Moran's Statement Following President Obama's Health Care Address

Statement

Congressman Jerry Moran this evening commented on the current health care reform debate following President Obama's address to a joint session of Congress on the issue.

"Tonight, President Obama delivered what the media described as a ‘make or break' speech on health care. The President has already given 27 speeches devoted to health care and he has mentioned the matter prominently in another 92 speeches. The issue is not the messenger, but rather the message. The American people already know what this plan looks like and many have voiced that they do not like it. It is time to listen to Americans and consider some common-sense ideas to health care reform, instead of the trillions in new deficit spending, reduced choice for patients and doctors, and increased power in Washington that the Democrats' bills currently propose.

"During my town hall meetings and other events across Kansas during the month of August, I visited with many Kansans about their health care concerns and listened to their perspectives. Kansans care greatly about this issue and I believe this is too important to force through Congress just to get something passed to gain political points. The President expressed a desire to explore a wide range of options. We need to do just this and not be restricted by the current Democrat proposals.

"The way we get meaningful reform will be by reducing health care costs. We lower costs through reforms that eliminate the unnecessary over-spending in our current system. We have many available options at our disposal to address our health care problems instead of passing legislation that will likely cause millions of American to lose their current coverage and raise taxes by billions. The President mentioned that his door is ‘always open' for serious proposals. My door is open as well, Mr. President," said Moran.

Throughout the health care debate, Moran has stressed that more Americans will gain access to quality health care once costs are controlled and reduced. He continues to advocate for ideas such as medical liability reform, an increased emphasis on wellness and disease prevention, providing tax incentives to low-income families to retain or purchase private health insurance, implementation of health information technology, and training more medical professionals and encouraging them to practice in underserved areas. He also supports finding responsible ways to address the problems caused by pre-existing conditions and to increase the size of the pool of insured.

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