I personally know many individuals for whom the current healthcare system simply does not work, including people with preexisting conditions who can’t get insurance or can’t leave their job because they’ll lose their insurance.  No one should have to make that choice.  An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and I support immediate tax credits, tax deductions and insurance law reforms that will help more of the currently healthy working poor to obtain affordable, portable coverage. 

For those that still slip through the cracks, I support redirecting stimulus dollars towards a more robust federal investment in state-based high-risk and reinsurance pools for people who are denied private insurance or cannot afford it.  These pools already exist, but they are still too expensive for some patients and plagued by their own waiting periods and pre-existing condition exclusion periods.  Eliminating these waiting periods and exclusions for sick patients is our ultimate goal and this idea could get more money out the door towards that goal tomorrow if Congress chose to act.

To the contrary, the promise of healthcare for all in the leading Democrat proposals is a promise for which you will have to wait.  Both the House and Senate bills start taxing years before health benefits are fully phased in, so chances are your wallet will be squeezed long before you see any health benefits.  I would rather start with an immediate, meaningful, and fiscally responsible investment in those that need the most help, followed by an incremental, transparent reform process so Congress can get this right the first time.  Those in this country who need reform today, not two or three years from now, should expect nothing less.