Congressman Tom Price (R-GA-6th) Speaks about Health Care Reform

Congressman Tom Price (R-GA-6th) was first elected to Congress in 2004. Prior to that, he served four terms in the Georgia State Senate. In Congress, his priorities include reforming the tax system, strengthening health care and education, ensuring enforcement of our immigration laws, promoting a 21st century energy plan, and finding transportation solutions for Atlanta's residents and commuters. Congressman Price serves on the Financial Services Committee as well as the Committee on Education and Labor, in which he is the Ranking Republican Member on the Workforce Protections Subcommittee.

My fellow conservatives and I have often disagreed with the priorities set forth by Democrats in Washington. Yet on health care we can all agree that reform is needed. There is a difference, however, in our focus—the principled, conservative vision for reform is centered on the very heart of all health care: the patient.

The goal of health care reform should be to improve patient care by creating a system that is accessible, affordable, innovative, responsive, and of the highest quality. Surely none of these adjectives describe routine services from the federal government, yet Democrats in Congress continue to promote a so-called “public option” that will effectively eliminate the private market, as well as any hope for empowering patients. The end result will be government-run care and the rationing of care that comes with it.

There is another way – one that puts patients first. Patient-centered reform is built upon dual pillars: a tax structure that makes care affordable and accessible for all Americans and a system in which care is truly owned and controlled by patients.

Providing proper incentives, we can achieve universal access to coverage without one-size-fits-all government mandates. Measures such as tax equity for the purchase of care, active pooling mechanisms to increase purchasing power, and focused use of tax deductions and credits will allow all to obtain coverage that meets their needs.

Because most Americans receive coverage through their employer or the government, coverage is often designed to meet the needs of a third-party, not the patient. Structural changes that give patients full ownership of their coverage will make insurers truly accountable to patients, reduce gaps in coverage resulting from job loss, and provide patients greater choice and flexibility.

More choices will lead to lower costs and the innovation that is essential for 21st century health care. Anything less is unacceptable.

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