Conroe Courier - Brady Briefing - Doctors, Seniors and the Imperial Presidency

Op-Ed

"The doctor won't see you now."

For too many seniors in Medicare, that statement is all too true. Fewer and fewer doctors can afford to see America's elderly.

One reason is the billions of dollars cut from Medicare Advantage to fund the president's Affordable Care Act. That forced a Houston-area plan to drop more than 1,100 local doctors.

Another big reason is the unfair way Medicare pays local doctors. It's been a growing problem over the past decade -- now it's becoming a crisis.

In Texas, less than half of family physicians will see new Medicare patients. Due to poor reimbursements when they treat our seniors, many doctors are being chased out of Medicare and out of private practice.

With 10,000 new seniors signing up for Medicare each day -- a trend that will continue for another 17 years -- that's terrible news for doctors and our seniors.

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When I took over the leadership of the Health Subcommittee of Ways & Means last year, one of my top priorities was to solve this growing problem once and for all. After 14 months of hard work, last week the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that creates a fairer way to reimburse local doctors when they treat Medicare patients.

Developed with the assistance of Texas doctors, for the first time since 1997 this bipartisan solution permanently ends the yearly threat of massive cuts to local doctors, provides stability and rewards doctors for high-quality care and begins to streamline the red tape that local physicians face.

I'm convinced our seniors need to see a doctor they know and who knows them. This proposed law is a solid foundation from which to build an even better Medicare system. And it has overwhelming support from physicians.

I'm pleased the House has acted, but we have more work to do. The Senate now needs to act and we must pay for it in a way that doesn't add to the deficit. The clock is ticking, but I'm optimistic we can finish the job. Our seniors and our local doctors can't afford to wait any longer.

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The Constitution matters. Whether you are Democrat or Republican, libertarian or independent, no president can decide which laws he wants to enforce, which to ignore and which he simply directs his administration to make up without the approval of Congress.

Faced with a series of historically unprecedented actions by the White House to circumvent Congress and the rule of law, last week the U.S. House of Representatives successfully passed two bills that affirm the Constitution by ensuring that no president can decide which laws he chooses to enforce.

Honestly, I never dreamed our constitutional republic would ever need these laws.

The Faithful Execution of the Law Act directs the attorney general to report to Congress when any federal officer fails to enforce the law and their reason for not doing so. The ENFORCE the Law Act grants the U.S. Senate or House the power to bring a civil lawsuit in a federal district court against any president or other federal officer for failing to enforce federal law. To ensure the lawsuit is heard in a timely manner, the bill also fast tracks the process by sending the appeals directly to the Supreme Court.

If any president -- today or in the future -- refuses to enforce duly passed laws or simply makes them up when the legislative branch has good reason to reject them in the first place, then every Congress should be able to hold a White House accountable to the people.

Congressman Kevin Brady is the chairman of the Joint Economic Committee and the House Ways & Means Health Subcommittee. Call his Conroe office at 936-441-5700.

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