PLATFORM AND POSITIONS: INSURANCE

We all know that the Obama administration is trying to ram government health care down our throats and is planning to use the rate increases applied for by Blue Cross/Anthem in California to justify their position that government control is needed. This is untrue for several reasons, but the rate increase asked for in California is largely due to having to shift the cost of health care for illegal immigrants to people who DO have insurance.

Very few people have an understanding of how insurance companies work. Theoretically there are “uninsured” people in the USA, but in actuality, everyone’s health care is paid for or the hospitals would have to close their doors! The very poor have Medicaid which is the government health insurance and the illegal aliens use it by having an anchor baby who is a US citizen at birth. The baby is then used to qualify for welfare benefits and Medicaid and it is automatically granted to underage US citizens. The illegal aliens along with those who choose not to buy health insurance are covered by what is known as “cost shifting”.

Cost shifting is the process by which hospitals bill the insurance of covered people for the cost of their care AND THE CARE OF THE UNINSURED. Do you really think that two aspirin cost the hospital $30 to provide? Of course not!! The $30 pays for the aspirin and the care of the uninsured. The hospitals shift the cost of the care of the uninsured onto the bills of those of us who DO have insurance—if they didn’t do this, they would have to close their doors since they are legally required to provide care for any sick person or emergency. NO ONE in America is denied health care because of inability to pay because they either have Medicaid, health insurance or the cost of the care is shifted to the insured. It’s been going on forever and worst of all, the illegal aliens know that they cannot be denied care in an EMERGENCY ROOM so they use ERs as their primary physician which is horrendously expensive. Hospitals routinely deny that they are shifting the cost to the insured people, but they are. Just from a business standpoint, they MUST in order to remain open and provide care—and Medicaid is also billed through cost shifting.

To bring down costs, we need to change the incentives that govern spending:
* Right now, $5 out of every $6 of health-care spending is paid for by someone other than the person receiving care -- insurance companies, employers, or the government.
* Individuals are insulated from the reality of what their decisions cost.
* This breeds overutilization of low-value health care and runaway spending.

To reduce the growth of costs, individuals must take greater responsibility for their health care, and health insurers and health care providers must face the competitive forces of the market. Three policy changes will go a long way to achieving these objectives:
* Eliminate the tax code's bias that favors health insurance over out-of-pocket spending.
* Remove state-government barriers to purchasing and providing health services.
* Reform medical malpractice laws.

I intend to drop a bill in the hopper immediately after being sworn in that will repeal Obama-care if it should manage to become law before the election. It will be my very first act as your Representative and then I will work towards a sensible set of insurance reforms. Please feel free to call me with any questions or suggestions as I welcome your input.