Murphy Responds to President's Healthcare Address

Congressman Tim Murphy (PA-18) today issued the following response after President Obama's speech on healthcare before a Joint Session of Congress:

"Tonight the President laid out a new direction and focus on the healthcare reform debate. I agree that there should not be a partisan divide. Many of the principles that the President discussed tonight, not only do I share, but I have been advancing with my colleagues and constituents for the past several months. Reforms such as:

* No denial of coverage because of a pre-existing condition;

* No cancelling coverage because a person gets sick;

* Basic, affordable coverage for preventative care, routine care, and catastrophic care;

* Permanent insurance coverage that can't be lost due to jobs loss, illness, etc.; and

* Portable coverage you can take with you between jobs, and is permanent across preexisting conditions or illnesses.

"But we shouldn't stop there. Healthcare reform must also include making the safety, quality and cost of healthcare transparent. This is where government can and should play an important role. Yet it does not. It is sad that you can get more information from Consumer Reports magazine on a washing machine or toaster than you can on those who hold your life in their hands. Imagine a system where you can indeed find out about your doctor's experience and the track record of your hospital on delivering the services you need.

"Everyone should have the choice to purchase a basic plan, the choice to purchase in groups, and the choice to purchase across the nation competitively. But there should be no choice to cut coverage because a person is sick or was sick at one time, and there should be no choice to have plans and hospitals that tolerate waste, fraud, inefficiency and abuse.

"There also needs to be a non-political review of our current Medicare and Medicaid healthcare systems to identify and fix the problems of medical errors, waste and inefficiencies in the system. For those that need some assistance but are above the income levels of Medicaid and below the age of Medicare, we can help. Through direct subsidies, vouchers or tax breaks on a sliding scale based on income we can give people the kind of assistance they need to afford care. Before creating a government insurance company I would prefer to offer people the financial support and the options to truly shop around in a reformed marketplace.

"I will continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to achieve these goals."