Issue Position: Affordable Health Care

Issue Position

America needs health care reform that improves coverage and controls cost. I believe Obamacare must be replaced by a system that allows more competition and flexibility for states, while still expanding access and providing safe guards for the most vulnerable.

When Maria Cantwell voted for Obamacare, she voted for an extremely poorly written bill of more than 2,000 pages that puts government bureaucrats in charge of your health care decisions and limits your choice of doctor. Obamacare is certain to greatly increase America's deficits, and will inevitably decrease the quality of your health care.

Obamacare is extremely damaging to small business and includes more than 20 new taxes totaling billions and billions of dollars.

It is not enough to repeal Obamacare, we most also replace it with reforms that increase access, improve quality and control cost.

Here are my priorities for doing that:

Put health care consumers in control, not government bureaucrats.
I don't believe that unelected government bureaucrats should be making your health care decisions. That should be up to you as an individual. I want you to have your choice in doctor, your choice in treatment and your choice in insurance.

Treat small businesses and the self-employed with tax fairness. Right now, the tax code is written in a complicated manner that favors corporations providing health care, but doesn't give the same benefits to individuals. That's not fair. It leads to overdependence on corporations for providing health care to their employees. Providing the same fair tax treatment would reduce this dependence, foster increased coverage, and reduce the chance that when someone loses their job, they also lose their health care coverage.

Bring costs down by reigning in "ambulance chasing" lawsuits. One of the main drivers of skyrocketing health care costs is malpractice insurance and doctors ordering unnecessary tests to protect themselves from risk of lawsuits - yet Obamacare contains no provision for tort reform. Maria Cantwell is in the pocket of trial lawyers -- just look at the public records of her campaign contributions, but I will work for the people of Washington and support balanced and fair legal reform to the health care system.

Increase health care availability by allowing insurance to be purchased across state lines. High regulation and mandates limits the number of providers serving individual states and increases costs. I support fostering market competition, by reducing the barriers to greater consumer choice in your health care decisions.

Allow health coverage innovation like Health Savings Accounts and low-cost "catastrophic" plans. Today's "one-size-fits-all" approach is expensive and hurts quality and doctor access. HSA's and "catastrophic" plans will control costs, give consumers more choice, and incentivize healthier lifestyles.

Increase price transparency. Given the incredibly complicated current system of health care billing and insurance payment, almost no one knows how much a visit to the doctor actually costs, or whether certain procedures are good value. We need a sensible, easy-to-understand pricing system so that people actually know what and how much their health care treatments cost.

Increase competition to bring down the prices of prescription drugs. Some drug companies unfair use their market dominance to keep out competition and lower priced alternatives. Increased competition should be fostered to keep prices affordable for patients.

Invest in medical education. America needs more doctors and more nurse practitioners. As the baby-boomer generation ages, we face a growing shortage of doctors. Increasing the numbers of doctors will keep costs affordable and ensure improved quality. As a State Senator, I fought hard to secure a new medical school for Washington and as a US Senator will continue to push to make sure that America has a sufficient supply of the best trained doctors in the world.

Reform Medicaid as a "Block-Grant" program to the states. States should be given more control over how their Medicaid dollars are spent. Creating a "block-grant" program, similar to welfare reform of the 1990s, will help control costs, improve quality and aid the creation of balanced and sustainable budgets at both the state and federal levels.

It's Your Choice
Which system of health care do you choose for America? Maria Cantwell wants more government control of your health care. I stand for more individual control and increased patient choice.

Which choice will you make?

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