Sam Brownback on Health Care

Sam Brownback wants to find ways to reduce the cost on health insurance. He supports electronic medical records and health savings accounts (HSA). Brownback wants to create small business pools to allow small businesses to afford coverage for their employees. He wants individuals to be able to purchase insurance across state lines. Brownback wants to ensure that people have access to a wide variety of plans that only cover what they want. He supports publishing a list of common medical expenses to educate consumers and increase transparency.

Sam Brownback supported the Prescription Drug and Medicare Improvement Act of 2003 to create a prescription drug benefit for Medicare recipients beginning in 2006. He voted against drug reimportation from Canada and against allowing the federal government to negotiate lower prices with drug manufacturers. He also opposed allowing self-employeed individuals to fully deduct the cost of their health insurance on their federal taxes.

Directly from the candidate:

New Coverage Choices that Fit Each Family's Needs: One issue we must address is that Americans and specifically, those who are uninsured, are not being served by state insurance mandates that price them out of the market. I support the creation of regulatory competition among states, resulting in lower health insurance costs for the uninsured. Americans should be able to purchase health insurance across state lines and chose from a more affordable range of plans -- they would no longer be forced to pay for acupuncture or aromatherapy, if they do not suit their family's needs.