Across our nation, the American people are getting tired of seeing health care used as a political football. They want to see real, bipartisan results.
Prior to joining Congress earlier this year, I spent over a decade as a Pennsylvania state representative. In that capacity, I saw firsthand as the residents of our community got left holding the bag for Washington’s failures. For years, Congress jammed through broken and partisan reforms, ignored emerging problems, and wrote blank checks to insurance companies. While all this happened, patients in our community watched as their costs skyrocketed and the system became more dysfunctional and bureaucratic than ever.
Since coming to Congress, I’ve seen firsthand the broken dynamics of Washington and how we deal with this issue. Partisan priorities and special interests have merged into a toxic political stew that few politicians want to touch until they have to. Like a growing number of issues, health care seems to be something that lawmakers will only touch in an emergency.
This brings us to today, when some of the longstanding problems in health care seem to be reaching a crisis point. Millions of Americans are rightfully concerned about the price they will pay for health insurance next year if enhanced premium tax credits expire for insurance purchased on health care marketplaces like Pennie. Millions more are struggling to navigate a system that has become impossibly convoluted and entirely opaque.
In the months leading up to this moment, I have worked alongside a bipartisan group of colleagues to address this problem. The plans we’ve proposed are built on common sense and shared priorities — incorporating immediate relief on health care costs by extending the tax credits, while also establishing longer-term reforms that keep benefits out of the hands of millionaires and billionaires, cut out middlemen, crack down on corporate insurance fraud, and improve transparency.
Instead of ignoring the crisis or applying a Band-aid, we’re working to deliver real solutions for the American people. We have reached across party lines to find smart reforms that achieve shared goals. This is what we are sent to Washington to do, and it’s what’s needed in order to solve tough problems. These plans don’t pretend to solve every problem in our health care system, but they deliver relief that families, seniors and everyone needs, and the commonsense reforms that Americans deserve. They also lay the foundation for future bipartisan action on health care.
Unfortunately, while this coalition has worked for real solutions, Congress has dragged its feet and reverted to partisanship.
This delay has real-world consequences — many in our community are facing a choice between paying more for their health insurance or going without it entirely. This isn’t a choice that the people of the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos should have to make. Partisanship shouldn’t be the reason that families in our community go without health insurance, especially when commonsense solutions are available to address these issues.
With credits set to expire at the end of the year, and any extension of the tax credits floating out of reach, I took additional action to address the emergency. I joined several other Republicans in signing a discharge petition for a three-year extension — the solution generally preferred by Democrats in Congress. This bill is not our best option, but with Democratic leadership refusing to support a bipartisan compromise that included commonsense reforms, and Hakeem Jeffries rejecting a shorter-term extension out of hand, it was the only option remaining to keep hopes of price relief and health care reform alive. The bill is likely to fail in the Senate, as it has previously, but it gives those of us looking for real, bipartisan solutions more opportunities to rally support.
This latest health care saga has shown Washington at its worst, with political priorities taking precedence over the real-world consequences for working Americans. But we know that the partisan failures that created the problems in our health care system won’t be solved with partisan solutions. As this process grinds along, and the pressure mounts on millions of families, I’ll keep working to deliver on the priorities of the people of the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos.
The people of our community must always come ahead of partisan politics.
This is a contributed opinion column. Ryan Mackenzie, a Republican, is a member of U.S. House of Representatives from the Pennsylvania 7th District. The views expressed in this piece are those of its individual author, and should not be interpreted as reflecting the views of this publication. Do you have a perspective to share? Learn more about how we handle guest opinion submissions at themorningcall.com/opinions.
