Start over on health care reform - Senator Hatch’s comments
The desire for health care reform is universal.
Unfortunately, the direction Democrats want to take our nation in will lead to more spending, more government and more taxes, while starting us down a path of a Washington takeover of our health care system.
If anyone believes that Washington, let me repeat Washington, can run a national health care plan that will cost close to a trillion dollars, cover all Americans, not raise taxes on anyone, not increase the deficit and not reduce benefits or choices for our families and seniors — then I have a bridge to sell to you.
But, if we start over and craft a bipartisan health care reform we can tackle some much needed reforms:
- Ensuring that no one is denied coverage or care simply because of a pre-existing condition
- Providing greater transparency on cost and choice
- Curbing frivolous lawsuits
- Encouraging chronic care management to better control the health of the sickest and most costly patients
- Promoting prevention and wellness initiatives to keep Americans healthy.
Rather than putting Washington in charge of everything, we should give states the flexibility to design their own unique approaches to reducing the number of uninsured.
Please read the rest the statement I delivered earlier this week about how we need to “press reset” when we began debate of the Senate Finance Committee’s health care bill.
Sincerely,
Senator Orrin Hatch