Healthcare (April 2010)

The recent report from the Obama Administration’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which confirmed the healthcare bill will increase costs and cause 14 million Americans to lose employer-sponsored coverage, was yet another indication the new health law is not going to work as intended.

Last month, after decades of trying, we finally passed comprehensive health insurance reform.  The law President Obama signed will end the worst insurance company practices, make it easier for Americans to get affordable insurance, and bring down healthcare costs for families and business.  It gives a definitive answer to the question of whether our democracy is still strong enough to tackle big problems. 

As we observed World Malaria Day on Sunday, it was heartening to note another great success story in development assistance is emerging in Africa, with global donors, national governments and local partners making major strides against malaria.  The U.S. government has taken extraordinary steps to curb the spread of this preventable and curable disease.

The trillion-dollar healthcare overhaul passed last month was a step in the wrong direction for this country, plain and simple. It is absolutely imperative we repeal this monstrosity of a bill in favor of legislation that expands free market principles, enhances consumer-based decisions and, most importantly, recognizes our liberties. Within hours of the final vote on ObamaCare, I went straight to work drafting a repeal bill, and it couldn’t be easier to understand — only 41 words to get rid of 2,000 pages of legalese, loopholes and massive liabilities. 

Let’s face it; Americans have been leading unhealthy, sedentary lives for too long. Seventy-three percent of adults and 43 percent of children in this country are overweight, obese, or severely obese.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity accounted for $147 billion in U.S. medical expenses in 2008, pushing healthcare costs further out of control.  It also affects the workplace and well-being.