Issue Position: Health Care Reform

Issue Position

Governor Hoeven and many North Dakotans oppose the health care bill passed by Congress. This bill will raise taxes by $500 billion, reduce Medicare for our seniors by $470 billion, create billions of dollars in unfunded mandates for the states, and put government between you and your doctor.

Instead of government run health care, our country needs a common-sense approach that empowers people and gives them a choice in choosing their insurance and their own health care provider. A major factor in many peoples' inabilities to obtain insurance is the increasing costs of health care. Government control of health care will reduce competition, limit personal choices, and increase overall costs.

To truly reform the health care system, we must:

* Create competition among insurance companies by allowing companies to offer plans across state lines.
* Enact tort reform legislation.
* Increase portability of insurance.
* Crack down on Medicaid and Medicare fraud that costs taxpayers billions of dollars per year.
* Create a cohesive informational technology system for health care information to increase efficiency and accuracy in sharing health records and files.
* Promote the purchase of long-term care insurance through tax credits to relieve the pressure of these costs on Medicaid.
* Shift funding from institutions to home- and community-based care.
* Enact tort reform legislation.
* Promote meaningful prevention and wellness.
* Increase not only health insurance opportunities for disenfranchised children, but also work to get already eligible children enrolled in the CHIP Program.
* Reduce or eliminate denial of coverage due to pre-existing conditions.
* Increase transparency of medical pricing to allow consumers to make informed decisions.

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