“A Good Start on Health Care, But We’re Not Done”

U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Budget

May 15, 2017

Contact: William Allison, Chris Hartline 202-226-6100

ICYMI: "A Good Start on Health Care, But We're Not Done"

After House passage of the American Health Care Act (AHCA), Budget Committee Chairman Diane Black, the official sponsor of the legislation, wrote today in RealClearPolitics that "Congress has taken the first step to keep our promise of repealing and replacing Obamacare. But we can't stop now. We're not done working to save our constituents from this disastrous law and give doctors and patients - not government - control over health care decisions."

You can read the full Op-Ed at: https://budget.house.gov/components/redirect/r.aspx'ID=464836-71704292.

"You asked for it, you got it.

For seven years, everywhere I go, people tell me stories about how Obamacare's heavy hand has cost them money and hurt their health care. I share their frustration - it was the main reason I ran for Congress in the first place and repealing Obamacare has been one of my highest priorities since then. I'm proud to tell you the House of Representatives has done just that - and I'm even prouder to have sponsored this repeal as chairman of the Budget Committee.

...

The American Health Care Act continues our progress in creating a more patient-centered, free-market health care system. The bill isn't perfect, but I worked hard to make it as conservative as possible.

We gave states the option of adding work requirements for able-bodied adults with no dependents who are on Medicaid. But I believe that requirement should be mandatory and I will continue to push for that, whether in our upcoming budget or in future legislation...

We also gave states the opportunity to get waivers from some of Obamacare's most onerous regulations that are driving up health care costs for all Americans. This was a positive step that we should build on with future legislation...

And finally, our Medicaid reforms help preserve the program so that it can best serve our most vulnerable citizens, as it was intended, but doesn't become a permanent entitlement. I think we can, and must, go even further. Medicaid has a faulty foundation and it's time the federal government gets out of the way of good state reforms that can fix it. And we must stop liberal states from abusing the program.

Right now, states receive more money from the federal government to cover able-bodied adults above the poverty line who are on Medicaid than they do to support children and the disabled who are well below the poverty line. That's wrong. States shouldn't be able to use federal Medicaid dollars as a revenue stream to prop up their budgets. I intend to push for a change in the Medicaid reimbursement rate in our upcoming budget resolution to ensure that Medicaid dollars are used to properly support our most vulnerable citizens.

Obamacare is a disaster, and in Tennessee, its collapse is creating dire circumstances for our citizens. Massive premium increases are making insurance unaffordable for more and more Tennesseans and rising deductibles are making it harder to get health care, even for those who have insurance. Doing nothing is not an option."

Click at: https://budget.house.gov/components/redirect/r.aspx'ID=464837-71704292 to read the full story.