Congressman Lamborn on Healthcare
Summary
Health care is one of the biggest expenses for our federal budget, and is largely based on entitlements. Getting a handle on these costs is critical to balancing the budget, reducing the federal deficit, and maintaining long-term economic prosperity and solvency as a nation.
Apart from a move away from entitlement, the best way to control health care costs is to introduce free market reforms. Currently, government involvement distorts health care costs through unfair tax breaks favoring corporations over individuals, by mandating unfairly low compensation for providers, and by mandating almost unlimited coverage, among other things.
A single-payer health plan would be disastrous to health care. Government takeover and control would lead inevitably to rationing of health care. Bureaucrats would make life and death decisions. There would be higher costs through lack of competition and less investment in life-saving technology and pharmaceuticals because of eliminating profit incentives. Citizens of Canada where health care is socialized frequently come to our country for life-saving treatment.
Free market reforms that should be implemented include allowing health insurance to be sold across state lines, reducing the number of mandated procedures covered, allowing health savings accounts which provide for favorable tax treatment of health care expenses, giving consumers additional choices such as alternative treatments, and letting associations such as real estate companies band together nationwide to achieve economies of scale. In essence, these reforms and others like them allow for more individual responsibility, leading to more competition, less control of vital decisions by third parties, lower costs, and more choice.
Legislative Action in Congress:
- Congressman Lamborn has opposed the Democrat's proposal to expand S-CHIP (State Children’s Health Insurance Programs) because, among other things, instead of just helping children in poverty it expands to families making up to $80,000 per year, young adults up to 25 years of age, and illegal immigrants
Legislative Action in State Legislature:
- Lamborn has been a consistent supporter of greater choices in the delivery of health care
- Lamborn has strongly supported free market solutions to healthcare reform to give consumers the best quality at the lowest price