Health Care

A key priority of my first term in Congress is to reform our health care system to provide affordable, quality health care to all Americans.  Today, our families are paying more for their health care than anywhere else in the world.  In fact, over the last decade, the cost of an average family health plan has doubled, growing three times faster than wages.  The result is higher deductibles, more expensive premiums, and larger out-of-pocket expenses.  Equally problematic is the fact that more than 47 million Americans, including 2.5 million New Yorkers, are uninsured. This is unacceptable.

Perhaps more concerning is the fact that having expensive health care insurance today does not mean that you will have it tomorrow.  For many families, losing a job also means losing health coverage, often leaving individuals with existing medical conditions simply “uninsurable.” This uncertainty combined with rising health care costs has created an expensive, unreliable system that is simply unsustainable.

In order to address these systemic problems, Congress is debating comprehensive health care reform legislation.  I believe that real health care reform must begin by addressing the out of control costs. That is why I support proposals that would pay health care providers based on healthy outcomes; create standard billing forms, codes, and practices to reduce expenses and allow doctors to spend more times treating patients; and identify and eliminate waste fraud and abuse that contribute to rising costs.  By reducing unnecessary costs, we not only make health care more efficient, but we also make it more affordable for more Americans.

As a small businessman, I understand that health care reform is not only critical for healthy families, but also for the creation of strong businesses and a successful long-term economic recovery. That is why I co-sponsored The Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Act. The SHOP Act is a bipartisan bill designed to help make health insurance more affordable for small businesses. The bill would provide tax incentives to encourage states to reform poorly functioning small group insurance markets and would encourage the development of state purchasing pools backstopped by a voluntary, nationwide pool.

I also support the concept of a self-sustaining public insurance option that competes on a level playing field – meeting the same benefit requirements and same market reforms as private insurance plans.  I believe that the inclusion of such a plan in the free market system will provide more choice for consumers, create competition, and ultimately drive down the costs of health care for New York families.

Today, we have a unique opportunity to fundamentally reorganize our health care system and expand access to the quality care that all Americans deserve.  However, I am not interested in reform that simply throws more money at a broken system.  Rest assured, I will remain committed to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to fight for reforms that reduce costs, improve outcomes, and expand access to affordable, quality healthcare to all Americans.