Congresswoman Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.-05), Chairman Kevin Hern (R-Okla.-01) and Rep. Rick Allen (R-Ga.-12) this week held a Healthy Futures Task Force, Affordability Subcommittee hearing on empowering consumers and reducing the cost of healthcare.
Spartz
“Government regulations and significant subsidies to large stakeholders have created a material monopoly/oligopoly problem across all sectors of health care market,” Rep. Spartz said. “We have to introduce more value competition or accept full government takeover of health care, which will be fatal to quality and innovation.”
“Americans have been demanding an answer to rising health care costs; today we took our first step towards a solution,” Rep. Hern said. “It’s going to take time, but we are committed to empowering patients and lowering the cost of healthcare.”
“In order to make health care more affordable, Congress must identify why costs are rising and focus on policy solutions that encourage transparency and innovation, while ensuring the vast majority of every taxpayer dollar spent on health care goes directly toward helping patients,” Rep. Allen said.
Witnesses at the hearing including the following individuals:
- Brian Blase, CEO of Blase Policy Strategies and senior research fellow at the Galen Institute and at the Foundation for Government Accountability – former special assistant to the president for economic policy at the White House’s National Economic Council (NEC).
- Doug Holtz-Eakin, President of the American Action Forum – former CBO Director, Chief Economist of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers (CEA).
- Eric Hargan, Founder and CEO of the Hargan group – former Deputy Secretary and Chief Regulator Officer of HHS.
- Kevin Kuhlman, Vice President of Federal Government Relations at National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).
- Benedic Ippolito, Senior Fellow at AEI.