As the Senior Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, my goal is to provide affordable, accessible, high quality health care to all Americans.
We need health care reform, but it has to be done the right way. We have to bring down costs so that everyone can have access to the quality, affordable care they need. I’m focused on an alternative, step-by-step approach to reduce health care costs, preserve the rights of patients to see the doctors of their choice, protect Medicare coverage for seniors, eliminate discrimination based on pre-existing conditions, and ensure that people can take their insurance with them from job-to-job.
We need health care reform, but it has to be done the right way. We have to bring down costs so that everyone can have access to the quality, affordable care they need. I’m focused on an alternative, step-by-step approach to reduce health care costs, preserve the rights of patients to see the doctors of their choice, protect Medicare coverage for seniors, eliminate discrimination based on pre-existing conditions, and ensure that people can take their insurance with them from job-to-job.
The rising cost of health care in Wyoming and the nation has passed the point of crisis for many, especially small businesses and working families. That is why I introduced a bill called Ten Steps to Transform Health Care in America in 2007. This plan builds on numerous health care proposals to expand access to quality health insurance in the U.S. The hallmark of this proposal is to provide more options, more choices and more control to every American.
My proposal provides a good outline of a step-by-step approach. I believe we can expand access to health insurance and health care providers while improving the quality of health care in the United States. The legislation protects individuals with pre-existing conditions, allows Americans to buy health insurance across state lines, and makes coverage more affordable. It proposes new market-based solutions that will enable uninsured working families to purchase private health insurance. The Ten Steps proposal expands choices and coverage and gives individuals real control over their health care.
There are a host of ideas I would like to explore, preferably with members of the majority party. For instance, if insurance prices, coverage, co-pays and deductibles were available for people to find on a web site it would be easier to see if less expensive policies were available. Additionally, Congress should ensure people with pre-existing conditions can get coverage by increasing funding for state high risk pools and expanding the use of reinsurance and risk adjustment policies to create incentives for insurers to enroll sicker, more expensive patients. Another idea is to create an incentive discount for those who follow their chronic disease regimens. We also need to decrease the number of junk lawsuits by implementing medical liability reforms. These are just a few ideas that have widespread support that could go a long way to improve our health care system.
Government-run health care is not the solution to the problems facing our nation's health care system today. Government-run health care may sound appealing, but huge bureaucracies are inefficient and impersonal. That is not the kind of health care system I want for the people of Wyoming and our country. The federal government should be the payor of last resort, not the primary purchaser. The 2,000-page bill that passed the Senate is too complex and confusing and most importantly the American people don’t support it. The bill cuts nearly a half trillion dollars from Medicare to spend on new programs, raises taxes on workers and small businesses by nearly $500 billion, and drives up health insurance premiums for many Americans. I am for a bill that will lower health care costs and won’t weaken our economy and threaten jobs.
With 46 million Americans living without health insurance, we cannot continue to allow partisan politicking to stand in the way of real reform. My Ten Steps bill and other good ideas out there address the health care crisis head on. There are solutions and I am prepared to work on them.
I've had success passing bills in this area and I plan to do more. It is important to listen to ideas on both sides of the aisle and focus on finding bipartisan solutions to fix our health care problems. I want every American to have high quality health care.
Government-run health care is not the solution to the problems facing our nation's health care system today. Government-run health care may sound appealing, but huge bureaucracies are inefficient and impersonal. That is not the kind of health care system I want for the people of Wyoming and our country. The federal government should be the payor of last resort, not the primary purchaser. The 2,000-page bill that passed the Senate is too complex and confusing and most importantly the American people don’t support it. The bill cuts nearly a half trillion dollars from Medicare to spend on new programs, raises taxes on workers and small businesses by nearly $500 billion, and drives up health insurance premiums for many Americans. I am for a bill that will lower health care costs and won’t weaken our economy and threaten jobs.
With 46 million Americans living without health insurance, we cannot continue to allow partisan politicking to stand in the way of real reform. My Ten Steps bill and other good ideas out there address the health care crisis head on. There are solutions and I am prepared to work on them.
I've had success passing bills in this area and I plan to do more. It is important to listen to ideas on both sides of the aisle and focus on finding bipartisan solutions to fix our health care problems. I want every American to have high quality health care.
Related Records
July 2012
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 07/27/12 | My experience with Google's self-driving car |
| 07/25/12 | AIDS-free generation is possible |
| 07/10/12 | President signs drug safety bill |
June 2012
May 2012
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 05/24/12 | Bipartisan FDA bill sails through Senate |
| 05/23/12 | OPINION: Passing FDA bill will save lives |
