A Letter to the President

In his remarks to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday night, President Obama was certainly trying his best to present an image of bipartisanship in working towards health care legislation. Unfortunately, his actions don’t match his words.

It’s been months since he has met with Republican leaders in the House to discuss the commonsense reforms we have brought to the debate. It’s hard to imagine how this behavior matches his suggestion that he has been working with us to forge bipartisan legislation. In his speech, he said his door will be open to hear our ideas. I hope that’s truly the case because today I am sending a letter to President Obama asking him to consider my Health Care Freedom of Choice Act, among other Republican alternatives such as the Empowering Patients First Act, as part of a solution to our nation’s health care problems.

My legislation puts patients in charge of their health decisions by tweaking the tax code. Under current law, businesses are allowed to deduct the cost of employee health care from their taxes, while individuals and families cannot. This bias in favor of employer-provided coverage leads to higher costs overall and reduces accessibility to care. My legislation would erase this bias and extend the same tax incentives to businesses and individuals alike. From co-pays and premiums to long-term care, vision and dental, your high out-of-pocket costs would no longer be a barrier to care.

Are you really concerned with reaching across the aisle Mr. President, or was it nothing but rhetoric? The American people deserve to know.