Sen. Cornyn Questions Medical Professionals on Healthcare System

Texas Senator John Cornyn questioned medical professionals on the issues in the healthcare system.

“The United States spends 18.4% of our GDP on healthcare,” said Sen. Cornyn.

“The average family spends $22,000 a year on employer-sponsored healthcare plans. And we just have to look at what’s happening to the fiscal health of the federal government to see the consequence of uncontrolled healthcare cost.”

Cornyn went on to say that the healthcare system is really a ‘sick-care system’ and promoted the idea that the U.S. could do more to prevent the bad outcomes that occur due to poor habits.

Speaking of the healthcare system’s problems, Cornyn stated, “It seems to me the complexity is not a bug, it’s a feature of our system, and I don’t think it’s an accident.”

“People have figured out what the system is and how to maximize their return and that’s why you see so many big players get involved. That’s why you see the consolidation. That’s why you see so many other features that we’re talking about here today,” said the Texas lawmaker.

Cornyn probed officials to see if there were “viable payment modules” that would improve patient outcomes and reduce the amount of money customers would have to pay.

Upon receiving several options, Cornyn asked for help actualizing different models.

Speaking to the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, the Texas senator said, “It seems like if we’re going to try to attack the excessive cost of the percentage of our GDP, the amount of money that families have to pay for insurance premiums, we’re going to not only look at the consolidation issues and the transparency issues but also how we actually compensate physicians and healthcare providers for treating people and how do we keep them healthier, rather than just treating them after they develop chronic diseases.

The chairman agreed, stating that the system was a "sick-care system" and that the committee was one of the leaders in getting annual wellness visits added to Medicare “which was a start to the prevention ethic” Cornyn was talking about.

He concluded his statement by saying that he looked forward to working with Cornyn.

The Bipartisan Budget Agreement recently passed. Texas Representative Veronica Escobar (D) has released a statement explaining why she voted to pass the Bipartisan Budget Agreement.

“Today I voted to pass the Bipartisan Budget Agreement to put an end to the political games Republicans are playing with our economy and the livelihood of millions of American households,” said Rep. Escobar.