Issue Position: Health Care

Issue Position

Congressman Lynch believes that every American should have access to quality, affordable healthcare. He continues to support initiatives and programs designed to increase patient access, provide affordable premiums and drug prices for patients, expand our nation's community health centers, support our teaching hospitals, and invest in preventative care.

Congressman Lynch continues to support comprehensive healthcare reform. Though Congressman Lynch did not vote for the Affordable Care Act, he maintains his pledge not to repeal the law, but to improve the new system and bring about real healthcare reform. With the United States Supreme Court turning back the latest challenge to the validity of the Affordable Care Act, it is time to move beyond the divisive rhetoric.

In June of 2015, Congressman Lynch voted to repeal the federal excise tax on the domestic sale of medical devices, a tax he has long opposed. Congressman Lynch believes that this tax may stifle the development of innovative medical devices that could save patients, reduce long term hospital stays, and help drive down the overall cost of healthcare. Another important bill Congressman Lynch voted for in the 114th Congress repealed the Sustainable Growth Rate formula, which for seventeen years established the reimbursement rate for doctors who treated Medicare beneficiaries. The bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support and paves the way to establishing a system to ensure that beneficiaries will no longer need to worry whether their doctor will continue to accept Medicare. The bill reauthorized the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) program that provides health insurance to our most vulnerable children and also provided $7.2 billion per year to the nation's community health centers. Our health centers play a critical role in the effort to reduce healthcare costs by providing affordable, preventative healthcare to approximately 23 million people every year.

Medicare and Medicaid are critical to affordable and accessible healthcare and must be protected. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, in Massachusetts there are 1,625,669 individuals and children who receive health care coverage under Medicaid and 1,211,556 seniors and individuals with disabilities who are currently enrolled in Medicare. These programs are vital to our most vulnerable populations. Congressman Lynch believes that the programs must be improved and strengthened in order to reach our goals of providing coverage while reducing the overall costs of healthcare.

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