For our system of government to truly work, American citizens and those who represent them must remain consistently engaged in a healthy discussion about the issues at hand. Throughout my time serving the First District, I’ve found few issues that generate as much passion as the debate surrounding the health care overhaul law often referred to as Obamacare. This debate has been going on for years and will surely remain at the forefront of policy discussions for years to come. The most recent chapter of the story came with the Supreme Court’s King v. Burwell ruling, which upheld various provisions of Obamacare. What is important to remember about this ruling, however, is that the Court is not saying that these policies are good, it is simply saying that they pass constitutional muster. The Court’s ruling does nothing to change the fact that Obamacare is simply bad policy.
I’ve been fighting for smart health care reform since I was elected. In fact, one of my first outreach efforts was to establish a First District health care advisory council made up of doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals. The advisory council is interested in employing innovation and smart policy to find solutions to our nation’s health care challenges. During my time as a public health specialist in Virginia, I was able to witness firsthand the complexities of our health care system. These complexities require a serious, thoughtful, and deliberate approach to reducing costs and increasing accessibility. I believe any reform efforts must maintain a patient-centered system in which the patient and his or her doctor are calling the shots, not faceless bureaucrats or insurance companies. Obamacare is a massive, complicated law, and despite its thousands of pages of legal terminology and regulations, it does not address the true drivers of health care costs.
I believe Congress has a duty to prevent the continued harm that Obamacare is creating for our citizens and small businesses, as well as an obligation to implement targeted policies that empower patients and providers, ensure access to affordable, high-quality care, and reduce the number of uninsured individuals and families. There are areas of common ground on which we can build, from allowing young people to remain on their parents’ insurance until they’re 26, to ensuring that preexisting health conditions cannot keep an individual from receiving affordable coverage. Recently, there has been bipartisan acknowledgement that parts of Obamacare are not working. For example, I proudly supported the Protect Medical Innovation Act, which repealed a portion of Obamacare that excessively taxed the sales of medical devices and, in effect, discouraged advances and innovations in the medical device field. Americans, young and old, deserve to know that good health care is both affordable and accessible, and we can do better than Obamacare. I will continue to fight to address the true drivers of health care costs and pursue true reform.
The main streets of Virginia’s First District are full of ideas to get our economy back on track, and your feedback is critically important to me as I serve you. I can be reached by telephone at (202) 225-4261, through my website (www.wittman.house.gov), on Facebook (www.facebook.com/reprobwittman), and via Twitter (www.twitter.com/robwittman).
###
