My Republican colleagues in the House of Representatives and I have proposed a common-sense health care reform plan focused on increasing the affordability, accessibility and availability of quality health care.
Our plan will lower costs, make health care more convenient for patients and improve quality at a price our country can afford.
Our chief concern is making health care affordable for all Americans. To do so, we believe in reforming before spending. The system now is so complex and unwieldy that billions of dollars are wasted every year.
To lower health care costs, we must weed out the rampant overspending in our current system driven by the twin forces of trial lawyers and fraudsters, modernize medical regulations that haven't been changed in decades and make sure the government helps every American get insurance, not just those with health insurance through their job.
Attacking the unnecessary costs in our current system starts with implementing comprehensive medical liability reform, so when doctors are in exam rooms they are thinking about their patients, not about how to prevent future lawsuits. This will reduce the practice of defensive medicine and save billions of dollars in wasted health care spending.
It is also time to allow states, small businesses and other organizations to increase their purchasing power by banding together to offer health insurance at a lower cost. A small business in Ohio might not be able to afford health insurance on its own, but when joining with dozens of other small employers in Michigan and Indiana, the pool gets bigger and the price gets lower.
Even with these reforms, the cost of health care is still too high for many Americans.
While we are waiting for the cost of our plan to be determined by the Congressional Budget Office, we already know it would be cheaper than other alternatives being discussed.
To help address inequities, our plan gives Americans who purchase insurance on their own a tax deduction, treating them more like those who get insurance through a job or who are self-employed.
Republicans also provide financial assistance through new refundable and advanceable tax credits to those who need it most: low- and modest-income Americans. And, especially in today's economy, where so many workers have been forced to retire early or have been laid off, we recognize that many Americans who have not hit retirement age often have a hard time finding affordable health insurance. Thus, we offer additional financial help to those ages 55 to 64.
We also recognize many Americans with pre-existing conditions find insurance either unaffordable or unavailable. Our plan addresses this by fostering innovative state re-insurance programs and improved high-risk pools, ensuring that high-risk individuals get affordable coverage.
These and other measures will ensure every American, regardless of income, regardless of where they choose to live, regardless of pre-existing conditions or past illness, will have access to affordable, quality health care.
About the author: Rep Dave Camp, R-Midland, represents Michigan's 4th House District.
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