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It’s time for all of us to admit what the American people already know: Obamacare has failed.
The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, created a system that enriched insurance companies and hospitals and harmed Americans. Obamacare didn’t let people keep their insurance plans or their doctors, and families didn’t save money — and neither did the federal government. Families find themselves facing higher costs and health care that does not meet their needs.
I want to tell you about a family with a pre-existing health condition that I think of every time I talk about health care in our country. They grew up in public housing and rarely saw a doctor. One of the children suffered from a hip disease. Their mother would drive 200 miles to a charity hospital for treatment. It was my family growing up.
When I hear stories of families struggling to pay their premiums, putting off treatment because it’s too expensive, or splitting their pills in half to make them last longer, I see my mother and my brother and the struggle my family went through. And I see a system that continues to fail families like mine while ruining the market for everyone else.
Longtime Obamacare critic says Trump plan won’t fix program’s fatal flaws
Obamacare is not affordable for many Americans and therefore needs to be fixed by Congress. (Cyberguy.com)
Republicans, and even Democrats, agree: Obamacare has not made health care more affordable. I want people to be able to get affordable, accessible health care and maintain the safety net for families that Obamacare is supposed to be, which means we have to act.
I know we can fix Obamacare. I worked with President Donald Trump and my colleagues on a bill that provides simple solutions to Obamacare that will help families get health care that meets their needs while lowering costs. Under my planwe are not replacing Obamacare – it is going nowhere. We are maintaining communications with Healthcare.gov and the state, we are maintaining protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and no one will lose health care.
We’re simply adding options and letting Americans become consumers, making the choice that’s best for them and their families. That means we stop funneling taxpayer dollars to insurance companies, let people shop across state lines, and make health care more transparent so families can make informed decisions.
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Currently, families can only buy insurance sold in the state in which they live. This doesn’t make any sense. If a Kansas insurer offers a great plan, a Georgia family should be able to purchase it. By allowing states to opt into a system that allows interstate sales, we are opening the health insurance market across the country, encouraging innovation and competition to drive down prices and create better choices for families.
Just like buying clothes or groceries, you are no longer limited to the stores in your town; you have access to stores across the United States to find what you want instead of settling for what’s right in front of you. And again, we can and must do this while maintaining protections for people with pre-existing conditions so that everyone is treated fairly.
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When we stop funneling taxpayer dollars into subsidies for insurance companies and instead provide a safety net for families through a Trump Health Freedom Account – an HSA-style account – we put the decision-making power in the hands of families to choose the plan that best fits their needs. The Americans will always make a better choice for their family than the government will.
We then add transparency to health care by requiring public reporting of negotiated rates, costs, and cash prices for services provided in hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, imaging centers, and clinical laboratories. Families will have an upfront price on what things will cost them – a healthcare menu – so they can make informed decisions and plan for their needs.
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We’re simply adding options and letting Americans become consumers, making the choice that’s best for them and their families.
We have the opportunity to make simple changes that make a big difference for American families. We would reverse the scenario of Obamacare, which left Americans with fewer choices, higher costs, and worse outcomes, one that would lower costs, meet their needs, and encourage transparency and better outcomes. We need to get rid of the old, failed ways of Obamacare and transform it into a new, open program that gives Americans the ability to act like consumers, as we do with everything we buy.
Everyone knows Obamacare is a disaster. It’s time to fix it. We must stop politicians in Washington from making our health care decisions from above and instead give Americans an open health care system where they have the freedom to get the care they need.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM SEN. RICK SCOTT
