Expanding Access to Health Care

Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002. In a short period of time, he earned a national reputation as a forceful and articulate voice for Texas values. Sen. Cornyn continues to take a leading role on many important issues in the Senate. He is committed to bolstering our national defense and keeping America safe from terrorism, reducing spending, securing our borders, making health care more accessible, continuing to strengthen the economy and expand job opportunities, improving educational opportunity, and protecting the most vulnerable in our society.

It’s a political season, and candidates are once again talking about improving our health care system. It’s not surprising that health care is at the top of issues in the U.S. presidential campaign. Costs are rising at an unsustainable rate, and so are ranks of the uninsured. Solutions are badly needed.

At its best, American health care is unmatched anywhere in the world. A majority of Americans are happy with their health care. But the trends are disturbing. The current system is unfair to smaller businesses and the self-employed, and it fails to address preventative care. The disparities are large and growing.

As we address ways to improve health care in the U.S., some want to turn the entire system over to the government. In my opinion, that would lead to inefficiency and rationing. I’d like to preserve the private elements of our system even as we expand its benefits as widely as possible.

The uninsured tend to neglect preventive care—such as check-ups, mammograms and screenings—and rarely see a physician. But preventive care, exercise and healthier diets are essential to better health, and lower medical expenses. People who take care of themselves tend to be sick less often, recover more quickly from illness or injury, and require less emergency care. Preventive care should be part of any health care reform.

Small businesses and their employees must be allowed to compete in the same way large businesses and government employers can for their employees’ insurance plan. We’ve been talking for years about allowing small businesses to band together to develop larger risk pools, and to save on premiums and administrative costs. It’s now time to get that done. We should also encourage health savings accounts (HSAs), market reform, expand coverage options for low-income entrepreneurs and self-employed individuals and make insurance more portable.

As a compassionate society, we promote policies encouraging access to care for those who fall through the cracks. Many uninsured without emergent conditions now visit emergency rooms, an expensive and inefficient way to dispense care. Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) are a great alternative.

FQHCs receive grant funding from the federal government and provide access for individuals in communities that traditionally confront barriers to care. Located in areas of greatest need, they are open to patients regardless of insurance status, and fees are set by a sliding scale based upon ability to pay. More states should take the opportunity to communicate on all levels -- local, state and federal -- to develop these centers.

In the end, we must also find a way to stem the sharply-rising cost of health care services. We are blessed with innovation that produces new drugs, new therapies and new tests that allow us to live longer and better – but these news developments are all expensive. It won’t be easy to level health care costs while treatment improves.

One part of the lowering prices may be helping everyone become smarter consumers of health care services. We need to push for more health information technology and greater transparency in health care. Putting information about cost and quality in the hands of patients would lower the cost and improve the quality of health care.

We must also continue to reform the medical liability system, inform and empower consumers, improve patient safety and quality, use innovative technology efficiently, reduce premiums by strengthening recovery rights of health plans, reduce bureaucratic red tape and burdensome regulations and curtail waste, fraud and abuse in federally funded programs.

Some states are experimenting with requiring insurance for every resident, and some version of that idea is now being discussed in Washington as well. I am hopeful that a consensus will develop during this election year on a proper path. As we work towards the goal of expanding access and improving affordability of health care, I also hope Congress and the new Administration will put aside partisanship. We must treat our ailing healthcare system quickly, while we can still see the solutions.