HON. RON PAUL
OF TEXAS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Thursday, May 27, 2010
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Mr. PAUL.
Madam Speaker, I rise to introduce
the Private Option Health Care Act. This
bill places individuals back in control of health
care by replacing the tax-spend-and-regulate
health care law Congress passed last month
with reforms designed to restore a free market
health care system.
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The major problems with American health
care are rooted in government policies that
encourage excessive reliance on third-party
payers. The excessive reliance on third-party
payers removes incentives for 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 patients
and physicians. Furthermore, the third-party
payer system creates a two-tier health care
system where people whose employers can
afford to offer “Cadillac” plans have access to
top quality health care, while people unable to
obtain health insurance from their employers
face obstacles in obtaining quality health care.
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The Private Option Health Care Act gives
control of health care back into the hands of
individuals through tax credits and tax deductions,
improving Health Savings Accounts and
Flexible Savings Accounts. Specifically, the
bill:
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A. Provides all Americans with a tax credit
for 100 percent of health care expenses. The
tax credit is fully refundable against both income
and payroll taxes;
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B. Allows individuals to roll over unused
amounts in cafeteria plans and Flexible Savings
Accounts (FSA);
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C. Provides a tax credit for premiums for
high-deductible insurance policies connected
with a Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and
allows seniors to use funds in HSAs to pay for
medigap policies;
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D. Repeals the 7.5 percent threshold for the
deduction of medical expenses, thus making
all medical expenses tax deductible.
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This bill also creates a competitive market in
heath insurance. It achieves this goal by exercising
Congressís authority under the Commerce
Clause to allow individuals to purchase
health insurance across state lines. The near-
monopoly position many health insurers have
in many states and the high prices and inefficiencies
that result, is a direct result of state
laws limiting peopleís ability to buy health insurance
that meets their needs, instead of
health insurance plan that meets what state
legislators, special interests, and health insurance
lobbyists think they should have. Ending
this ban will create a truly competitive marketplace
in health insurance and give insurance
companies more incentive to offer quality insurance
at affordable prices.
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The Private Option Health Care Act also
provides an effective means of ensuring that
people harmed during medical treatment receive
fair compensation while reducing the
burden of costly malpractice litigation on the
health care system. The bill achieves this goal
by providing a tax credit for negative outcomes
insurance purchased before medical
treatment. The insurance will provide compensation
for any negative outcomes of the
medical treatment. Patients can receive this
insurance without having to go through lengthy
litigation and without having to give away
large portion of their awards to trial lawyers.
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Finally, the Private Option Health Care Act
also lowers the prices of prescription drugs by
reducing barriers to the importation of Food
and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved pharmaceuticals.
Under my bill, anyone wishing to
import a drug simply submits an application to
the FDA, which then must approve the drug
unless the FDA finds the drug is either not approved
for use in the United States or is adulterated
or misbranded. This process will make
safe and available imported medicines affordable
to millions of Americans. Letting the free
market work is the best means of lowering the
cost of prescription drugs.
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Madam Speaker, the Private Option Health
Care Act allows Congress to correct the mistake
it made last month by replacing the new
health care law with health care measures that
give control to health care to individuals, instead
of the federal government and politically-
influential corporations. I urge my colleagues
to support this bill.
