Pete’s Principles on Health Care – No Government Takeover
We need a health care system that empowers individuals and doctors not bureaucrats.
I support innovative solutions that add competition to the marketplace that will drive down health care costs.
Michigan cannot afford the further burdens and mandates imposed by Washington through the health care bill that was recently signed into law. Michigan will now be on the hook for $710 million in unfunded mandates for new Medicaid enrollees, Michiganders are forced to pay $695 or 2.5% of their income for health care and Michigan employers are already weighing the next steps to attest for the new government mandates, penalties and taxes.
I have outlined an alternative solution through a series of seven bills that would provide affordable and universal access to health care.
Seven Solutions Plan for Health Care
I have consistently voted to oppose efforts to implement a massive government takeover of health care in the United States.
I have advocated on behalf of specific, focused solutions to improving access to health care, known as the Seven Solutions Plan for Health Care, which consisted of the following:
Costs
Small Business Health Fairness Act (H.R. 2607) - creates Association Health Plans (AHPs) that allow small businesses to join together to negotiate better health care prices.
Health Savings and Affordability Act (H.R. 3610) - Expands Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), which are a high-deductible insurance options that drive down costs by empowering consumers.
Health Care Choice Act (H.R. 3217) - Allows individuals to shop for health insurance across state lines to increase competition and decrease costs.
Access
Assuring Coverage for Americans with Pre-existing Conditions Act (H.R. 3741) - Creates and maintains high-risk pools in states to cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
Improving Health Care for All Americans Act (H.R. 3218) - Allows individuals to receive a tax credit for qualified health insurance for themselves, spouses and dependents. It would provide for tax equity between individuals and tax-exempt employer-provided health insurance.
Communities Building Access Act (H.R. 2925) - Allows for the creation of multi-share health care programs that distributes the cost of care between employers, employees and the community. This is based off a successful model in Muskegon, Michigan.
Tort Reform
Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (H.R. 1086) -Reforms medical malpractice law, which unnecessarily increases the cost of health care and forces doctors to practice defensive medicine such as ordering tests that may not be necessary.
