WATCH: Barrett Calls for Health Care Reform in Committee Testimony
Washington, D.C. — Today, Congressman Tom Barrett (MI-07) addressed the House Energy and Commerce Committee to advocate for bipartisan reforms to the deeply flawed Affordable Care Act and COVID-era premium tax credits. Barrett encouraged both parties to come to the table to make meaningful reforms that restore power to patients and hold insurance companies accountable.
Click here or the image above to watch Rep. Barrett’s testimony.
Below are highlights from Barrett’s speech.
“We must make significant reforms along the way as we deliver health care in this country, and it starts with both sides coming together with some honest conversations about the problems we face. And we must explore every avenue for restoring affordability in health care, and not just doing the same thing we’ve always done.
“That means correcting the Obamacare medical loss ratios that directly benefit the insurers but don’t actually lower premium costs. It means taking significant steps to mitigate fraud in our health care system so that those who are ineligible or over-income are not receiving taxpayer-funded benefits. And it also means expanding access to accounts like FSAs and HSAs, allowing those to be used to pay for premium costs and empowering individuals to make the best decisions for themselves and for their families.”
Background:
Congressman Barrett recently joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers in sending a letter to Senate leaders urging cooperation to craft legislation that will rein in costs and can pass both the House and Senate. These efforts come as the House and Senate work to address expiring COVID-era ACA enhanced tax credits. These subsidies currently apply to some high-income households earning more than $500,000 per year.
Insurers have collected subsidies for more than 12 million enrollees who have never filed a claim against their insurance plans, a strong indication that insurance companies may be taking subsidies for plans that aren’t tied to real people.
The Government Accountability Office revealed that it set up fake health insurance accounts to test fraud prevention; all but two of the fake accounts received taxpayer-subsidized coverage through the premium tax credits.
Click here to watch the full speech.