Health

Information regarding my stance on Health issues.

WASHINGTON - In perhaps a symbolic vote, the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday to repeal a sweeping health-care law that continues to be as controversial as it is historic.

Approved by a vote of 245-189, the bill is expected to go nowhere in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

All five Oklahomans in the House - Republican Reps. John Sullivan, Frank Lucas, Tom Cole and James Lankford and Democratic Rep. Dan Boren - voted for the repeal measure.

Washington, DC - WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Frank Lucas (OK-3) today joined a majority in the House of Representatives in passing H.R. 2, the Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act, which will repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010. Congressman Frank Lucas voted in favor of this legislation. It passed the House with a 245 to 189 vote.

If there is one message I have received loud and clear during my town hall meetings this year it has been this: our health care system needs reform. However, most people have argued the answer is not a federal government-run health care system in this country. Instead, they tell me their biggest concerns are cost and access. While our health care system is not perfect, they argue, it is still one of the best in the world. As the old saying goes, you don’t want to throw out the baby with the bathwater.

So if dramatically increasing taxes and federal spending will not solve this problem what is the answer?

A Solution for the Uninsured. There are approximately 47 million Americans without health insurance coverage in this country. When they become ill, they go to an emergency room where treatment and tests are dramatically more expensive, driving up the cost of health care. We must address this problem. One option might be to provide funding for private health insurance for those Americans who do not qualify for Medicare or Medicaid. Senator Coburn’s legislation the Patient’s Choice Act proposes a refundable tax credit of $2,300 per individual and $5,700 per family. This would be one way to help Americans cover their health insurance costs without a complete federal government takeover of the system.

Lowered Costs and Maintained Choice. We need to lower the cost of medical procedures and the cost of health insurance. The best way to do this is to ensure transparency in the system. We need to allow patients to view the costs of procedures as well as the costs of insurance policies side-by-side. This will encourage competition within the market and help to lower prices without putting federal bureaucrats between patients and their doctors.

Access for All Americans. Access to health care is a major issue in rural America. Right now, there are many Oklahomans who live in rural areas and have problems getting to hospitals or doctors in order to receive the treatments they need. One way to address this issue would be to expand the use of telemedicine technologies. In Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University sponsors a mobile clinic that drives to area towns that do not have a local hospital. Patients receive treatments directly from staff in conjunction with doctors and specialists via video without having to drive hundreds of miles. It has become a great asset to the communities it serves.

Although there are other important subjects that should also be addressed – including preventative care and continued innovation in the medical field – I believe addressing these three issues will have the greatest impact. I will continue to monitor all pieces of legislation currently being considered in Congress regarding health care and I look forward to working with my colleagues to draft a final bill that will improve our health care system in a fiscally responsible way without losing the standard of care we have now.

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Washington, DC - Congressman Frank Lucas joined other members of the Oklahoma Delegation today to react to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) analysis that the recently passed health care legislation will result in higher premiums, lower reimbursement rates, and will force many Americans from their current health care plan breaking President Obama’s promise of ‘if you like it, you can keep it.’

U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas

WASHINGTON — Nearly one-third of Oklahomans — or roughly 1 million people — could be on

Washington, DC - As the health care legislation is officially signed into law by President Obama, state governments and the American people begin to gear up for the implementation of the new legislation and what it might mean for the future.  Many are concerned about the impact it will have on state budgets as states are forced to take on higher Medicaid costs. 

The debate in Washington this month reached a level of intensity that I have never seen.  People took to the streets and to the halls of Congress to loudly declare in one united voice their strong opposition to the government takeover of health care.  And, after fifteen months of ignoring the political minority and the will of the American people, the House of Representatives passed a final version of the legislation.  I joined the entire Oklahoma delegation opposing this costly and flawed legislation.

Washington, DC - The House of Representatives is expected to vote on health care legislation Sunday night.  Last year, both the House and the Senate passed their own versions of health care legislation.  With the victory by Republican Scott Brown in Massachusetts, Senate Democrats no longer had the 60 vote majority needed to pass a compromise version of the two bills.  For that reason, Speaker Pelosi and her leadership team decided to force the House to vote on the Senate-passed version of the bill and then attempt to rewrite the Senate-passed bill by offering “corrections”

Rep. Dan Boren, D-Muskogee: "As I have told my constituents since August, I could not vote for health care legislation that included a public option, burdensome mandates on businesses or the possibility of taxpayer funded abortion."

Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore: "This bill does not include common sense health care reforms that Oklahomans do support, such as tort reform and the establishment of tax deductions for individual purchasers. Oklahomans rightly believe the (House Speaker Nancy) Pelosi health care bill is a giant step backwards and it's one that I don't support."

Washington, DC - Today, the House of Representatives voted on and passed H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act.  The bill, drafted without committee hearings or markups behind closed doors by Speaker Pelosi and a limited number of her leadership team, passed in the House by a vote of 220-215.

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