ICYMI: Sen. Coons Op-Ed in The News Journal: ‘A Bipartisan Prescription for Fixing the Affordable Care Act’
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Americans continue to hear a lot of rhetoric -- but not enough solutions -- coming out of
In an op-ed in the
My opposition to these bills, though, was not rooted in partisanship. As I've been saying for years, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) isn't perfect.
Small businesses that want to offer health insurance for their employees have struggled to find affordable options. Some deductibles or premiums are higher than folks would like, in part because of a lack of competition in the market.
I've also heard from economists and budget forecasters who know our fiscal health depends on doing even more to control rising health care costs.
Instead of continuing the partisan back-and-forth that won't get us anywhere, I'd like to outline a series of revisions to the Affordable Care Act that will give individuals and small businesses greater access to more affordable, more accessible, and higher-quality care. Many of these ideas already have bipartisan support in
The first question we need to address is why insurance hasn't been as affordable for many individuals as we'd hoped. A lack of competition in the marketplace (which particularly affects smaller states like
To help bring prices down, I'm a cosponsor of a bill led by
That translates into lower premiums for consumers. It's similar to the successful program used to lower premiums and spur competition in the
We also have to make the Affordable Care Act work better for small businesses. Last year, I introduced the Small Business Tax Credit Accessibility Act to expand and simplify the ACA's small business tax credit.
The bill would have made the credit available to more employers for a longer period of time.
I've also been proud to cosponsor a bipartisan bill in the
In the coming weeks, I'll introduce a bill that would incentivize insurance companies to stay in states with only one dominant insurer (such as
More generally,
We need to take a broader look at what's driving up health care costs in
There's no reason that the same procedure should cost
We have to reform our health care system to make sure that costs are directly tied to the value of the service, rather than the number of procedures. No matter how perfect a health insurance system appears on paper, if costs are still going up, we haven't yet found the solution.
For those who don't believe
In 2011, in the face of opposition from the administration, numerous advocacy groups, and even some of our colleagues in
This bipartisan fix made sure that
Crafting a health care system that works for all Americans is no easy task. But the Affordable Care Act provides a solid foundation from which
Neither party has a monopoly on good ideas. Let's find constructive ways to expand coverage and lower costs. Let's make health care coverage more affordable by making subsidies for middle-income families more generous.
Let's simplify and increase the small business tax credit under the ACA. Let's increase marketplace competition, especially in small states like
On each of these areas, I'm going to keep looking for Republican partners willing to sit down at the negotiating table and get to work on improving the Affordable Care Act. As my friend
Let's hold hearings and have a real debate on the
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