HHS IS IN GOOD HANDS
There has been a lot of talk about prescription drug prices and soaring insurance costs due to Obamacare. These are problem in dire need of being fixed. However, in order for them to be fixed properly, there must be somebody in charge of Health and Human Services who has quality solutions and the impeccable knowledge of healthcare it will take to muster a great plan.
Thankfully, Alex Azar fits both of those categories.
The Obamacare bill is nearly 2,000 pages and has far too many landmines within it. I understand that the mission of Obamacare was to deliver affordable health insurance, but with the constant announcements that premiums will be rising higher and higher, it is clear that despite the best of intentions, the law may have helped some people, but it has driven up costs for many others.
As a doctor myself, I very much value both quality of care and the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship. I believe that the government should interfere minimally and market-driven ideas must be at the forefront.
Secretary Azar understands all aspects of the healthcare industry and is perfect to help lead on finding the right solutions.
As a former law clerk to the late Justice Antonin Scalia and accomplished attorney at Wiley Rein, a prominent DC law firm, he understands how to navigate the law and the proper way to handle negotiations.
He was then twice confirmed by a bipartisan DC government to be Deputy HHS Secretary and did an outstanding job.
Following that, he joined the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and company and did so well there that he rose all the way up to president of the company’s largest division, Lilly, USA Inc.
He could have stayed in that position and made millions of dollars per year, but instead, Azar decided it was more important to be of service to his fellow man and so he left that lucrative job to become HHS Secretary in November, 2017.
There are a lot of great ideas on the table to lower costs, and I am confident Secretary Azar will investigate the possibility of implementing them.
Yesterday, I wrote about the re-importation of drugs from Canada as a way to lower drug costs.
Another great idea would be to boost the prominence of health savings accounts, a fantastic concept going all the way back to the Gingrich-led congress of 1994. They are a great way for people to save medical money over the long term so that they can build a substantial sum in their accounts for when they are older and have a greater need for the money to pay for increased medical bills that typically accompany old age.
But we also need safeguards for our most vulnerable, so we must have funding mechanisms to help pay for high-risk state pools that can assist the truly poor and sick from being unable to get the care they need.
I am sure Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan and others — including Democrats — have thoughts about what else could be added to drive down costs, and like any intelligent person, I am sure Secretary Azar is willing to listen to ANYTHING that could potentially add value for the American people.
Costs need to come down without the high quality of doctors and hospitals we have become so accustomed to in this country being adversely affected.
Secretary Azar knows this and he is on the case. As a doctor and a man who knows a strong leader when I see one, the Secretary has my complete faith, and I have the utmost confidence that he will succeed.