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WASHINGTON, D.C. — As first reported in Breitbart, Rep. August Pfluger (TX-11) and Rep. Aaron Bean (FL-04) introduced the House companion to Senator Rick Scott's (R-FL) More Affordable Care Act (MACA) today. Through four critical reforms, this comprehensive health care legislation offers a simple prescription for Obamacare's chronic failures – redirecting power away from insurance companies and federal bureaucracies and putting it back into the hands of consumers.
The bill ditches Washington's one-size-fits-none approach by creating Trump Health Freedom Accounts to let families shop, compare, and choose coverage that actually works for them, instead of lining the pockets of insurance companies.
As Senate Democrats continue to insist on spending billions of dollars to bail out the failure that is Obamacare, this bicameral bill offers a real alternative that actually delivers affordable care for the American people. By unleashing competition and transparency, this alternative addresses the core failures of Obamacare that have left families with fewer choices and higher costs.
“America’s health care system is broken, plagued by skyrocketing costs and declining patient outcomes. The Democrats’ Obamacare disaster completely failed to deliver on its core promises, and Republicans must fix it,” said Rep. Pfluger (TX-11). “The More Affordable Care Act will lower costs, expand consumer choice, and increase transparency for patients. By establishing Health Freedom Accounts and a Health Freedom Waiver Program, we’re putting health care decisions back where they belong: in the hands of American families, not Washington bureaucrats. This legislation will also provide small businesses with critical tax relief to encourage employer-sponsored coverage and will lock in price transparency for patients. The American people deserve better than throwing more money at a failed system, and this legislation delivers the commonsense solutions they expect."
"We’re putting patients — not bureaucrats or insurance companies — back in charge of their healthcare," said Rep. Bean (FL-04). "With Trump Health Freedom Accounts, competition across state lines, expanded access to employer-sponsored health insurance, and price transparency, this legislation empowers Americans to make informed healthcare decisions, increases choice and competition, and lowers healthcare costs. This is America First healthcare, and under House Republican leadership, we’re fixing the broken system."
“American families see clearly that Obamacare has failed to deliver on its promises – instead, it created a broken system that screwed over the American people. It’s time to fix it by allowing Americans to be the consumer so they can get care that truly fits their needs and makes health care more affordable. I’m proud to partner with Chairman Pfluger on my More Affordable Care Act that makes commonsense changes that empowers American patients, not the government, to make their own decisions,” said Senator Rick Scott (R-FL). “We don’t have to replace Obamacare, we keep exchanges, we keep protections for preexisting conditions – but we can add options for families, allowing them to shop across state lines, increasing transparency in health care, and giving any financial support to them directly through HSA-style Trump Health Freedom Accounts so families can choose the care that fits their needs. With more competition, clearer pricing, and allowing Americans, not government, to be the consumer, we can transform Obamacare into a system that gives Americans the freedom to get the care they need."
Specifically, this legislation fixes America's broken health care system by:
· Creating "Trump Health Freedom Accounts" to put dollars directly in the hands of the consumer
· MACA will redirect federal subsidies currently being sent to insurance companies into new, HSA-style accounts held by individual Americans.
· These accounts can be used to pay insurance premiums or other qualified healthcare expenses
· Establishing a "Health Freedom Waiver Program" to expand competition
· This program will allow states to opt into a system where health plans can be sold across state lines, allowing individuals to broaden their health care options and incentivize companies to offer fair prices
· Offering stronger small businesses support
· MACA expands the small business tax credit to encourage employer-sponsored coverage
· It raises the eligible employee threshold from 25 to 20, removes the $57,000 salary cap, and increases the tax credit to 50% for all qualifying employers
· Codifying price transparency for patients
· It will permanently codify President Trump's hospital price transparency order, requiring hospitals to publicly disclose negotiated rates, cash prices, and cost-sharing information
· This will give patients clear and upfront pricing when shopping for high-value care
Full text of the legislation is available here.
Reps. Pfluger and Bean were joined by several of their colleagues in introducing this critical legislation, including Representatives Julie Fedorchak (ND-At-Large), Jim Baird (IN-04), and Andrew Clyde (GA-09).
“The last 15 years are proof: the Democrats’ so-called Affordable Care Act did not achieve its core goal of lowering costs. Instead, families face higher premiums and fewer choices,” said Rep. Fedorchak. “The More Affordable Care Act reverses the failures of our broken model by redirecting existing ACA subsidies into Health Freedom Accounts. This will give patients the freedom to shop for coverage, manage their own health care dollars, and make informed decisions that will lower costs.”
“I am excited to be a part of this opportunity to enact meaningful health care reform,” said Rep. Baird. “The Affordable Care Act has been anything but affordable and has resulted in higher prices and fewer options for everyone. The reforms in this bill will codify President Trump’s successful agenda and increase free market competition to provide people with better services, lower prices, and more innovative options so people can choose health plans that work best for them.”
Several outside organizations also expressed support for this legislation, including the Economic Policy Innovation Center, which released the following statement of support:
Brittany Madni, Executive Vice President, Economic Policy Innovation Center, said, “Senator Rick Scott and Congressman August Pfluger’s More Affordable Care Actis exactly the sort of pro-freedom healthcare leadership that is needed to drive down costs for both patients and taxpayers. This fiscally responsible legislation stops Obamacare from doing more damage and handing over billions from the Treasury directly to Big Insurance through the subsidy scheme. It opens up competition in the market, gives patients options, and institutes commonsense reforms to safeguard taxpayer dollars. Ultimately, through the creation of the Trump Health Freedom Accounts and transparency measures, the More Affordable Care Act improves access to quality healthcare.”
Check out these stories previewing MACA's introduction by clicking the images below:
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