Health care

As a member of the two Senate committees which have jurisdiction over health care, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and Finance Committee, my goal is to ensure that Americans have access to affordable, high quality health care.

To do this, we need to focus on bringing down high costs, so that everyone can have access to the care they need. The rising cost of health care in Wyoming and across the nation has passed the point of crisis for many, especially small businesses and working families. At the same time, the uncertainty created by Obamacare means that many people in Wyoming have less and less confidence that they will be able to keep the coverage that they have now. Finally, the federal budget outlook is grim. If we don’t make difficult choices now, all the scenarios down the road are worse than what we’re facing today. We need to look at ways to reform our entitlement programs, including Medicare and Medicaid. These programs are quickly becoming unsustainable, and the burden for dealing with these issues will soon fall to our children and grandchildren.

More than six years ago, Obamacare was signed into law. At the time, many promises were made by President Obama and the authors of the law which turned out not to be true. Premiums continued to rise and as it turned out, many were not actually be able to keep coverage that they liked. Under this law, the federal government was given the authority to mandate that every American purchase health insurance or face penalties for not complying. This is bad policy, plain and simple.

Obamacare was not what the American people were looking for when Congress took up health care reform. Since Obamacare passed, Americans have consistently sent legislators to Washington who promised to repeal and replace this failed law. We must replace the law with common sense reforms that give states flexibility to address their unique health care needs, promote greater competition in the insurance market, and drive down health care costs. I believe access, affordability, and quality, result from a competition-oriented, market-based approach to healthcare. I have consistently worked to repeal and replace the law since its implementation in 2010 and have offered my own 10 step plan for stabilizing and reforming the nation’s health care system. As Chairman of the Budget Committee, I introduced a budget resolution instructing the appropriate committees in the House of Representatives and the Senate to begin the process of repealing Obamacare so legislators can move forward with reforms providing relief for those harmed by the law. I am working closely with my colleagues to repeal and replace Obamacare with a plan that will protect Americans’ access to the care they need, from the doctor they choose, at a lower cost. You can read more about my past efforts to help achieve this goal by clicking here.

There are additional health issues that our country faces that will require bipartisan solutions going forward. Whether it is improving the safety of our drug and medical device products, modernizing mental and behavioral health care awareness and treatment options, strengthening health care training programs, or reevaluating federal health care workforce programs, there is a lot that can be done that will provide tangible benefits to the American health care system.