GOP's Burgess 26th Congressional District Texas on ObamaCare...FYI, This is my rep

[Lone Star State Sentinal]

March 23, 2011   The Health Care Law - One Year Later It has been one year since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law. As a physician, I am the first to admit we must reform America’s health care system, but the way the last Congress and President Obama approached the challenge simply did not address the areas that needed improvement. Instead, it has created a system where we will pay more to get less.   The American people made it very clear – give us reform that will address the problems, and leave what is working alone. President Obama even seemed to be listening as he stated over and over, “If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.” We all know now that his statement is simply not true, and we are left with a bigger mess than ever before.   The American people wanted reform. What they did not want was a 2,409 page bill that shatters a system working for almost two-thirds of the American people. What Congress should have done was tackle the one-third of Americans who needed help.   Insurance reform is where we could have made the greatest impact. We could have more responsibly eliminated the bias against patients with pre-existing conditions, better addressed prohibited rescissions except in cases of fraud, and ensured that states have well-designed high-risk pools.   Instead, we created a new entitlement that will saddle future generations with debt due to its unsustainable nature. Covering pre-existing conditions and allowing children to stay on their parent’s insurance could have been accomplished in stand-alone bills, and at a much lower cost.   Another area of reform that we should have addressed is medical liability. The success of Texas’ 2003 reforms is a model that could be used across the country. Texas has licensed over 15,000 new physicians and Texas hospitals have delivered almost $600 million in charity care. In addition, 82 counties have seen a net gain in ER doctors, including 26 that previously had none. Texas has shown what can really work.   As a result I have re-introduced the Medical Justice Act, H.R. 896. As Texas continues to lead the way, I hope the federal government can take what we have done in Texas, and put it to use across the country.   Finally, the current formula that Medicare uses to pay doctors is unstable, and a permanent fix is needed to ensure that seniors continue to have access to their doctors. The Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) was not even addressed in the health care law. Not only was there not a permanent solution, the SGR was compounded with the Independent Payment Advisory Board. Congress must undertake fixing the SGR, permanently, and the Senate and House must work together from the start.   We have seen that the new health care law is not what the American people want. Twenty-eight states have challenged the law in court, saying that it violates our Constitutional rights. Judge Vinson in Florida has declared the individual mandate in section 1501 unconstitutional, and that it cannot be “severed” from the law because of its centrality to the insurance market mandates.   In addition, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has handed out over 1,000 waivers to allow select companies, unions, and states to escape, at least temporarily, some of the burdensome new insurance rules the health care law has created. These waivers were only necessary because the administration knew millions of Americans would have lost their health coverage under the new law.   The bottom line is if the health care law fixed the existing problems, waivers would not be needed, states would not be challenging the law, and two-thirds of the population would be able to do as President Obama stated – “if you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.”   Insurance reform, medical liability, and fixing the SGR are only three of the areas I believe should have been addressed if Congress and President Obama had been truly interested in reforming the health care system. What we have gained in surface area has been lost in depth and substance, and we are left with a rushed and ineffective law that will cost us more than just higher taxes. Fore more information about the health care law click here. MORE INFORMATION For more information on the health care law, please visit my website.   UPCOMING EVENTS Please join me for the North Texas U.S. Service Academies Forum on Saturday, April 2, 2011. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. For more information click here.   LATEST VIDEO Dr. Burgess appeared on Fox Business News's Bulls and Bears to discuss Japan and the future of nuclear energy.  To view the video click here.   WEEKLY VIDEO ADDRESS This week Dr. Burgess provided an update from Washington on the the one year anniversary of the health care legislation, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, being signed into law. Click here to watch.   CONNECT WITH ME   HEALTH CARE CAUCUS