Issues
Health Care
I strongly oppose the government takeover of the health care system supported by President Obama, Jim Moran and Congressional Democrats. I was the first 8th District candidate to sign the Club for Growth’s Repeal It! pledge, and if elected, I will sponsor legislation to repeal ObamaCare and replace it with genuine market-based reform. In addition, if we are not able to repeal ObamaCare, I will support efforts to use Congress’s power of the purse to defund it.
At a time when the federal government is running a record deficit of more than $1.4 trillion, we simply can’t afford a program that, when fully implemented, will cost more than $2 trillion over ten years. Moreover, at a time when unemployment is at 10 percent, we must not raise taxes on small businesses and impose expensive mandates on employers under the guise of health-care reform. Such action would only further hurt our economy, resulting in fewer jobs and more unemployment. In addition, it is imperative that efforts to reform the health care system not be used as a subterfuge for federally subsidized abortion. That’s why I was a strong supporter of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment.
Fortunately, there is a better way. Instead of expanding the size of government, raising taxes, and increasing burdens on small businesses, we can lower the cost of health care and reduce the number of uninsured by increasing the range of choices offered to Americans, promoting more competition, and eliminating wasteful spending within the health-care system. Specifically, I favor taking the following five steps to reduce costs and increase access to quality health care:
1. Allow Americans to purchase health insurance across state lines – Consumers need to have access to a wider range of insurance options and removing the prohibition on buying health insurance across state lines will do just that. It will also increase competition among insurance companies, thus decreasing premiums. If a company in another state offers a cheaper and better insurance plan than is being offered by Virginia insurers, the government shouldn’t prohibit Virginia consumers from choosing to purchase a plan from an out-of-state company. One study by health economists at the University of Minnesota indicates that allowing Americans to purchase health insurance across state lines would reduce the number of uninsured by approximately 11 million Americans.
2. Allow small businesses to join together to form Small Business Health Plans – Currently, it is difficult for many small businesses to provide affordable health insurance for their employees. However, if we allow small businesses to join together and pool their employees into larger Small Business Health Plans, then the cost to small businesses of providing health insurance will go down, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, by an estimated 15 to 30 percent. This is because Small Business Health Plans will allow small businesses to spread risk among a much larger group of workers and increase their bargaining power with insurance carriers. By providing small businesses with this additional choice, we can decrease costs and increase access to health insurance at the same time.
3. Reform medical liability laws – Frivolous malpractice suits drive up health-care costs for all of us. Each year, tens of billions of dollars at a minimum are wasted on defensive medicine, unnecessary tests and treatments that are performed for the purpose of avoiding lawsuits. Current medical liability laws also discourage doctors from practicing high-risk specialties where malpractice insurance is the most expensive and lawsuits are the most common. In order to eliminate the costs associated with defensive medicine and improve access to specialists in high-risk fields, we must comprehensively reform medical liability laws. Unfortunately, in 2004 and 2005, when the Congress took up common-sense medical liability reform, Jim Moran voted no, choosing to stand with trial lawyers instead of doctors and patients. I will take a different approach. For example, in medical liability cases, we should shield doctors from liability in cases where they follow accepted clinical practice guidelines, set a reasonable nationwide cap on awards of non-economic damages, limit contingency fees charged by attorneys, mandate sanctions for attorneys that file frivolous lawsuits, and strengthen qualification standards for expert witnesses. We should also explore the creation of health courts where medical liability cases would be heard by specially trained expert judges.
4. Expand the Availability of Health Savings Accounts – The number of Americans taking advantage of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) is growing rapidly, and approximately one-third of those establishing HSAs were previously uninsured. HSAs allow consumers to save money on a tax-free basis for routine medical expenses while they purchase high-deductible insurance policies so that they are protected in case of catastrophic illness. By putting consumers rather than insurance companies in control of more medical expenses, HSAs empower patients and provide strong incentives for cost control. Unfortunately, current tax law discourages the use of HSAs. While all money spent on health insurance by employers is tax-deductible, individuals may not deduct money used to purchase their own HSA insurance policies. This disparity is unfair and should be ended immediately so that more Americans can choose to establish HSAs.
5. Reward Healthy Behavior – If more Americans adopted healthy lifestyles, we could dramatically reduce health care costs. Therefore, it is wrong for the federal government to limit artificially the ability of insurers and employers to reward individuals who engage in healthy behaviors. For example, while Safeway reports that it costs $1,400 a year less to insure a non-smoker as opposed to a smoker, the federal government only allows the company to reduce premiums for non-smokers by a fraction of that amount. As a result, non-smokers end up having to subsidize the health insurance premiums of smokers, which creates exactly the wrong incentive. I therefore believe that the federal government should stop restricting the ability of employers to implement effective wellness programs. By incentivizing individuals to engage in healthy behavior, we can not only decrease health care costs but also become a healthier society.
