Bradley Byrne: A better way for affordable health care
Last week was the third anniversary of the disastrous Obamacare rollout. What followed was a broken website, cancelled health care plans, higher deductibles, and fewer doctors. Three years later, the same problems remain. American families are faced with fewer and fewer health care options, and premiums continue to increase on many plans. Many healthy, younger Americans are content paying the fine for not having health care instead of choosing a plan they cannot afford. In other words, Obamacare appears to be collapsing. The law was written with such haste and without bipartisan input, and now we are seeing the law’s fatal flaws unravel before our eyes, and the American people are suffering. I’ve always said that we need to do more than just be opposed to Obamacare. In fact, it would be irresponsible to only point out the law’s failures without working on an alternative that solves the problems. As House Republicans worked on our “Better Way” agenda over the last year, we decided to focus one of our planks on health care. You see, health care continues to be one of the top concerns facing every American family and small business. Our “Better Way” plan is built around one common principle: in a confident America, everyone has access to quality, affordable health care. First and foremost, our plan acknowledges that Obamacare is beyond repair. We cannot simply try to patch and repair Obamacare’s failures. We must completely repeal the failed law. Our plan puts the emphasis on patient-centered care instead of a larger government bureaucracy. A major component of our “Better Way” plan is to give Americans more choices when it comes to health care. We need to spur competition and innovation, which in turn will help drive down costs. We do this by making health care portable and offering a refundable tax credit to help you buy insurance on the individual market. Our plan would also allow for health insurance to be sold across state lines. Again, this will open up competition and help reduce costs. We must also ensure that health care is available to Americans with pre-existing conditions, so our plan says that every American, no matter their health status, has the comfort of knowing they cannot be denied coverage. For young Americans, our plan would continue to allow dependents up to the age of 26 to stay on their parents’ health care plan. This is important for young people who may still be struggling to get ahead in our sluggish economy. Another important component of our “Better Way” plan is to ensure that doctors, hospitals, nurses, and health care providers are allowed to freely exercise their conscience. We won’t force individuals to offer services that are against their beliefs. Just as important, our plan makes clear that no federal money can be used to perform abortions. A major piece of our plan is built on spurring medical innovation and research. This includes removing barriers to collaboration and accelerating drug research and development. We do this by cutting down on regulations and red tape while also reforming the National Institutes of Health. Finally, our plan protects and preserves Medicare. Our plan ends the raid on Medicare Advantage plans and ensures Medicare remains strong for today’s seniors. For the next generation, our plan makes reforms and offers new options to ensure Medicare continues to be a viable and fiscally sound option. You can learn more about our “Better Way” plan for health care by visiting Better.gop. I encourage you to take a look at the plan and share your thoughts with me. • • • Bradley Byrne is a member of U.S. Congress representing Alabama’s 1st Congressional District.
Bradley Byrne: A better way forward
From health care to national security, people are worried about the direction our country is headed. That is certainly what I hear at my town hall meetings in Southwest Alabama, but the same is true all around the United States. According to Real Clear Politics, 65 percent of Americans believe our country is headed in the wrong direction. When you are frustrated, it is simple to spend all your time complaining about what is wrong. In other words, it is easy to be against something. But we can’t just spend all our time complaining and talking about why we are frustrated. We must rise above that temptation. Instead, we need to counter the current policies with ideas of our own. The American people are better off when there is a battle of ideas. With this in mind, House Republicans recently released what we are calling a “Better Way” agenda. This agenda offers an alternative to the “Washington-knows-best,” big government policies that have wrecked our country over the last eight years. Our platform focuses on six main areas, so I want to take a minute to discuss our plan and explain why I believe it offers a “Better Way.” Poverty: Our nation’s welfare system needs to put a real focus on work instead of just throwing more money toward government programs. We must do more to help Americans gain the skills they need to get a job instead of encouraging government dependency. National Security: We have to get serious about defeating radical Islamic terrorism, and that means having a strategy to defeat our enemies overseas. We must also protect the homeland by securing our borders and closing loopholes in our broken immigration system. It is also important that we don’t lose sight of new, evolving threats like cyberattacks. The safety and security of the American people must always be the top priority. The Economy: It is time we roll back costly regulations that are only driving up costs for American families. We must also focus on making energy more affordable by pursuing an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy. Innovation needs to be encouraged instead of punished. Finally, we need to put an end to Wall Street bailouts once and for all. The Constitution: We have to make sure the Constitution is being followed, and that means restoring the powers of Congress. We must hold government agencies accountable and do everything we can to encourage efficiency and effectiveness across the federal government. Most importantly, Congress must get back to using our “power of the purse.” Health Care: First, Obamacare must go, but we need to replace it with patient-centered reforms based on free-market principles. We need to give patients more choices by allowing for health insurance to be sold across state lines. We must also strengthen Medicare for our nation’s seniors while also preserving the program for the next generation. Tax Reform: We need to completely rewrite the tax code so it is simpler and fairer for every family. Under our plan, everyone’s taxes would come down, and most people could fill out their taxes with a simple post card form. These reforms will also boost the economy and make it easier for small businesses to create jobs. This is just a quick look at our “Better Way” agenda. You can learn more online at Better.gop. I also realize that our agenda won’t be put in place overnight. Some of the reforms will take longer than others, but at least now we have put forward a bold agenda for the path forward. There is a “Better Way,” and I am committed to making it a reality. • • • Bradley Byrne is a member of U.S. Congress representing Alabama’s 1st Congressional District.
