Dear Trysten:
Thank
you for contacting me regarding the Affordable Care Act (ACA)
and funding for its programs. I
appreciate hearing from you and having the opportunity to respond.
I oppose
the ACA and believe it
should be repealed, dismantled, or delayed. This
year alone, I voted for an amendment on March 13
to prohibit the use of funds to implement the ACA,
and on March 22, I voted to
repeal the law. On
July 11, I voted against the
FY14 Labor, Health and Human Services
Appropriations bill
in Committee because of ACA funding, and on July 25 I voted against the
FY14 Financial Services Appropriations
bill for the same reason. During
the continuing resolution debate, I supported moving forward with
the House bill that would defund the
ACA. Despite my opposition and that
of every Republican in the Senate, we simply do not have the votes to defund the ACA. Given that, I do
not believe it was a wise strategy to shut down the government because we were unable to prevail in our
legislative priority.
We
need real health care reform that will improve Alaskans' access to care, reduce costs by allowing individuals
to purchase health insurance across state lines, reform medical liability so we can limit the practice
of defensive medicine, and restructure the delivery system of health care to make it more affordable
and accessible. What we
don't need is a law that made promises that haven't been kept, including that Americans would have lower
premiums, Americans would not see their taxes increase and that the elderly and disabled on Medicare
would be protected.
The
nation's economic path is currently unsustainable, and the rising cost of health care is a major reason
for this. America's health
care system is entirely too expensive and entirely too inefficient.
I stand ready to work with anyone who wants to replace this law with something smarter, leaner and more
responsive to Alaskans.
Again,
thank you for contacting me.
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