Issue Position: Healthcare/Medicare

Issue Position

Repeal and replace the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), Pub. Law No. 111-148, commonly known as 'Obamacare.'

As you may know, this law mandates that all uninsured Americans purchase health insurance or face a financial penalty, creates complex regulations for health care providers and insurers, imposes unfunded mandates on states and small businesses, dramatically expands Medicaid coverage, and cuts Medicare funding, all while permitting the Obama Administration to issue waivers for those groups it chooses to exempt, raise taxes on successful individuals and some health services, and raise fees on insurance companies. The net consequence of this "reform" is higher health care costs for everyone who does not participate in government insurance programs, increased federal and state taxes for all Americans, reduced access to care, a shrinking physician population, reduced Medicare options and benefits, and lower overall quality of care.

I do believe we need to reform our health care system, but we must do so in a reasoned way. Obamacare accomplishes none of the objectives of real health care reform--lower costs, improved care, and increased access to care for all Americans--but rather increases Americans' dependency on failed federal programs. This law must be repealed.

I am taking immediate action to ensure repeal. I have signed on to a U.S. Supreme Court amici curiae brief, along with 116 of my fellow Members of Congress and more than 103,000 supporters of the American Center for Law and Justice, arguing Obamacare's individual mandate is unconstitutional and central to the statute, and urging the Court to strike down the entire law. I voted for H.R. 2576, which adjusts the formula for determining eligibility in federal health care programs under Obamacare and has been enacted into law.

I also voted for H.R. 358, the Protect Life Act, which prohibits funding for abortion and abortion coverage under Obamacare, while protecting conscience rights for health care providers, and H.R. 3630, the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2011, which increases the amount of health care premium subsidies that the Treasury Department can recapture from those who received too much subsidy money and reduces funding by $8 billion for the Prevention and Public Health Fund. Finally, I have co-sponsored H.R. 436, the Protect Medical Innovation Act, which eliminates Obamacare's excise tax on medical devices, and I continue to look at other co-sponsorship opportunities that would nullify this destructive law.

Prior to my election, on January 19, 2011, the House passed by a vote of 245-189 H.R. 2, the Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act, which would repeal Obamacare in its entirety. Unfortunately, the Senate rejected this proposal on a procedural motion by a vote of 47-51. My colleagues also successfully enacted a number of laws that would repeal various Obamacare requirements (H.R. 4, H.R. 1473, and H.R. 2055) and passed and sent to the Senate other measures that would do the same (H.Res. 9, H. Con. Res. 34, H.R. 1, H.R. 1213, H.R. 1214, H.R. 1216, and H.R. 1217).

Preserve Medicare for current beneficiaries. Make is sustainable for future generations.

My mom is covered by Medicare and I share the concerns of many Americans over its stability. I will not allow her to lose coverage at a time in her life when she needs it most. I offer the same commitment to all individuals covered under Medicare. The program is vital to our nation's seniors and should not only be protected, but reformed so that the program can remain solvent and promises made can be kept.

When voting on proposed plans concerning Medicare, I have strong criteria. I will not support any plan that will reduce benefits to seniors currently covered. Also, any proposal to reform Medicare cannot simply prolong the impending long-term bankruptcy of this program. It must reform it so that we can save Medicare for both current and future beneficiaries. Lastly, I will not support a plan that will hinder economic growth. The solution to our federal deficit is not diverting costs and raising taxes.

We have promised this program to seniors and I have every intention of upholding that promise. My mother and other seniors deserve to have their benefits defended and it is our duty to reform Medicare so that it will continue to provide much needed coverage. Republicans in the House of Representatives realize that non-action will have dire consequences and have proposed a plan to reform and save Medicare. Neither the President nor Democrats in the House and Senate have proposed plans to protect and save Medicare, which is the equivalent of letting it go bankrupt.

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