Issue Position: Health Care

Issue Position

One of Bill Johnson's first votes after being sworn into office was to repeal President Obama's health care law known as "Obamacare." Since then, he has voted to repeal all or parts of Obamacare more than 40 times, including voting in favor of the 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act which successfully repealed the harmful individual mandate -- an Obamacare tax that forced millions of Americans to purchase healthcare they couldn't afford and in many cases did not want or need, limited Americans' healthcare choices, and drove up healthcare costs.
Bill will continue to work to abolish this dangerous law that limited access, forced many Americans to lose their preferred healthcare insurance, and increased healthcare costs for millions of Americans, and replace it with patient-centered solutions, including voting for the American Health Care Act when it passed the House. Johnson believes in policies that improve access, affordability, and choice in healthcare, like: giving Americans the freedom to decide what health insurance works for them, rather than having it dictated by the federal government; expanding incentives for Americans to contribute their pre-tax dollars into health savings accounts (HSAs) that can be used to lower the cost of routine care; and, enacting medical liability reform to eliminate frivolous lawsuits that drive up the cost of health care.

Johnson continues to support protections for people with pre-existing conditions and allowing young adults to stay on their parents' plans until the age of 26 -- especially given that, as we climb out of President Obama's sluggish economy, approximately 50 percent of new college graduates are either unemployed or underemployed.

Bill believes that America's health care system needs to be continually improved, but should not be taken over by the federal government.

Fighting Opioid and Prescription Drug Abuse

Bill, and the Energy & Commerce Committee on which he serves, crafted the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 to fight opioid abuse and address the drug addiction epidemic that is infecting our country. This important bill, which is now law, is providing billions of dollars and resources to expand addiction treatment and support states and communities as they work to curb opioid abuse. Johnson also authored a bill called the DXM Abuse Prevention Act that would stop teens from abusing cough medicines containing addictive drugs. We have to protect our kids in Eastern and Southeastern Ohio from developing addictive behaviors, and this legislation would be an important step forward.

Expanding Access to Care

As a member of the Telemedicine Working Group, Johnson is helping to lead efforts to expand access to healthcare through the use of telemedicine -- technology that has the potential to drive down costs and improve the quality of care for patients in rural areas like Eastern and Southeastern Ohio, and throughout the country.

Bringing Life-Saving Drugs to Patients More Quickly

Bill has played an important role in the 21st Century Cures Act -- critically important legislation signed into law that is accelerating the discovery, development and delivery of life-saving medicines to patients more quickly by modernizing the FDA's approval process. He continues to exercise oversight of the law's implementation to ensure its goals are being met.

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