Health care bill brings back free market, innovation: V.P. Pence press secretary
Despite a delay of the vote on the Republican Senate health care bill, efforts continue to revise the bill and pass health care reform.
According to Marc Lotter, Press Secretary to Vice President Mike Pence, one of the key points of the Senate bill is that states would have more flexibility with issues such as providing Medicaid services. Lotter told the FOX Business Network’s Dagen McDowell that instead of being a “one-size fits all mandate,” the bill would “actually [give] states flexibility so they could innovate, they can address the specific needs of the residents in their state and that’s the kind of leadership, that’s the kind of partnership that we need with the states.”
Lotter said that although the administration is following the legislative process closely, it does not lose sight of the reasons why President Trump pushed for health care reform in the first place.
“It is making sure we stay focused on the end result which is the fact that ObamaCare is failing, millions of Americans are at risk of losing their health insurance right now due to the collapse of the exchanges.”
Because of that, Lotter said the goal of Republicans’ health care reform push was to “bring back competition, bring back free market, innovation, lower health care costs for everyone and also improve access at the same time.”
When asked about discussions in the Senate to keep ObamaCare taxes in place in an effort to reach a compromise, Lotter responded, “What you’re seeing is the Senate working through that legislative process, obviously there are various members in the Republican caucus that have differing ideas on how best to deliver this.”
But despite the continued debate among Senate Republicans, Lotter reiterated the White House’s focus on, “The president’s goal of lowering the health care costs for Americans and improving access.”