Issue Position: Health Care

Issue Position

The Affordable Care Act has confused an already complex and wasteful healthcare system. Americans need more choices and a competitive insurance marketplace, not mandates. We all want a system where people are treated fairly and given the support they need to remain healthy. We want those who become ill to receive the best care possible and care that is affordable.

Imposing mandates on individuals and businesses while taxing procedures, payment plans to doctors, and everyday medical devices is not a recipe for improved healthcare access, affordability or quality. Improving healthcare for every American starts by improving access to information so consumers truly understand and can compare the costs.

We in Congress must do everything we can to help working families obtain better access to affordable health insurance. To do this, we must foster a system that makes the price of health care honest and transparent while supporting marketplace competition to control costs. We need to focus on reforms that improve affordability and provide flexibility not impose mandates that result in lost jobs and threaten the economic security of working Americans.

This is why I support the American Health Care Reform Act--a bill that offers patient-centric healthcare reform.

The articles below highlight a few of my concerns with the Affordable Care Act's security, effects on small business, and what I'm doing in Congress to change our options entirely:

- The American Health Care Reform Act | The complete text of the bill to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and related reconciliation provisions to promote patient-centered health care

- House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology letter to the President| Security & Privacy Issues

Mr. Kennedy gave a demonstration of real vulnerabilities with Healthcare.gov, showing how hackers are attempting to access personal information on the websites. According to his testimony, not only is this website vulnerable, it's under active attach=k. Even more troubling, Mr. Kennedy testified that there are "clear indicators that even basic security was not build into the Healthcare.gov website."

- USA TODAY| Obamacare Hurts My Small Business

My firm, which has fewer than 20 employees, recently received our renewal package for next year's health insurance plan. It read: "Your current coverage is no longer being offered, but we've provided you with a great alternative" -- an estimated 48% increase in premiums. That translates into approximately $1,676 in added costs per year for every individual covered on our plan ($6,704 for a family of four). That's approximately $44,000 in added annual costs that could otherwise be used to hire a college graduate.

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