Reforming Our Nation’s Healthcare System: Increasing Choice While Lowering Costs By: Ed Whitfield, (KY-01)

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Reforming Our Nation’s Healthcare System: Increasing Choice While Lowering Costs By: Ed Whitfield, (KY-01)

This summer, Congress has been considering a variety of proposals to overhaul our nation’s healthcare system. Like many Kentuckians, I believe we need to enact comprehensive healthcare reform legislation which will increase access to quality healthcare and services while lowering costs for all Americans.

While I am committed to improving the nation’s healthcare system and providing affordable health care to all Americans, I have some very serious concerns with the proposal laid out by the leadership in the House of Representatives. Congress needs to consider proposals which will leave important healthcare decisions in the hands of patients and their doctors. I am also worried about the high cost of this proposal, which is estimated to be approximately $1 trillion. With the national debt already at a record high, we simply cannot ignore the cost of this legislation to taxpayers.

For this reason, I plan to soon unveil my “10 Steps for A Healthier America.” This package of proposals would improve access to quality, affordable healthcare without burying future generations under a mountain of debt.

To ensure all Americans have access to quality healthcare, I propose we provide refundable tax credits to individuals and families to purchase insurance. I also believe we need to establish a new premium assistance program to aid low-income individuals in their insurance costs. To empower Americans to take ownership over their healthcare plans, we need to allow individuals and groups to purchase health insurance across state lines, as well as create a new online data base in order to allow patients to track insurance prices to get the best deal possible.

I recognize that many small business owners would like to be able to purchase health insurance for their employees, but simply cannot afford it. I believe we need to provide small businesses with the tools they need to purchase insurance for their employees by allowing them to band together and negotiate with insurers to get better deals for coverage. Furthermore, I propose we encourage businesses to provide incentives to their employees to live healthy lifestyles which would in turn lower healthcare costs across the board.

To attract and keep quality physicians in rural areas like the First Congressional District of Kentucky, we need to reform our medical malpractice laws to help control the cost of malpractice insurance, which increases costs for patients. I am also proposing we reauthorize important medical student loan repayment programs in order to attract healthcare professionals to many rural areas.

As Congress moves forward working to enact healthcare reform legislation, I will continue to advocate for the provisions in the proposal I have laid out and work to preserve patient choice while lowering costs.

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