Marshall, task force announce GOP health care plan

GOP news conference to reveal a health care plan they say will protect pre existing conditions, reduce cost of health care overall, and empower patients and doctors with freedom and choice -photo courtesy Rep. Mike Johnson

Office of Rep. Roger Marshall

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Roger Marshall (R-KS), Chair of the RSC’s Health Care Task Force, along with Congressman Mike Johnson, Republican Study Committee Chairman, released The RSC Health Care Plan: A Framework for Personalized, Affordable Care.

RSC is the largest caucus in Congress, and today’s proposal is phase one of a two-phase framework to reform and improve our nation’s health care system.

Carefully crafted over a year of research and stakeholder discussions, the RSC’s framework to achieve more personalized, affordable care is designed to empower patients and doctors rather than bureaucrats and insurance companies. Congressman Marshall was selected to lead the RSC’s Health Care Task Force due to his intensive knowledge and experience of the health care industry, having worked as a physician for over 25 years.

The RSC Health Care Plan is presented as an alternative to Democrat proposals to force all Americans off their current insurance plans – including those with employer-sponsored coverage – and into a government-run, one-size-fits-all, health care system, which would cost over $30 trillion.

“With the introduction of our plan today, we are beginning a desperately-needed conversation on how to save our country’s broken health care system. The status quo is not working for hardworking Americans. The one thing in Washington both parties agree on is that our existing health care system does not work. It does not adequately protect those living with pre-existing conditions, all while premiums and deductibles continue to skyrocket for families,” Marshall said. “With the first phase of the framework introduced today, we will work with our colleagues to define legislation that will deliver the choice and control Americans want, the affordability they need, the ease they desire, and the quality everyone deserves.”

You can see more about the framework here. Specifically, this plan will:

PROTECT Americans with pre-existing conditions

Extend HIPAA portability and pre-existing condition protections that have long benefited Americans with employer-sponsored insurance to people moving into the individual marketplace.
Establish federally-funded, state-administered Guaranteed Coverage Pools to ensure individuals with high-cost illnesses have access to quality and affordable coverage.
Repackage existing funding for ACA premium subsidies and Medicaid expansion to fund state-administered flex-grants to subsidize health insurance for low-income individuals.
Reduce regulatory barriers to give Americans access to quality care.

EMPOWER Americans with greater control over their health care decisions and dollars

Reform the tax code to provide equal tax treatment in the employer and individual health insurance markets.
Unleash Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) by empowering Americans to use their money – tax-free – to cover more health-related expenses including insurance premiums, direct primary care service fees, and health sharing ministry dues.
Increase allowable, pre-tax contributions to HSAs from $3,500 to $9,000 for individuals and from $7,000 to $18,000 for families.

PERSONALIZE health care to meet individual needs.

Eliminate ACA mandates forcing Americans to pay more for coverage they do not want or need.
Enhance HSAs in a way that allow for individuals to effectively own their personalized health care plans so they can take their plan from job to job.
Embrace and remove barriers on innovative health care solutions such as telemedicine, direct primary care, association health plans, and health sharing ministries.