Thank you for contacting me to express your opposition to the American Health Care Act. I appreciate your input on this important issue.
In recent years, Obamacare has sent our nation’s health care system into an unsustainable spiral that I feel an obligation to reverse. To move our country in the right direction, we must start by putting an end to this failed policy and return sanity to health care in America. I’m committed to fulfilling our promise to the American people to ensure that they have access to health care plans that give them more choices while at the same time not causing their out-of-pocket costs to soar.
Health care is rightfully a very personal issue for the American people and, as a result, policy debates surrounding health care can often become highly politicized. In light of this, I think it’s important to actually look at the facts.
Nearly 70 percent of counties in the United States have only one or two insurers selling coverage on the Obamacare exchanges. Making matters worse, there are now a growing number of counties around the country that have zero insurers on the Obamacare exchanges. This lack of choice and competition in the marketplace among insurers means higher costs and fewer options for families and businesses alike.
For example, in Texas, only 10 insurers are selling insurance on the individual health insurance market in 2017. In fact, 86 percent of Texas counties have only one or two insurers selling coverage.
This trend is seen both in Texas and around the country. Recently, health insurance provider Medica announced that it may soon follow Aetna and Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield in pulling out of Iowa’s individual health insurance market, which would mean that there would be no insurance available for the more than 70,000 individuals who purchase their insurance through the individual market.
Likewise, Obamacare has caused many premiums to dramatically increase — some by as much as 50 percent. Last year, the average Obamacare premium for a mid-level plan saw a 25 percent increase nationwide. In addition to premium increases, many have seen their deductibles soar to the point where insurance effectively becomes unusable for far too many Americans. These increases have outpaced the average increase in workers’ wages over the past few years. Increasingly, more health insurers are seeing the writing on the wall, and have been dropping out of the exchanges altogether. This trend set off the so-called “death spiral” that so many Republicans warned of years ago.
The American Health Care Act (H.R. 1628) will begin to fix our broken health care system through sensible, market-based reforms that reduce costs and expand access. During this transition period, people will continue to have access to their existing health care options.
This bill will dismantle the Obamacare taxes, such as the small business tax, health insurance tax, medical device tax, tax on over-the-counter medications, and the employer and individual mandates that have hurt small businesses and stifled innovation.
Mandating that Americans buy health insurance or face a penalty from the IRS was never going to be the right solution, and this has been reinforced by Obamacare exchange participation levels coming in at about half the level of most predictions.
American families must be given more flexibility to be in control of their health care spending through tools such as Health Savings Accounts. With this bill, the current amount of money that a person can contribute to an HSA will double, while also providing more choices for how an individual can use that money.
To give families further access to health care, this bill will provide tax credits to individuals and families who don’t receive insurance through their work or a government program.
Some of the biggest concerns that I have heard about health care reform include protecting patients who have pre-existing conditions and ensuring that young people can stay on their family plans until they are 26 years old.
Both of these issues have long been supported by most Republicans and this bill ensures that patients with pre-existing conditions are not being denied coverage because of their health status and that young people can stay on their family plans until they are 26 years of age.
In fact, a provision in this bill specifically states:
“Nothing in this Act shall be construed as permitting health insurance issuers to limit access to health coverage for individuals with pre-existing conditions.”
This bill also provides $130 billion toward a State Innovation and Stability Fund, which goes towards risk-sharing and reinsurance mechanisms to assist individuals with pre-existing conditions pay for premiums and out-of-pocket-costs.
While this bill is necessary to make the reforms needed to restore stability and affordability to our healthcare system, I also recognize that no Obamacare replacement legislation will be a silver bullet. Health care in America was broken even before Obamacare, and as a lawmaker, I’m committed to continue advancing sensible health care reforms on behalf of the American people.
I am honored and grateful for the opportunity to continue serving as your voice in Washington, and I hope you’ll continue to reach out about the important issues facing our country and district. It is through your active civic engagement that I am best able to represent your interests at this critical juncture for our country.
