted market. When was the last time you saw a doctor list his prices? Many people have no idea how much an operation or procedure costs until they get a statement from the insurance company. Because the government or an insurance company often pays most of the bill, consumers have little incentive to make cost-conscious decisions. I will work toward a market-oriented system that changes this, so consumers make cost-conscious decisions about their health care.

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