REAL HEALTH CARE RESULTS: WHAT THE MEDIA WON'T TELL YOU

The following information was released by Americans for Prosperity (AFP):

by Lauren Stewart

This is a guest blog written by Lauren Stewart, senior federal affairs liaison at Americans for Prosperity.

Do you ever wonder why you only hear about health care when there's a "crisis"?

Crisis-driven politics is a familiar maneuver in Washington. It makes it easier to rubber-stamp the status quo funneling billions of dollars through a system where insurers deny roughly one-third of claims.

But when Congress does the harder work of passing reforms that empower patients, not the government or insurance companies, you rarely hear much about it.

It's hardly surprising, then, that many Americans haven't heard about the health care improvements coming out of this Republican Congress.

Here is the real story of the health care improvements coming out of Washington.

The Working Families Tax Cuts: A massive win for patient freedom

Last July, President Trump signed the Working Families Tax Cuts into law. This wasn't just a win for your wallet (protecting you from the largest tax increase in U.S. history) it was also a historic expansion of health care freedom. For years, the left has tried to funnel everyone into one-size-fits-all insurance controlled by Washington or health insurance companies.

This Congress did the opposite by:

Expanding money-saving HSAs: The tax cut bill expanded access to tax-free health savings accounts for millions of Americans. Putting families in control of the dollars they spend on health care gives them more control over their care with more access at lower costs. Families with certain low-cost insurance plans can now also have this powerful account, which allows them to save and pay directly for their own care, that they want, tax-free. That means big savings for consumers!

Making direct primary care fees HSA-eligible for at least 75 million Americans: With this change, Congress and the president have made health care more like Netflix and Uber. Using DPC gives patients direct access to their doctor with no middlemen, red tape, or surprise fees. It's health care the way it is supposed to be between you and your doctor.

Securing telehealth permanence: Telehealth saves lives and money, giving patients access to specialists without the risk of a waiting room infection or a four-hour commute. The new tax law allows HSA-qualified plans to cover 100% of telehealth costs before the deductible, helping to put health care at the fingertips of American families.

Watch Sofia Hamilton, health care policy analyst at AFP, explain how the Working Families Tax Cuts deliver for your family.

Of course, not a single Democrat supported these commonsense solutions.

But you know who does support them? The American people.

Recent polling conducted for Americans for Prosperity by Public Opinion Strategies, one of the nation's top polling firms, found that:

82% of voters support letting any American have an HSA

75% of voters support expanding the availability of DPC

77% of voters believe they should have control of their health care coverage, but 71% believe it is the government or insurance companies that have control

Transparency and fairness: The latest spending bill wins

The most recent spending bill didn't just keep the government lights on it included two massive "stealth" wins for seniors and taxpayers.

Site-neutral payments: "Same service, same price"

For too long, hospital corporations have exploited a loophole to charge Medicare more for a service just because it was performed in a "hospital-owned" doctor's office instead of an independent doctor's office. The result has been hospitals buying up physician practices like gangbusters which has created giant regional monopolies and driven costs way up for patients, especially seniors. Republicans are ending that. The new law requires off-campus hospital outpatient departments to have a separate identification number, an essential first step toward site-neutral payments. No more corporate gaming. If you visit your doctor, you shouldn't receive a "hospital" bill. If it's the same service, it should be the same price!

Extending telehealth flexibility

Finally, the law extends Medicare's pandemic-era telehealth flexibilities. This benefits 65 million elderly and disabled Americans by allowing audio-only care and treatment from the comfort of their own homes. Congress also expanded access for those with limited English proficiency and medical disabilities addressing miscommunications that cost hundreds of lives every year.

December's double punch: More choice, lower premiums

In December, both the House and Senate moved critical legislation to dismantle health insurers' "silver-loading" gimmick that has sent your premiums soaring.

The CrapoCassidy bill

A majority of U.S. senators voted "yes" on the Health Care Freedom for Patients Act, aka the CrapoCassidy bill, which would fundamentally shift the power balance from insurers to patients.

Direct support, not insurance bailouts: Instead of sending billions to giant insurance companies, the bill puts government contributions directly into the HSA accounts of qualified lower-income Americans. Some 87% of voters recognize that this reform would offer poor Americans the same health care options that better-off families enjoy.

Ending the silver-loading racket : By finally funding the so-called cost-sharing reduction program, which Congress has neglected for years, insurance companies will no longer be able to jack up the price of silver plans in the Affordable Care Act marketplace, which increases premiums across the board. This simple, long-overdue change would save taxpayers $50 billion+ over 10 years and slash ACA insurance premiums by an average of 12%!

Catastrophic coverage: The bill expands access to so-called copper (aka "catastrophic") health plans to 3 million more Americans giving young people and those who don't need "gold-plated" plans a realistic option they can afford.

The Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act (H.R. 6703)

Meanwhile, the House passed U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks' Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act (H.R. 6703), a powerhouse bill that takes a sledgehammer to the high cost of workplace health coverage.

CHOICE and AHPs: This bill codifies workplace CHOICE arrangements, which ensure you don't lose your health insurance when you change jobs, and legalizes association health plans, which allow small businesses to band together to get the same low rates as the big corporations. Real-world data suggests AHPs can reduce employees' insurance premiums by as much as 30%!

Deficit reduction: The Congressional Budget Office estimates that, overall, the Miller-Meeks bill would reduce the deficit by $35.6 billion and drop average benchmark premiums by 11%. That is what actual fiscal conservatism looks like.

Bottom line: We've made huge progress on health care even if you don't hear about it

Republicans are proving that you don't need a government takeover to fix health care. By enacting solid reforms that expand transparency, competition, and personal control, they are showing it's possible to make health care affordable again.

With AFP's help, Republicans are busy lowering costs while the other side is still trying to force a top-down, one-size-fits-no-one health care system that Americans don't want.

The media may not report it, but the results are real. Now we need to continue to build on those wins with a broad-based Affordability Agenda that lets Americans build, work, and create again and where growth, competition, and opportunity bring down prices across the board, big-time.

That bold agenda won't advance itself. It needs all of us to stand up and demand it.