The 60 Second Update with

Congressman Paul Ryan

5. How will the plan bring healthcare costs under control?

To get a grip of runaway costs, we need to address the fundamental drivers of health inflation: a discriminatory tax code that subsidizes health insurance instead of health care; defensive medicine as a result of frivolous lawsuits; the lack of transparency and true competitive forces in the market for health insurance and medical services. Rather than further empower the federal government and insurance companies, we need to establish a patient-centered model that aligns the incentives so that providers compete against each other for their patients’ business.

Specifically, The Patients’ Choice Act reforms the tax treatment of health benefits by redirecting current subsidies for health insurance to individuals, while more sensibly cares for those with chronic illnesses and those deemed "uninsurable." In addition to innovative prevention initiatives, The Patients’ Choice Act utilizes risk adjustment mechanisms and other options at the State level - such as reinsurance and risk pools - to extend coverage to those with chronic medical conditions. These steps will empower these individuals with greater choice, greater financial security, and a higher quality of life.

For a vibrant health care market to function properly, patients must know what services cost and who provides the best service. Uniform and reliable measures of reporting quality and price information should be designed by the stakeholders in health care rather than the heavy‐hand of government. The Patients’ Choice Act would create a Healthcare Services Commission to enhance the quality, appropriateness and effectiveness of health care services through the publication and enforcement of quality and price information.

No health care plan is complete until it ends the lawsuit abuse that affects virtually everyone. Medical lawsuits and excessive verdicts increase health care costs and result in reduced access to care. The Patients’ Choice Act would support State-based legal alternatives, encouraging the establishment of expert medical panels to resolve disputes, creation of health courts, or a combination of both.

It takes an uncomfortable faith in Washington to believe that spending can be restrained and bureaucratic waste can be contained if only we gave government more control. The more Americans learn the details of what is being rushed through Congress, the more folks will be looking for alternatives. Thankfully, many in Congress have put forward innovative, patient-centered solutions – including The Patients’ Choice Act. These alternative reforms demonstrate that we can achieve universal access to quality, affordable health care in America, without adding trillions in new taxes and debt, and without the federal government taking it over.

The consequences of getting reform wrong go beyond costly missteps to America’s economic, fiscal, and personal health: Washington-centered health care is an affront to the American ideal. Government-run health care threatens our historic reliance on personal responsibility and initiative, to be replaced by passivity and dependence on a full-blown welfare state. There is room for common ground on common sense reforms – to not only promote fiscally-responsible, patient-centered health care, but also to preserve the identity of an America rooted in free enterprise, limited government and individual liberty.

 Question 1. How would the Patients' Choice Act restructure healthcare?