Rep. Onder Newsletter : Rep. Onder Newsletter: Fighting for Lower Costs and More Choices in Health Care

Earlier this week, I joined my House Judiciary Committee colleagues in Charlotte, North Carolina, for a field hearing examining how burdensome federal regulations like Obamacare have driven up healthcare costs, contributed to the consolidation of healthcare systems, limited competition, and left patients with fewer choices.

During the hearing, I questioned Katherine Restrepo Martin of the UNC System; Brian Miller, M.D., M.B.A., M.P.H., of Johns Hopkins; and Brian Blase, Ph.D., of the Paragon Health Institute, about how federal policies have contributed to the consolidation of health care systems, reduced competition, and driven up costs for patients.

As a physician for 30 years, I have seen firsthand what happens when Washington bureaucracy gets between doctors and their patients. Regulations like Obamacare have made it harder for independent physicians and smaller practices to compete while creating incentives that benefit large hospital systems.

I specifically raised concerns about policies that allow hospitals to receive higher reimbursements for the same care that could be provided at a lower cost in an independent physician’s office. When government policy encourages consolidation and independent practices are bought up or forced out, patients are left with fewer choices and higher costs.

That is why this issue is so important. If Congress is serious about making health care more affordable, we need to examine how federal policies have contributed to rising costs, limited competition, and fewer choices for patients. We should be working to restore competition and put patients back in control of their own health care decisions. Americans should be free to choose the care that works best for them and their families, rather than having Washington make important and costly decisions for them. That freedom of choice is fundamental to the principles upon which our nation was founded.

Patients deserve a health care system that gives them more choices, lowers costs, and allows doctors to focus on providing the best possible care. I will continue fighting to put patients first and ensure Missourians and Americans across the country have access to affordable, high-quality care.

🔗 To watch a clip of my questioning, click the link HERE. 

This week, Congressman Greg Landsman and I introduced The Protecting Approved Care Act, which provides greater certainty around prior authorization decisions made by Medicare Advantage plans and ensures providers can rely on an approval when delivering care to their patients.

Today, a Medicare Advantage plan can approve care before it is delivered, then later reverse that decision or recoup payment from the physician or hospital. Providers absorb the benefits of those clawbacks, which creates financial uncertainty for practices and can discourage them from treating Medicare Advantage patients, which ultimately limits patients’ access to care.

The Protecting Approved Care Act will ensure that when a Medicare Advantage plan approves care, patients and their doctors can count on that approval. By preventing plans from reversing coverage, clawing back payments, or downcoding claims after the fact, this legislation will provide greater certainty for physicians and help ensure patients can continue accessing the care they need.

As a physician myself, I know how important that certainty is for both patients and providers. I am proud to work with Congressman Landsman on this bipartisan legislation to hold Medicare Advantage plans to their word and allow doctors to focus on what matters most: caring for their patients.

To read the full press release, click HERE.