TUCSON, Ariz., June 23, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In response to the release of Speaker Paul Ryan’s outline of “A Better Way to Fix Health Care,” the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) issued the following statement:
“The Affordable Care Act, as Ryan notes, cannot be fixed. It must be repealed. Republicans, however, need to recognize the flawed premises before they advocate replacing ACA with ACA-Tweaked or ACA-Lite.
“American medicine costs far too much, and the reason is third-party payment (deceptively called ‘insurance’) of most medical bills. This doubles or triples the price through waste, perverse incentives, and crushing administrative overhead.
“Government worsens this problem through tax-favored treatment of medical spending, especially through employer-owned plans; coverage mandates; and outright subsidies.
“True reform would do the following:
- Repeal all federal insurance mandates, price controls, and regulations. Insurance regulation is constitutionally a function of States.
- Stop all subsidies, including “tax credits,” paid directly to insurance companies.
- Equalize tax treatment of all medical expenditures regardless of third-party involvement or plan ownership.
- Recognize that medical insurance is subject to the same economic laws as casualty insurance: if premiums are not actuarially fair, the plan is not sustainable.
“Federal intervention is destroying American medicine. The government cannot ‘fix health care.’ It can and must stop impeding innovation, independent medical practice, new facilities such as physician-owned hospitals, and patient-directed care. Thousands of pages of regulations need to be deleted.
“We applaud Speaker Ryan for recognizing the existing threats to ethical practice and the need to protect life and conscience. We are glad he acknowledges the peril of the Medicare program, and hope he will consider ways to allow seniors to opt out without losing their Social Security benefits.”
The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) is a national organization that has represented physicians in all specialties since 1943.