Health Insurance CEOs Are Coming to Washington: Here’s What Congress Should Ask Them

This week, health Insurance CEOs are coming to Washington to meet with President Trump and to testify before Congress about their high prices and unpopular practices.  

Of course, nobody likes health insurance companies. And putting them in the dock could be entertaining. But we hope this week’s meetings will focus on policy. 

Health care costs way too much, and voters are demanding relief.  

This week’s conversation is a golden opportunity for our elected representatives to identify real solutions that make health much more affordable for working families.  

The hearings aren’t the right time or place for a political inquisition or partisan bickering. They should be about identifying the root causes of why American health care is broken, and what needs to change.  

The hearings will be successful if insurers and lawmakers help voters understand why they are enduring skyrocketing premiums and deductibles, rising wait-times, soaring claim-denial rates, and shrinking access to the best doctors and hospitals. 

Let’s ask ourselves: Are insurers the source of these problems? Or are they merely responding to perverse incentives? And either way, can they be part of the solution?  

What Do Americans Want?  

America has some of the best doctors, best hospitals, and best technology in the world, yet a majority of Americans say our health care system is in crisis or has major problems. Polls show nearly half of U.S. adults find it difficult to afford health care. One in four say they or a family member had problems paying for health care in the past year. A similar number said they had to put off needed care.  

What do Americans want instead? To find out, we polled 1,000 registered voters in December. Their answers are revealing:  

• 71% believe government or insurance companies currently hold the power in our health care system, though only 19% say they should have it. 

• 77% say they and their families should have the most control, yet only 15% feel they actually do. 

Americans are not asking for more government. They’re asking for more personal choice and control.  

They also tell us they want health care to be more like shopping at Amazon or your local retail store — with lots of options, clearly posted prices, and fast, quality service.  

And above all, lower prices.  

Americans Want More Choices, Not More Obamacare  

These findings show Americans overwhelmingly back policies that give people flexibility to choose the coverage and care options that work for them.  

This may be unwelcome news for congressional Democrats, because their cherished Obamacare program, with its top down, one-size-fits-all model, can never deliver that kind of flexibility.  

Yet Democrats will undoubtedly try to use the hearings as a platform to press yet again for expanding Obamacare.  

Which is ironic, since Obamacare sends tens of billions of our tax dollars every year straight to health insurance companies.  

How would sending even more billions to insurers make health care affordable? It wouldn’t. It would just mask the cost at taxpayer expense.  

Our polling finds that 80% of voters support directing financial assistance to individuals, not insurers.  

Which is a superb idea, and it’s one that President Trump and Republicans have strongly endorsed. Unfortunately, Democrats seem to viscerally oppose it.  

Which is baffling, since it means they’re putting themselves on the wrong side of an 80/20 issue, siding with big insurers over patients and struggling families.  

By an 83–17% margin, voters prefer reforms that increase personalized options rather than expand government control or subsidies. By the way, this represents a remarkable 46-point net swing in favor of personalize options since 2022.  

The hard truth: Obamacare is a major cause of the current mess, and everyone knows it. All the current negative trends — soaring premiums, rising wait-times, etc. — have arisen or intensified under the Affordable Care Act of 2010.  

Do Democrats really want to use the hearings as a platform to call for doubling down on a failed status quo that everyone knows has made health care more expensive?    

Questions for Health Insurance CEOs  

Here are some policy-focused questions we’d love to see the CEOs answer, because they help answer the biggest question of all:  

How can insurers be part of the solution?   

1. When you hear President Trump proposing a bold new approach with reforms that put patients in the driver’s seat and that give Americans what they want — which is more options, clearly posted prices, and direct access to the care and doctors they trust — does that sound like something your industry can support? Can we count on you to partner with us in enacting President Trump’s Great Healthcare Plan?  
2. Do you agree that the high price of health care today is in large part a result of costly government insurance mandates and inflationary subsidies? If so, which changes to current mandates and subsidies do you think would reduce insurance prices the most? And will you partner with us to enact those reforms as quickly as possible?  
3. Do you agree that every single insured American should have the option of having a tax-free Health Savings Account, a personal medical “wallet” that they own and control and that gives them access to care and doctors their insurance policy may not cover? Thanks to antiquated government rules, HSAs are currently available to only about 10% to 20% of Americans. Do you support the idea of allowing “HSAs for All”? 

The Bottom Line  

Americans are deeply frustrated with the high cost and enormous hassle of health insurance today.  

But health insurers are not the villains of this story. They’re simply responding to perverse incentives created by government, and especially Obamacare.  

Americans are not asking for government control and subsidies. They’re asking for more freedom, choice, and personal control.  

They’re are asking, in short, for a Personal Option — reliable, hassle-free health care they can afford.  

Dean Clancy is a Senior Health Care Policy Fellow at Americans for Prosperity.