I promised to post the responses I received from Sen. Hatch and Congressman Chaffetz. Here they are!

From Senator Orrin Hatch:

Dear Mr. Gill:

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. I appreciate hearing from you. Health care reform is one of the most important challenges facing our nation and I am working hard to ensure access to quality and affordable care for the families in Utah.

As Congress focuses on the vital issue of health care reform, I believe it is important we address this national challenge in a bipartisan and fiscally responsible manner. Ensuring access to quality, affordable and portable care is not a Republican or Democrat issue—it is an American issue. As we move forward on this important issue, we should not make the mistake of assuming that the federal government is the solution to all our problems. Simply spending another trillion dollars of hard-earned taxpayer dollars—especially when we as a nation are facing a very difficult economic climate, and major government-run programs like Medicare and Medicaid are on a path to fiscal insolvency—A does not seem a viable solution.

First and foremost, we need to ensure that everyone has access to care that is affordable and that insurance companies cannot discriminate against Americans with pre-existing conditions. We must also rid our current government programs of the waste, fraud and abuse that results in billions of dollars being lost each year. Our health care system already costs almost $2.5 trillion a year; carelessly spending another trillion dollars to expand Washington’s role in health care while doing very little to control costs is not the answer.

As a member of the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee along with being part of the Republican Health Care Leadership Taskforce, I continue to be an active participant in these discussions and work with my colleagues—Republican and Democrat alike—toward a solution.

On July 15th, the Senate HELP Committee approved its partisan health care reform bill by a party-line vote (13-1O). Unfortunately, after a 23-day markup session, I could not support I the bill because—just to name a few concerns—it would not lower the growth of health care spending as it claimed, it would still leave an estimated 34 million people uninsured, and it would generate an estimated net loss of more than l.6 million jobs over five years.

Although we may disagree on this issue, I appreciate you sharing your views with me. I consider your input valuable and am honored to serve as your United States Senator from Utah.

The Finance Committee is currently considering its health reform bill. As this debate moves forward, I will certainly keep your comments in mind.

Again, thank you for writing.

Sincerely,

Orrin G. Hatch
United States Senator

And from Congressman Jason Chaffetz:

Dear Mr. Gill,

Thank you for taking the time to share your concerns with me about our health care system. Although the United States has the highest quality health care in the world, a majority of Americans agree that there is need for significant reform. I am working on ways to address the problems dealing with accessibility, availability, and affordability of health insurance.

Before I address my alternatives to health care reform, let me take a moment and explain why I am opposed to the current health care proposal before the House.

At its core, I am opposed to increasing the federal government’s control over health care. I fundamentally disagree with the idea that a federally-funded government health insurance option would improve the current system. While proponents of this approach argue that Americans would not be required to drop their health insurance and join the public plan, we must understand the “public option” would not operate on an even playing field. Simply put, a public health care option would result in fewer choices for Americans and lead to a single-payer system. A single-payer system would eventually lead to socialized medicine. While I am willing to work towards real health care reform, I will not vote for any health care bill that includes any type of public option. Additionally, I believe if members of Congress vote to pass a bill which includes a government run insurance plan, then those members should have to enroll in that plan as well.

I am also opposed to any health care bill that would increase taxes and increase the federal deficit. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the current health care proposal before the House would cost upwards of $1.5 trillion over a 10 year period. I ran for Congress on the idea that government needs to tighten its belt and learn to do more with less.

I am also against cutting funding to the Medicare Advantage program in order to fund other reforms to which I am adamantly opposed. I believe Medicare Advantage is a good alternative which incorporates many free market principles.

There are numerous proposals in the health care debate that I support and should be included in any bill that passes Congress. The health care reform bill should:

• Incentivize preventive care,
• Provide affordable access to insurance,
• Make policies portable,
• Cover pre-existing conditions,
• Allow opt-out provisions for states,
• Allow private insurers to compete across state lines,
• Promote more transparency in pricing and effectiveness of health care services.

These are not controversial provisions; these are provisions for which I would vote. Furthermore, both sides would likely admit these ideas would go a long way toward lowering costs and improving our health care system. I think we could solve a major portion of the health care problem by simply passing the provisions upon which we can agree.

I was also heartened to learn that President Obama was open to discussing lawsuit abuse reform as a tool for driving down costs. I believe that any health care plan absolutely must include such reform. Similarly, I believe that any health care bill that becomes law must prohibit the use of federal dollars to fund abortions and include a provision to exclude health insurance coverage to those in our country illegally.

Although there are many plans under consideration from both Republicans and Democrats, I have yet to find one that I believe would be the best solution for Utah. While there are promising provisions in each of the current proposals, most plans take a one-size-fits-all federal approach to health care. In reality, what works well in one state may not work as well in another. I believe that we will obtain the best results when we allow states as much autonomy as possible to address their unique challenges. I hope more states will follow the lead of states like Utah to innovate and experiment with new ways to improve health care for their residents. We would do well to unleash the creative power of state and local governments to innovate and drive new solutions.

In other words, the health care solutions should be driven by the states, not the federal government.

Again, thank you for your input and ideas. The process of reforming health care is very important. If we have a bad process, we will get a bad result. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact my office.

Sincerely,

Jason Chaffetz
Member of Congress