True health care reform needed
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December 5, 2013 |
By U.S. Senator Mike Crapo
I recently shared in the Senate some of the
infuriating experiences of Idahoans who are
among the more than three million Americans now
losing health care coverage and facing much
higher premiums due to the Affordable Care Act.
The promises of the flawed health care law are
nothing like the realities.
The American people deserve health care reform
with permanent solutions to the drops in
coverage, rising premiums and other problems,
not temporary fixes that exacerbate public
confusion about Obamacare. We must replace the
failed policies with true reforms that are in
the best interest of the American people.
Leading up to enactment of Obamacare there was
much debate on health care alternatives. Most
agreed then, and continue to agree, that reforms
are needed.
There are many areas of bipartisan agreement in
health care reform. Unfortunately, many of the
reasonable reforms were obstructed. What we have
now are wrong-headed policies based on misguided
beliefs that government bureaucracy would
improve health care. Obviously it does not.
We must turn to achievable reforms that result
in the affordable health care and improved
access to quality care that Americans want and
deserve. We need to start over with reforms that
address specific issues that would make a
positive difference for all Americans. A
successful health care system would enable
Americans to choose plans that fit specific
needs and those of their families.
It would permit insurance companies to compete
across state lines; allow small businesses to
collaborate to negotiate group insurance rates;
require pricing disclosures from health care
providers to promote a competitive,
consumer-driven market; and offer incentives for
patients and the private sector to create
wellness programs and other efficiencies in
health care delivery.
Reforms should not come at the expense of
hardworking Americans.
We need reform that realigns payment incentives
toward outcomes, not the number of procedures;
promotes wellness and prevention programs;
encourages small businesses to pool together to
purchase insurance; allows insurance companies
to sell across state lines to increase
competition; and eliminates waste, fraud and
abuse that contribute to health care’s rising
costs. We should have consumer-driven
initiatives that allow individuals to find
benefit options that best meet their needs. For
example, expanding effective Health Savings
Accounts would do so without increasing taxes or
expanding the government.
Instead of giving the government more power over
health care, individual patients must have more
control, choice and information to make their
health care decisions. We need to renew focus on
health care reforms that will work and have
broad public support without the predicted
failures that are inherent in Obamacare.
Repealing and replacing the failed policies with
actual reforms can help improve the situation
faced by millions of Americans. Take Jennifer,
from Salmon, whose current health care coverage
costs her family $375 per month, but is no
longer available under the health care law. The
next available plan costs $900 per month with a
$10,000 deductible. Others, like Kelly from
Boise, another hardworking mother, are
considering taking the penalty fine for being
uninsured under the new law as it will be a more
feasible option for their family.
There are just too many of these stories.
I will continue to urge my colleagues on both
sides of the aisle, along with President Obama,
to carefully listen to the American people and
work together to defund and repeal every element
of Obamacare that proves unworkable. We all
agreed when Obamacare was enacted that health
care reforms are needed.
We need to go in a new direction that replaces
the failed policies with true reforms that
represent the will of the American people. |
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