REP. ANDREWS OFFERS SOLUTION TO U.S. HEALTH CARE CRISIS

On February 22, 2006, I spoke to hospital officials at Kennedy Health Systems headquartered in Voorhees, NJ about my plan to combat the crisis our Nation faces with regard to health care.  The U.S. healthcare system is still the best in the world, but due to the skyrocketing costs related to medical care and health insurance, the financial structure of our health care system is under significant strain. In 2005, an average family of four with an employer-sponsored health plan spent more than $12,200 on medical expenses, with $2,035 paid out of pocket, up from $8,400 per year in 2001, when families only paid $1,480 out of pocket.  As this trend continues, the prognosis for our health care system and even our overall economy is critical.

We must create more competition between our health care providers and within the health care insurance market. First, we must repeal price-fixing laws to stimulate competition amongst providers. Additionally, we need to create a national competitive market for health insurance. It is now very difficult to start new health insurance companies or have established companies compete in other states due to differing state regulations. With a federal charter for health insurance, all health insurance companies meeting federal guidelines could compete in any state. True to our nation's market spirit, by increasing competition we will significantly reduce the high costs of health care.

Furthermore, we need to expand access to health care; overall costs will be reduced as the market grows. The United States is the only industrialized nation that does not guarantee health care to all of its citizens. Today there are 45 million American men, women, and children without health insurance. This state of affairs is unacceptable in a nation as great as ours. Currently, the insured and their employers bear the financial burden of the health care costs of the uninsured. When an uninsured child is treated in a hospital, it is the family with insurance and their employer sharing the cost that pays the bill.  With an employer-based universal health care system, we can alleviate that burden and reduce insurance premiums for everyone.

We need to augment our existing employer-sponsored health system by offering employers a subsidy to provide health care insurance to their employees which, if unused, can be passed on directly to their employees. We can pay for these subsidies by repealing President Bush's tax breaks to the top 1%. While the uninsured previously were unable to seek preventative care, universal coverage will ensure that everyone has access to treatment before expensive hospitalization is necessary. We must also reward health care providers that participate in preventative health care programs. Not only is universal health coverage the moral thing to do, but it makes good economic sense.

I will work in Congress to implement these overdue measures to forestall a financial crisis in our health care system. Increased competition, access to healthcare, and preventative medicine can reduce the cost of healthcare for all Americans. If all we need to do is repeal recent tax cuts to the top 1% to obtain these greater savings, then that is a pill I can easily swallow.

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