Washington, D.C. – House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA-23) released the following statement announcing further legislation to reform America’s health care system. This legislation is part of the third phase of Congress’s health care reform efforts. Phase One begins with the American Health Care Act (AHCA) and Phase Two is underway with administrative review and action from Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price:
“Though reconciliation is a powerful legislative tool, we have always acknowledged that we must move separate legislation to fully repeal and replace Obamacare with a patient-centered, free-market system. In the weeks to come, we will consider several bills to increase patient choice and market competition and prevent abusive medical lawsuits. These bills are just the beginning of phase three of our continued efforts to reform our health care system so it works for the American people.”
NOTE: Starting next week, the House will consider
- The Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act (H.R. 372), which eliminates anti-trust protection for insurance providers and creates competition so Americans are not left with one or two choices for health coverage – which has been a growing reality in many parts of the country.
- The Small Business Health Fairness Act (H.R. 1101), which allows small businesses to pool together and purchase plans – increasing their purchasing power to negotiate better care and lower premiums for their workers. This is an important step toward purchasing healthcare across state lines as it allows interstate shopping for small business plans.
- The Protecting Access to Care Act (H.R. 1215), to prevent abusive lawsuits that cause higher premiums due to the high and unnecessary cost of defensive medicine.
- The Self-Insurance Protection Act (H.R. 1304), which protects workers who get their health care coverage from employers that self-insure, by providing a backstop on catastrophic losses.