Ron Paul Quotes.com 2003 Ron Paul Chapter 35 Ron Paul Quotes.com: Crisis In Healthcare 13 March 2003 Home Page   Contents Congressional Record   Cached Not linked on Ron Paul’s Congressional website.

Crisis In Healthcare 13 March 2003 HON. RON PAUL OF TEXAS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Thursday, March 13, 2003 2003 Ron Paul 35:1 Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, America faces a crisis in health care. Health care costs continue to rise while physicians and patients struggle under the control of managed-care “gatekeepers.” Obviously, fundamental health care reform should be one of Congress’ top priorities. 2003 Ron Paul 35:2 Unfortunately, most health care “reform” proposals either make marginal changes or exacerbate the problem. This is because they fail to address the root of the problem with health care, which is that government policies encourage excessive reliance on third-party payers. The excessive reliance on third-party payers removes all ilncentive from individual patients to concern themselves with health care costs. Laws and policies promoting Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) resulted from a desperate attempt to control spiraling costs. However, instead of promoting an efficient health care system, HMOs further took control over health care away from the individual patient and physician. 2003 Ron Paul 35:3 Returning control over health care to the individual is the key to true health care reform. This is why today I am introducing the Comprehensive Health Care Reform Act. This legislation puts control of health care back into the hands of the individual through tax credits, tax deductions, Medical Savings Accounts, and Flexible Savings Accounts. Specifically, the Comprehensive Health Care Reform Act: 2003 Ron Paul 35:4 A. Provides all Americans with a tax credit for 100% of health care expenses. The tax credit is fully refundable against both income and payroll taxes. 2003 Ron Paul 35:5 B. Allows individuals to roll over unused amounts in cafeteria plans and Flexible Savings Accounts (FSA). 2003 Ron Paul 35:6 C. Makes every American eligible for an Archer Medical Savings Account (MSA) and changes the tax laws to increase the benefits of MSAs. 2003 Ron Paul 35:7 D. Repeals the 7.5 percent threshold for the deduction of medical expenses, thus making all medical expenses tax deductible. 2003 Ron Paul 35:8 By providing a wide range of options, this bill allows individual Americans to choose the method of financing health care that best suits their individual needs. Increasing frustration with the current health care system is leading more and more Americans to embrace this approach to health care reform. For example, a recent poll by the respected Zogby firm showed that over 80 percent of Americans support providing all Americans with access to a Medical Savings Account. I hope all my colleagues will join this effort to put individuals back in control of health care by cosponsoring the Comprehensive Health Care Reform Act.  Note: Chapter 40 was posted in Ron Paul’s Congressional website with the date March 27, 2003; but it is essentially the same as Chapter 35, dated March 13, 2003, which was in Congressional Record of March 13, 2003.

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