Issue Position: Health Care

Issue Position

In January of 2011, I voted to repeal ObamaCare. It was one of the first votes I took as a new member of Congress. More than 40 times in the past three years I have voted to repeal, replace or delay the Obamacare law that has driven up our unemployment rate, pushed people into part time work, reduced overtime hours, eliminated doctor choice and increased premium/copayment costs for thousands of Oklahomans. Costs have increased as the new healthcare taxes started in early 2014 and options have decreased as many plans exclude many doctors and hospitals.

In the days ahead, the Obamacare Indpendent Payment Advisory Board will begin to decide what drugs, treatments and hospitals meet their cost containment standards and which do not.

Obamacare is not just bad law, it is bad policy. The President's healthcare law is about price controls and redistribution of income, not doctors, nurses and patients. When you are sick, the priority should be you and your health.

Everyone in our nation knows that there were serious issues in our healthcare delivery, but most individuals in our state see the President's Healthcare law as a huge over reach of federal power. Patients and doctors should have the maximum amount of flexibility to make healthcare decisions and not wait on a federal agent to make a judgment on their healthcare needs. We can do better.

There are many states, including Oklahoma, who have made significant strides in creating tort reform and affordable healthcare for those who cannot afford care at this time. The federal government should remove barriers, not create barriers, so small businesses can join together in high risk pools, individuals can take their healthcare with them from job to job, people have increased insurance options, medical malpractice reform and greater healthcare choice for those in true poverty.

There are easier ways to deliver healthcare to all Americans, other than taking over a huge portion of the nation's economy and controlling Americans' healthcare choices.

I am a co-sponsor of the conservative replacement for Obamacare HR 3590. I am also the author of the only alternative that completely returns the oversight of healthcare back to the states.

In the past year, I have led the effort to streamline the approval process for new Prescription drugs through the FDA so terminal patients have faster access to innovative life saving drugs and clinical trials. A streamlined approval process for new prescriptions will also lower the cost of each new drug.

Healthcare decisions are extremely personal and very local. One of the best ways to revolutionize health insurance, is to give control of healthcare decisions back to each person and the states. I am the author of the Healthcare Compact, which transitions federal healthcare dollars to the individual state healthcare authorities, if they choose to take the responsiblity. Successful programs like "Insure Oklahoma" demonstrate how effective state leadership can be in healthcare.

In the summer of 2013, the subcommittee I chair exposed the upcoming data and web issues in the Obamacare exchanges, months before they miserably failed October 1. The federal government should not be in the healthcare business for all Americans.

I have done more than complain about Obamacare, I have provided options and oversight to solve the healthcare issues of our day. This is a time for hard work and solutions, not just shouting.

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