The following op-ed was published on The Hill.com on February 19, 2019.
This month I had the distinct honor of attending President Trump’s State of the Union.
During his address to the nation, President Trump stated, “Here in the United States we are alarmed by the new calls to adopt socialism in our country. America was founded on liberty and independence and not government coercion, domination and control. We are born free and we will stay free.” The crowd erupted into applause and chants of USA! USA! USA! However, self-proclaimed socialists Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) were noticeably not amused nor supportive of this sentiment.
Extreme socialist policies like single-payer government-run health care being pushed by Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez are a threat to our freedoms as Americans.
During her campaign, Ocasio-Cortez appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” with Jake Tapper and had zero response for how our nation can even afford this proposal which non-partisan and even left-leaning organizations have estimated will cost approximately $32 trillion over the next decade.
One of the main reasons I ran for Congress was to defend our republic and fight for common-sense free market principles and real and sustainable reforms that return power to individual citizens and put families back in control of their own health care.
I predicted early on that ObamaCare would bankrupt us – that we simply cannot afford it. People are not currently incentivized to shop for price. Costs will continue to climb as they have over the past 30 years – unchecked by our government and leading to fiscal bankruptcy.
In socialized medicine supply does not meet demand and resources are rationed – predominately affecting the elderly and those with serious medical conditions which require more resources to treat. Many are pushed to the back of the line or to no line at all.
And now, some Democrats are pushing Medicare buy-in which would allow anyone 50 years or older to buy-into the Medicare system. A couple glaring issues: this would disincentivize employers from offering health insurance and would also put younger healthier Americans on Medicare to compete for scarce resources with our elderly and most vulnerable citizens.
The ultimate goal of liberals in Congress is to chip away piece by piece at private insurance until all we have left is government-run health care. Medicare for all and other radical policies would outlaw private insurance – kicking 156 million Americans off their private insurance and force us all into one large government-run program.
Liberals in Congress want to put government in control of your health care. Do we really want months of long waiting lines, rationing of care and exploding budgets? Canada is a perfect example of limiting access to care. You can get an MRI for your dog in Canada on the day you need it – but it will take you six months to get an MRI on your knee.
The free-market is the only answer to lowering health care costs while increasing affordability, access and quality of care.
Even though we still have the best health care system in the world, our system is in crisis thanks to ObamaCare.
Ultimately, Congress needs to get out of the way and let states manage their own health care. Tennesseans don’t need Northeast socialists telling us how to run our health care system.
ObamaCare has had a devastating impact – especially on small businesses and families that have to purchase their health care through an exchange. Far too many counties are sitting with a single insurance provider – essentially killing the promise of increased choice when ObamaCare was passed.
We are in a death spiral with ObamaCare. Every year fewer people can afford it, the pool of insurance providers decreases, and prices increase. The intended outcome of ObamaCare is complete government takeover of health care.
To quote President Trump, “America was founded on liberty and independence and not government coercion, domination and control.” Single-payer “Medicare for all” health care will strip away independence and force every single American on government-run health care. States are better innovators and laboratories of democracy. Congress needs to repeal ObamaCare and give more control back to the states and the private sector for innovation and real long-term solutions to our health care crisis.
