Issue Position: Health Care

Issue Position

Billy believes that we must reform healthcare to put patients and doctors in charge of medical decisions. The current health care bill signed by the President takes us in the opposite direction toward a complete government takeover of healthcare. The ultimate aim of this legislative push is to transition the United States to a purely socialist single payer health care system unlike anything the nation has ever experienced before. Billy has pledged to work to repeal the health care law enacted by President Obama and the Democrat Congress.

There is a better way to reform health care. Billy supports former Senator Talent's plan to allow small businesses to pool together to offer insurance. This would allow small business to tap into the economics of scale necessary to get lower cost insurance like that which is available to large business. Eliminating the restrictions on selling insurance across state lines would further reduce costs as a result of increased competition. Health savings accounts, which would allow people to save money tax free for health care use, is another tool that can help families afford medical care.

Medical malpractice is out of control and needs to be reformed. Such legal reforms could save 10% on medical bills by tamping down excessive awards, reducing frivolous suits, and lowering the cost of malpractice insurance for doctors. Doctors would also be able to practice less defensive medicine which would realize substantial savings by eliminating unnecessary procedures done solely for the purpose of warding off lawsuits.

Billy supports providing families with tax credits so they can purchase a health insurance plan which fits their family's needs. Rural areas that lack access to certain specialists should have loan forgiveness programs to encourage the provision of care. Rather than expanding government, Billy thinks that we should be cutting down on waste, fraud, and abuse in the existing government programs like Medicare.

Our healthcare system is the envy of the world. We have the finest doctors, nurses, protocols, and facilities in the world; and that did not come about as a result of a government run system. Unfortunately, President Obama pushed a partisan health care bill through the Democratically controlled Congress using parliamentary tactics and big pay-offs like the "Louisiana Purchase." This Democratic bill was passed without a single Republican vote and increased federal spending by $2.6 trillion. It has given the federal government unprecedented control over the American health care system, which makes up about one sixth of our economy.

People, not the government, are the source of prosperity in our country and they make the American health care system the envy of the world. What we need are commonsense solutions that will strengthen our health care system instead of stimulating debt and eliminating patient choice. A health care system where insurance can be bought across state lines so insurers compete against each other and lowers cost for patients. A health care system that allows for tort reform so doctors can give patients the best medical care possible without fear of unreasonable retribution. Instead of ramming through partisan bills, I am working to make health care more affordable for hardworking families without a government takeover.

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