Healthcare
Healthcare issues affect us all and determining the best means of addressing them is an important part of my work in Congress.
Congressman Bill Young feels that our nation can and should do better when providing quality and affordable health care for the American people. H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), was enacted into law in 2010 and contained several provisions that he was supportive of. These included the requirement of coverage for individuals with pre-existing conditions, the prevention of insurance companies from cancelling the policies of individuals when they become sick, and the closing of the so-called doughnut hole in the Medicare Part D prescription drug program.
Ultimately, Congressman Young opposed the final version of PPACA for various fundamental reasons including its estimated cost of $1 trillion over the next 10 years, its massive tax increase on millions of Americans, its job killing regulations and taxes on small businesses, its premium increases, its unconstitutional mandate that individual Americans must buy health insurance, its substantial reduction in Medicare payments for beneficiaries in his district and throughout the nation, and its entitlement expansions on States which will make it difficult because of limited resources to handle the influx of new Medicaid patients. Read his remarks that were made on the House floor during the PPACA debate here.
Instead, Congressman Young supports the ongoing efforts in the House to repeal the government-centered PPACA and replace it with a more sensible and patient-centered approach. Some fundamental principles that he believes should be the centerpiece of any health care reform plan include:
- Preserving the rights of patients and families to keep their health plan if they like it;
- Ensuring that people with pre-existing medical conditions have access to affordable health care coverage;
- Preventing insurance companies from dropping coverage for patients who are sick;
- Allowing young adults to remain on the health insurance policies of their parents;
- Reforming our nation’s medical liability system to lower health care costs by reducing the burden of medical liability policies and eliminating wasteful health care spending;
- Protecting doctor – patient relationships;
- Lowering health care premiums through increased competition and choice and by making health care policies available across state lines;
- Providing incentives to employers to provide health care coverage, rather than fines and penalties on those who do not.
Congressman Young has also been the recipient of various awards throughout his years of public service. In 2011 alone he has received the following honors:
- The Association of American Cancer Institutes Distringuished Public Service Award;
- The Healthcare Leadership Council Champion of Healthcare Innovation.
Finally, while in office Congressman Young has worked tirelessly to enact key legislation expanding health opportunities. Some of these measures from the 112th Congress include:
- H.R. 5, the Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act;
- H.R. 451, the Healthcare Truth and Transparency Act;
- H.R. 452, the Medicare Decisions Accountability Act;
- H.R. 605, the Patients' Freedom to Choose Act;
- H.R. 1041, the Fairness in Medicare Bidding Act.