First Six Months Of ObamaCare Show Need For Repeal

Statement

On the Fox Business Network, Louisiana Congressman Bill Cassidy discussed the six-month anniversary of the enactment of the new health care law, making the case that it must be repealed and replaced with patient-centered reform to bolster the economy and ensure patients' access to affordable, quality health care. Video and partial transcript are below.

The Pledge: Defund, Repeal, Replace
Cassidy: "Obviously, if we first propose repeal, most likely the President will veto it. On the other hand, you then go back and defund or repeal small potentially very onerous provisions. Finally, since it's so interrelated, you end up with something I call swiss cheese, and with something that has the structure of swiss cheese. At that point, it becomes necessary to keep what is good and replace what is bad, and that's when you can actually replace."

New Health Care Law Is Stifling Economy, Killing Jobs
Cassidy: "Clearly, the unintended consequences -- and, frankly, the intended consequences -- will be something that can have an incredibly negative impact on our economy. If we talk about an employment rate that is stubbornly staying up, that is in part because … the uncertainty created by this bill and the regulations -- and other bills and regulations -- are inhibiting employers from hiring."

Reform Is Necessary, But Must Be Real Reform -- Patient-Centered Reform
Cassidy: "Clearly, reform was necessary, on the one hand. On the other hand, there are fundamental differences in how you approach reform. Do you take a top down approach, where you expand Medicare, which is going bankrupt in seven or eight years, and expand Medicaid, which is bankrupting states, and you cannibalize the one, you expand the other to create a third entitlement, which is supposed to rescue the first two. If that makes sense, it shouldn't make sense."

Implement Patient-Centered Reform To Lower Costs
Cassidy: "Something we call a patient-centered approach, one example of which are health savings accounts, in which you begin to allow people to have ownership of their health insurance policy. Instead of putting up $12,000 to $15,000 a year for a policy -- and if they don't use it, they lose it -- they sluice off a certain amount of that premium into an account that they control. And with that, it changes the psychology. Now, they become wiser purchasers of health insurance. And studies show these policies are 10% - 30% cheaper than traditional insurance policies."

Can We Reform Health Care Without Bankrupting The Country?
Cassidy: "Absolutely. And in fact, it is imperative that we reform it without bankrupting the country. I used to tell my patients, "your financial health is just as important as your physical health.' We must pay attention to both. I think we must do so as we go forward."

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