Issue Position: Health Care Decisions for Texans, by Texans

Issue Position

I strongly oppose the federal takeover of our health care system. ObamaCare is a misguided Washington knows best approach. Economists predict that health care will soon be the number one spending item in the Texas budget, surpassing education. Medicaid spending is breaking the bank, and ObamaCare makes it worse. If the new health care law is fully implemented, it will push thousands of Texans into the Medicaid system with many federal strings attached. The federal rules prohibit Texans from properly managing health care expenses in the face of tight budgets. For instance, able-bodied, employed Medicaid patients pay nothing out-of-pocket. They cannot be asked to contribute as little as the price of a McDonald's value meal for doctor's visits. We have to push for more flexibility so Texans can have more say in how we spend our health care dollars.

I believe Texans deserve the opportunity to receive the best health care available. The trouble is that health care costs are exploding. It is difficult for the average person to afford health insurance by themselves, and without it the burden of uninsured health care falls on taxpayers. One of the cost drivers is utilization of new life-saving technologies. So how do we control costs without sacrificing quality of care? One approach is to give consumers an incentive to think about cost when they seek basic medical services. We like the fact we can choose a laser eye surgeon based upon advertised cost and experience, so why don't we do that for routine care? Let's expand the use of medical savings accounts and other cost conscious measures. The answers aren't always simple, but we have to do better.

Source