Policymakers must prioritize health care affordability by expanding options for consumers, reducing medical costs, and creating competitive markets. Government policies that increase costs for patients and consumers should be reformed or repealed.
Lower Health Care Costs
Health Costs Grow Slower than Wages
The best way to lower premiums and out-of-pocket costs is to prevent illness, shrink the cost of care, and improve incentives for high-value care.
Repeal the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA):
Lawmakers need to stabilize the market, lower premiums, increase plan choices, and improve patient access to medicines.
Lower drug costs and pay for outcomes:
Congress should allow payers and manufacturers to pay for drugs based on a patient’s outcome, not the number of treatments.
Lower provider services costs and improve value:
Congress should revamp hospital and physician value-based programs in Medicare to reward patient outcomes, not process changes.
Expand Private Market Coverage
Universal Access to Affordable Coverage
Establish a new balance that reduces reliance on government-run health care, and renews the commitment to private options and employer sponsored insurance.
Protect employer coverage and strengthen ERISA:
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) has allowed employers to provide employees and their families – no matter where they live or work – with high-quality health insurance for 50 years. It is important to continue protecting and strengthening ERISA by:
- Expanding options for employers and their employees
- Providing financial incentives to ensure employer coverage remains viable
- Enacting policies to lower the cost of health services and drugs to reduce premiums and out-of-pocket costs
Modernize HSAs:
Allow accounts to be used for direct primary care, on-site employer clinics, and telehealth services, and to allow veterans and Native Americans to own an HSA.
Allow any worker whose employer offers a plan that meets a minimum value to own an HSA.
Create new gig-worker HSAs to recognize changes in the workforce that have created new types of businesses and contract employees.
Expand small group coverage:
Ensure employers have access to self-funded plans, and expand and make permanent Association Health Plans (AHPs) to allow small businesses to band together to negotiate lower costs.
Reform the Small Employer Health Insurance Tax Credit by expanding eligibility and allowing the credit to be used for all major medical plans, not just exchange coverage.
Limit the Role of Government
More choices leads to improved value, meaningful transparency, and innovation
A regulatory reset is needed to get government micromanagement out of health care to better empower consumers, expand competitive markets, and drive e iciency.
Oppose government-run healthcare.
Oppose government price setting and interference with worker’s benefits (Medicare for All, Public Option, capping or eliminating tax benefits for workers’ health).
Expand market competition.
Set clear rules against anti-competitive practices.
119th Congress Ballot Tracker
Below is a list of bills CAHC is actively tracking. If you have any questions about a specific bill, please reach out to the team.