Health Care
Tom Feeney is Working to Give You More Choice and Affordable Healthcare for your Family
I. Our children deserve a choice in their healthcare plan. People understandably will not spend a dollar on healthcare unless they get a dollar's worth of benefit.
The Making Health Care More Affordable Act (H.R. 5955). This legislation will make core reforms to healthcare to make it more affordable and more accessible. These reforms include:
- Providing a health insurance tax credit for Americans who do not have employer-based health insurance;
- Creating Association Health Plans to give small businesses better access to health insurance;
- Allow individuals the option to purchase health care across state lines (competition in the market reduces costs);
- Build Health Savings Accounts to give individuals the ability to control their own health care purchases; and
- Stop lawsuit abuses which are driving up the cost of health care.
II. We need to offer portable health care for seniors and future generations.
Consumers should be allowed to purchase and carry insurance across state lines and "shop" for health insurance online, by mail, over the phone, or in consultation with an insurance agent in their hometown.
They can then choose the policy that best suits their needs, and their budget, and avoid costly state mandates.
By allowing customers to choose the insurance agency that fits their needs, it demands more accountability on behalf of the insurance company because of increased competition in the free market.
Health Care Choice Act of 2005 (H.R. 2355) to offer portable healthcare.
III. We need medical liability reform for the future
The rising costs of malpractice insurance pose a serious threat to the quality of patient care. Most troublesome are the growing number of physicians that are choosing to abandon their practices or areas of their practices.
Congress needs to reduce medical costs for patients by reducing the premiums of medical malpractice insurance.
Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-Cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2007 (HR 2580) to improve patient access to health care services and provide improved medical care by reducing the excessive burden the liability system places on the health care delivery system. It will set conditions for lawsuits arising from health care liability claims arising from health care goods or services.
Eliminate fraud within current programs
- According to Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration (ACHA) Florida Medicaid expenditures were more than $14 billion in FY 2004-05. Eliminating instances of fraud and abuse would curb these costs and ensure that taxpayer dollars are actually going to those most in need.
IV. We must offer our children a choice: AHPs and HSAs
Association Health Plans (AHPs) allow small businesses to join together through trade associations to purchase health insurance for their workers at a lower cost.
This increases small businesses' bargaining power with health care providers, give them freedom from costly state-mandated benefit packages, and lower their overhead costs by as much as 30 percent. These are all benefits that many large corporations and unions already have because of their larger economies of scale and itâs time to give this same benefit to smaller businesses.
Small Business Health Fairness Act of 2007 (HR 241) to improve access and choice for entrepreneurs with small businesses with respect to being able to provide medical care for their employees.
Expanded Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) - Eligible individuals can establish and fund these accounts when they have a qualifying high deductible health plan and no other health insurance. Contributions are tax deductible, withdrawals used for medical expenses are not taxed, account earnings are tax-exempt and unused balances may accumulate without limit.
Promoting Health for Future Generations Act of 2007 (HR 2639) to increase tax deductions for health savings accounts (HSA's) and increase access to HSA's.
Health Insurance Affordability Act of 2007 (HR 2302) to allow a tax deduction from gross income for premiums for high deductible health plans required with respect to health savings accounts (HSAs).
V. We need to eliminate the bureaucracy in healthcare to restore the doctor-patient relationship.
VI. We must propose a market-friendly mandate.
VII. We need to fix the mechanism for determining the Medicare Physician Reimbursement rate. If this rate continues to get cut, doctors will be forced to stop treating Medicare beneficiaries or risk going out of business.
To increase Medicare payments for physician's services through December 31, 2009 (HR 5445) to revise the update to the single conversion factor in the formula for determining the reimbursements to physicians.
To repeal limiting charges under the Medicare Program for non-participating physicians (HR 4736) Rep. Tom Feeney is the sponsor. This legislation would allow doctors to collect fair market values for services provided should reimbursement rates fall bar below the cost of doing business. This will preserve patient's access to quality doctors, keep doctors in business and treating Medicare beneficiaries, and keep the lights on in practices around the country