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Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Health Care Reform Should Put Patients and Doctors, Not Bureaucrats, First

By: Congressman Lamar Smith

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As the American people struggle to make ends meet, reducing health care costs is a basic part of improving access to quality care. Some of the voluntary steps recently announced by President Obama and pledged by industry groups, including the use of new information technologies, are wise moves, which I support.

However, while the White House likes to point to the vast savings to be had, the Obama Administration has yet to offer a concrete plan for how to reach such goals. Nor has it said how it plans to pay for its proposed multi-trillion dollar health care plan, which is long on promises and short on details.

A good rule of thumb for Washington is that sweeping government initiatives almost always cost more than originally projected and are fraught with unintended consequences. As it stands, government mandates in health care already encourage waste, fraud, and abuse that lead to higher costs and more families without care.

The Administration needs to tell the American people where the money for its version of health care reform will come from: Higher taxes on families and small businesses? Rationed care that restricts the medical choices of families and seniors? Will such a plan increase the already record-breaking budget deficit and national debt figures?

These are legitimate questions that demand answers, which will require an open and honest discussion. In preparation for that looming debate, the House Republican Health Care Solutions Group is working on a vision of health care reform that will make quality health coverage affordable and accessible for every American in a way that does not repeat the past mistakes of this and other nations.

As that vision takes shape, we’re listening to our constituents and looking at solutions to:

1. Make quality health care coverage affordable and accessible for every American, regardless of pre-existing health conditions.

2. Protect Americans from being forced into a new government-run health care plan that would: a) eliminate the health coverage that more than 100 million Americans currently receive through their jobs; b) limit your choice of doctors and medical treatment options; and c) result in the federal government taking control of your health care.

3. Let Americans who like their health care coverage keep it, and give all Americans the freedom to choose the health plan that best meets their needs.

4. Ensure that medical decisions are made by patients and their doctors, not government bureaucrats.

5. Improve Americans’ lives through effective prevention, wellness, and disease management programs, while developing new treatments and cures for life-threatening diseases.

This is not speculation – history has demonstrated that government takeovers of health care lead to higher taxes, rationed care, decisions made by government bureaucrats instead of families and doctors, and will jeopardize the health coverage on which more than 100 million Americans currently depend.

Republicans want to empower doctors and patients by making health care more affordable, more accessible, and more accountable. The American people deserve the peace of mind that comes with knowing they have the health care their families need, when they need it.

We cannot allow politicians and special interests to stand between patients and the care they need. Rather than have health care decisions dictated by the government, the American people deserve the freedom to choose the health care that is best for their families.

President Obama has often said that he welcomes ideas from all sides. To date, his notion of bipartisanship has been for the loyal opposition to be quiet and get in line. The future of health care looms large. Rather than send us careening down the path towards the government takeover of private healthcare, it is my hope that the President will be a man of his word and will allow the open and public debate that is sorely needed.

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