House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and chairmen from key House committees sought input from governors about needed health care reforms.
U.S. Reps. Fred Upton (R-MI), the current chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Greg Walden (R-OR), the incoming Energy and Commerce Committee chairman, and Kevin Brady (R-TX), the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, were among committee leaders joining McCarthy in issuing the request in a letter on Friday.
“Obamacare is crumbling under its own weight and seriously harming people in the process,” McCarthy said. “With a unified Republican Congress and administration, we have the opportunity to repeal this law and undertake major health care reforms. Because governors and state insurance commissioners are on the ground and see Obamacare’s problems every day, I and several House chairmen have sent a letter requesting their thoughts on what we need to do to deliver high quality and affordable health care to the American people.”
The letter states that the Affordable Care Act continues to burden patients with less choice, higher costs and mandates.
“Through our efforts to reach consensus on A Better Way for healthcare, House Republicans gave a lot of thought to policies that would help put health care spending on a more sustainable path, improve innovation, cut costs, empower patients and increase choices,” the letter said. “And we need (governors’) ideas, too. That is why we are seeking input and recommendations based on (governors’) experience overseeing the health insurance markets and Medicaid programs within (their) state, for both expansion and non-expansion states.”
Governors were asked to consider a number of specific points, including changes Congress could make to grant more flexibility to states in providing insurance options that increase choices and lower premiums. The letter also asks what legislative and regulatory reforms would stabilize individual, small group and large group health insurance markets.
“The American people deserve more patient-oriented solutions driven by innovative thinking that takes into consideration the unique needs of a diverse country,” the letter concludes. “Our values, based on the principles of federalism, drive a philosophy that states should have the freedom and flexibility to create options that are best for patients.”