Events Showcase How AFP is Offering Greater Choice in Healthcare.
“Fund patients, not systems.” – Well said @DeanClancy!
I don’t know about you, but we are still buzzing 😊 with excitement over the #personaloption energy at our 🍦 “Scoops & Solutions” 🍨 events last week.
Checkout the 📽️ highlight reel below. 👇 pic.twitter.com/cVBuTHap03
— AFP Government Affairs (@AFPGovAffairs) July 29, 2024
Variety. Choices. Infinite combinations.
Imagine if shopping for health care were like walking into your favorite ice cream shop. You can pick the flavor that you like best. You can mix and match with other options as you please. And you know what you’re going to pay.
And all we have now is plain vanilla.
That was the message that Americans for Prosperity delivered to members of Congress last week at their Freedom Embassy on Capitol Hill. A series of events highlighted the value of greater choice in health care through the Personal Option.
Insurance-Free Innovation
Tuesday morning brought congressional staffers face to face with two doctors breaking out of the vanilla approach to providing health care.
Drs. Josh Umbehr and Jules Madrigal are boldly combining choice and freedom in their health care practices, and they shared their experiences in a casual Tuesday morning meet-and-greet over coffee.
Both doctors provide direct primary care to patients in their communities, meaning they work directly with patients to offer affordable care without an insurance intermediary. Their common goal is innovation.
“Every other industry, from Netflix to Airbnb to Tesla, is always finding a way to make its product easier, faster, cheaper, and better. Physicians need to do that,” said Dr. Umbehr.
Their success—not only in offering better care, but in lowering prices—has been startling.
“I can’t remember how many election cycles we’ve talked about the government working to lower prescription drug prices, and they still can’t get them lower than I can,” said Dr. Umbehr.
“Government’s not bad. It’s just bad at it,” he said.
Another great conversation about the #personaloption with @RepChipRoy and @AtlasMD‘s Dr. Josh Umbehr 🩺 to discuss increased patient healthcare options, 📉 reducing costs, and enhancement 👐 of doctor-patient relationships. pic.twitter.com/s6EGxJDaxk
— AFP Government Affairs (@AFPGovAffairs) July 23, 2024
Fiscal Cliff, Fantastic Opportunity
Thursday afternoon saw a robust discussion of policy options for implementing the Personal Option, with Congressman Pete Sessions kicking off a panel discussion.
“We need to make our system work for Americans,” he noted.
His bill, H.R. 3129, The Healthcare Fairness for all Act, offers families personal tax credits to pay for health care while expanding access to tax-advantaged Health Savings Accounts.
“We need a Personal Option to put patients and providers back in the driver’s seat,” he said.
Thank you, @AFPhq, for allowing me to speak about my bill, H.R. 3129, the Healthcare Fairness for All Act. This legislation promotes a personal option for patients and providers to ensure they are in control when it comes to health care coverage. pic.twitter.com/EukXwOEfaj
— Pete Sessions (@PeteSessions) July 25, 2024
Several panelists then discussed the opportunities for the Personal Option before a room full of staffers and media, analyzing the ins and outs of policy and legislative process.
“We’re following about 50 good bills, some of them very small, but they go in the right direction,” said Dean Clancy, AFP’s senior health policy fellow. “We need to get those bills into law.”
Between discussions of personal health credits and today’s cost of living crisis brought on by the current administration’s fiscal policies, the energy behind the Personal Option shone through.
“A personal option is essential. It involves shifting power from insurance companies and government bureaucracy to patients,” Clancy said.
“Fund patients, not systems.”
Spirited Sundae Solutions
A reception Thursday evening closed out the week’s events, featuring a “spirited” sundae bar contrasting the delightful results of personal choice with the bland flavors of government fiat.
In the spirit of competition, those in attendance could choose “Direct Primary Care-amel with Dark Chocolate Whiskey” or “Cake Batter Mart-tini Weeny Medical Bills,” or they could pick a conventional cookies and cream.
The Personal Option offers flexibility and choice to pick the options best for you and your family. Introducing greater choice requires consumers to learn about their options, but the results are greater access, more affordability, and better value.
The Personal Option generates tremendous opportunity for the country, noted Dr. Umbehr.
“If we just looked at fixing health care the same way we streamline … every other product around us, we’d have an economic boom that would make Reagan jealous,” he said.
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