“If Speaker Pelosi and her fellow Democrats are serious about adopting reforms that lower the cost of medical care while empowering patients to obtain the care and coverage that best meet their needs, they would expedite consideration of Chip Roy’s latest bill HR 5596, the Personalized Care Act,” states Association of American Physicians and Surgeons President Kris Held, MD.
AAPS, the voice of Hippocratic medicine since 1943, strongly supports this bill introduced in the House by Rep. Chip Roy (TX), Rep. Andy Biggs (AZ), and Rep. Mike Johnson (LA), and in the Senate by Senator Ted Cruz (TX) and Senator Mike Braun (IN). Putting the patient back in control of care is what is truly needed, and HR 5596 takes important steps in that direction.
AAPS also gives its strongest support to HR 3594, the Health Freedom Act. This bill by Chip Roy implements additional long needed reforms to help restore autonomy to patients and lower costs, by addressing one of the fundamental policy missteps of the 20th century.
Stemming back to World War II wage controls, 75 years of flawed tax policy that incentivizes employers to control employees’ “health benefits” has unleashed a deluge of unintended consequences. Past attempts by Congress to address the resulting problems have driven costs even higher and have further subjugated patients’ to the interests of government and other third parties. HR 3594 would address the root of the problem instead of slapping on yet another band-aid that does more harm than good.
AAPS also supports provisions in the bill that would ensure patients with Health Savings Accounts can use the funds to pay for innovative Direct Patient Care agreements that are proven to increase patient access to high-qualilty, lower-cost care. Other bills proposed to make this change fall short of the goal, or even worse, put unwise limitations on how patients and physicians can collaborate directly without the middleman in between them.
“Patients along with the physicians caring for them must be in charge, not government and insurance company bureaucrats. Unlike the vast majority of proposals coming from the swamp, HR 5596 and HR 3594 implement meaningful changes that prioritize patients and empower them instead of lining the pockets of special interests and handing them even more control over the medical care of Americans. It is time for the House and Senate to stop wasting time and get to work on passing real reform like HR 5596 and HR 3594,” concludes Dr. Held.
