Vilsack, King React to Supreme Court Decision on Health Care Act

Ames Democrat Christie Vilsack and U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Kirion, opponents in the race for Iowa's District 4 Congressional seat, released their reactions to the on the Affordable Care Act today.

Vilsack who hopes to unseat King said the bill needs some work because she said it does little to make health care affordable.

King, who has represented western Iowa for a decade, said this means that this year's presidential election becomes a referendum in which a vote for Republicans means repeal of the Affordable Health Care act.

VILSACK:

“I feel strongly that health care must be accessible, affordable, and high quality for all Americans. The Affordable Care Act took important steps toward that goal, like allowing young people to stay on their parent’s health insurance, closing the donut hole in Medicare, and eliminating discrimination based on pre-existing conditions. Now that the Supreme Court has made their decision, Congress must reform the Affordable Care Act to control the skyrocketing costs of health care in America,” said Christie Vilsack.

“This law did little to address the rapidly increasing cost of health care. I believe we must control costs and provide stability to families and small businesses in Iowa. To address this, I am introducing seven common sense ideas for reform that directly benefit families in my district by making health care more affordable.”

“With the legal battle over health care reform behind us, Democrats and Republicans must focus on having a real conversation about how we can create jobs and economic opportunity in this country. This is what the American people deserve and it’s the reason I’m running for Congress.”

Since announcing her candidacy, Vilsack has met with the CEO of Iowa Health Systems and hospital administrators across the district, including in Ida Grove, Belmond, Audubon, Le Mars, New Hampton, Sioux City and Ames and with administrators at Community Health Centers in Sioux City, Sioux Center, and a health clinic in Woodbine. She has also discussed health care with nurses, physicians, chiropractors and other health care professionals across the district, along with policy makers at the state and national level, and countless consumers of health care in the small towns and cities across the district.  

Making Health Care More Affordable

1. Control soaring premiums: The Affordable Care Act does not do enough to protect Iowans from unreasonable premium increases. Health care costs will continue to soar if insurance companies increase premiums as they see fit. Christie Vilsack believes that we must protect families and small businesses from these outrageous increases and keep rates affordable for everyone.

2. Protect seniors from increased out-of-pocket expenses: Any reform to our health care system must not jeopardize quality and affordable care for seniors. For this reason, Congress must protect Medicare from drastic cuts, like those in the Ryan Budget, which would force seniors to pay more out-of-pocket for health care.  Christie Vilsack will also work with Democrats and Republicans to protect Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security from benefit cuts.

3. Lower prescription drug costs by allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices: Prohibiting Medicare from negotiating prescription drug prices is unnecessary and increases the costs to America’s seniors. By removing this prohibition, as the Veterans Administration has, we can lower the cost of prescription drugs. This is a common sense idea that should have bipartisan support.  As a member of Congress, Christie will work to keep health care affordable for seniors, while protecting Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.

4. Decrease the burden on small businesses by providing additional tax credits: The tax credits for small businesses in the Affordable Care Act do not do enough to encourage small businesses to offer employee health insurance coverage. In order to make health care affordable for small business owners, the tax credit should be enhanced.

5. Cut administrative costs with electronic records: The United States spends approximately $360 billion on administrative health care costs each year. Much more can be done to bring these costs down. We can save as much as $40 billion a year by taking simple steps to reform administrative procedures, such as using electronic eligibility, claims processing, and payment systems.

6. Encourage prevention and coordinated care organizations: The federal government should work with states to encourage prevention programs and support coordinated care models to deliver health care that rewards results. If states would adopt a coordinated care model, like Oregon has, we can save as much as $1.5 trillion over the next decade.

7. Reduce regulatory burden on rural health care providers: Across the 4^th District and in rural communities across the country, Rural Health Clinics and Critical Access Hospitals provide important care to Medicare beneficiaries. Unfortunately, they’re forced to comply with burdensome regulations that stretch their budgets and staff even further. In order to lower health care costs and provide quality care to rural communities, Christie Vilsack will work to reduce the regulatory burden on these small clinics and hospitals.

KING:

“Today’s decision from the Supreme Court sets the stage for November’s election when Americans will have a clear choice – voting for Republicans who will repeal ObamaCare and install free market, common sense solutions or voting for Democrats who will vote to keep this burdensome law that has sent medical costs higher, cut Medicare by $532 billion and created trillions in new government spending we can’t afford.

“I have been ObamaCare’s number one opponent since it was forced upon us by President Obama and Nancy Pelosi. Last year my language to repeal ObamaCare passed the House. We will repeal this law and pull it out by its roots.

"Once we've repealed ObamaCare, we should enact simple solutions like allowing Americans to buy insurance across state lines, enact meaningful medical liability reform, strengthen the doctor-patient relationship, increase competition in the health care market and preserve and strengthen Medicare, not raid it. The focus of these reforms should be to reduce health care costs, not to impose mandates that increase costs and put quality health care out of reach.

“I am confident Americans’ voices will be heard this November when they elect a Republican Senate majority, make gains in the Republican House and send Mitt Romney to the Oval Office to sign the full repeal of ObamaCare.”