Op-Eds

It was clear from watching President Obama’s Health Care Summit on Thursday that while the American people strongly oppose the comprehensive plans the president and Congressional leadership have proposed, there are numerous areas where nearly every member of Congress can agree when it comes to health care reform.

Working step-by-step on these common sense reforms that will lower health care costs is a plan the American people can support.

A big government take-over of the system and spending trillions of dollars is clearly not the answer. We should stop forcing 2,000 paged bills upon the American people and start working together on those solutions we all agree on.

On Wednesday, I joined over 90 percent of my colleagues in the House of Representatives in a vote to remove the anti-trust exemption the health insurance industry now receives. This measure, which was contained in the House’s version of the health care bill, is just one example of a solution, that when pulled out on its own, can receive near unanimous support and have a positive impact on health care costs.

Jobs and the economy is still the number one issue facing our nation. Any reform to our health care system should have a positive effect on the economy and on job creators. I have serious concerns with the impact the House, Senate, and President’s health care bills will have on job creation.

Businesses that are struggling in this economic climate are facing so many unknowns with not only these health care bills, but with the job killing agenda that the leadership in the House has pursued including capital gains taxes, health care taxes, and energy taxes.

Across the commonwealth and throughout the country people want us to promote policies that will help create jobs and lower the costs of health care.

I support proposals that would allow individuals to purchase health care across state lines, enact meaningful medical malpractice reform, and prohibit discrimination against patients with pre-existing conditions. While just a starting point, these are solutions that will lower costs and increase access for all Americans without launching a government takeover of health care.