07.17.17

Better Care: Reversing Obamacare’s Failures

‘This Is An Opportunity To Move In The Direction Of A Better Health Care Plan, A Better Health Care System Than We Currently Have’

 

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): “[T]he fact is we know [under Obamacare] millions of people are seeing sky-high premiums, unaffordable deductibles and fleeing insurance markets because insurance companies keep losing money…. So what we are doing is offering a better alternative…. to make sure more people have access to medical care that they can afford, rather than this exercise of central planning and command-and-control, which has been a failure.” (NBC’s “Meet the Press,” 7/16/2017)

HHS SECRETARY TOM PRICE: “[W]e really sincerely believe that this is an opportunity to move in the direction of a better health care plan, a better health care system than we currently have where 20 million individuals across this country currently don't have coverage.” (Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” 7/16/2017)

  • SECRETARY PRICE: “In my previous life, I was a physician. I was an orthopedic surgeon, spent over 20 years taking care of patients. And often times, the most irritated and angry I ever saw patients is when they knew that somebody else was making a decision about what kind of treatment they could get…. The real question that we ought to be asking is who decides? Who ought to decide what kind of care, what kind of coverage, what kind of opportunity you may have? Should it be the federal government or should it be you and your family? And we come down on the line of you and your family.” (Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” 7/16/2017)

Senate Health Care Proposal ‘Cuts Taxes, Restrains Spending, And … Deregulates’

NATIONAL REVIEW: “The Senate Health-Care Bill Is a Step in the Right Direction… bill cuts taxes, restrains spending, and — courtesy of the tireless efforts of Senators Ted Cruz and Mike Lee — modestly deregulates. It ends Obamacare’s obnoxious fines on people who go without health insurance. It would be likely to yield lower premiums than keeping Obamacare as it is … Its Medicaid reforms would control the growth of that program, give states a stronger incentive to police fraud and seek efficiency, equalize funding between Medicaid’s new beneficiaries and its poorer traditional ones, and provide some help for people who wish to move from Medicaid to private insurance. It could produce a larger individual insurance market by attracting a greater number of young, healthy people who voluntarily choose to enter it.” (Editorial, “The Senate Health-Care Bill Is A Step In The Right Direction,” National Review Online, 7/17/2017)

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: “The most important residual virtue of the McConnell rewrite … is that it maintains the original Medicaid reform. This would transition the program to per capita block grants and equalize payments for the poor and the disabled compared to ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion population of able-bodied adults. The revision … shifts to a budget growth rate in a decade that is fiscally sustainable.” (Editorial, “ObamaCare Moment of Truth,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/14/2017)

EMPLOYERS COUNCIL ON FLEXIBLE COMPENSATION (ECFC): “We are pleased that this legislation includes provisions that will expand and promote consumer-directed health accounts. The bill will expand who is eligible to make contributions to HSAs and increase the amount that individuals can contribute…. Consumer-directed health accounts are an important element in providing affordable health care to all Americans, and we support the provisions of the Better Care Reconciliation Act which will support and expand consumer-directed health plans.” (Employers Council on Flexible Compensation, Letter to Sen. McConnell, 7/14/2017)

 

Life Groups: ‘The Senate Has The Chance To Protect Life By Advancing This Legislation’

NATIONAL RIGHT TO LIFE COMMITTEE: “The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of state right-to-life organizations, supports H.R. 1628, the Better Care Reconciliation Act, and urges the Senate to vote to begin debate on this bill ... The Better Care Reconciliation Act reduces the devastating impact on life brought by the abortion-subsidizing and abortion-expanding provisions of the Obama Health Care Law.” (“National Right To Life Supports Better Care Reconciliation Act,” National Right To Life News Today, 7/14/2017)

SUSAN B. ANTHONY LIST PRESIDENT MARJORIE DANNENFELSER: “SBA List supports the Better Care Reconciliation Act and will rally the pro-life movement behind it. The bill deserves the support of every pro-life Senator. We urge Senate Republicans to unite and move to debate this bill …” (Susan B. Anthony List, Press Release, 7/14/2017)

  • “The Better Care Reconciliation Act contains strong pro-life protections, including re-directing abortion giant Planned Parenthood’s taxpayer funding to community health centers…. [W]e believe that the final product will represent meaningful progress for the pro-life cause.” (Susan B. Anthony List, Press Release, 7/14/2017)

 

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SENATE REPUBLICAN COMMUNICATIONS CENTER

Related Issues: Obamacare, Defending Life, Health Care