Fifteen years ago, President Barack Obama stood before the people and made a promise: The Affordable Care Act would lower premiums and expand choice, and if you liked your plan and your doctor, you could keep them. Families believed him. They trusted that Washington would finally make healthcare more accessible and affordable.
Today, those same families know a different reality. Premiums have soared beyond what most can reasonably afford. Hospital and physician choices have been dramatically reduced, leaving patients with fewer choices. Deductibles have climbed so high that insurance is practically unusable for millions of working families.
The promise was cheap. The reality is expensive.
This crisis requires more than rhetoric; it requires action. We introduced the More Affordable Care Act to address the fundamental problems plaguing our healthcare system while preserving the protections upon which Americans depend.
Walk into any diner, barbershop, or grocery store in America, and you’ll hear the same frustrations. Families open surprise medical bills months after receiving care with no idea what drove the charges. They cannot compare prices between providers before making decisions about their own health. They have fewer hospital and physician choices, and they watch helplessly as subsidies flow to insurance companies while their out-of-pocket costs keep rising. These aren’t partisan complaints. This is the experience of millions of Americans across the political spectrum.
Our approach is straightforward: stop treating families like statistics and start treating them like the capable decision-makers they are. Instead of funneling billions of taxpayer dollars through layers of bureaucracy to large insurance companies, redirect those resources into Trump Health Freedom Accounts, where individuals have control over their healthcare dollars. Families can use these funds to pay premiums or other healthcare expenses, while also having the flexibility to shop for insurance across state lines to compare multiple plans and choose coverage that truly meets their needs.
The difference is profound. Rather than being forced to accept whatever narrow physician and hospital network Washington or an insurance company offers, families will have real, affordable options. They can seek out the specialist three states over who has the best track record treating their condition. They can weigh whether a high-deductible plan with lower premiums makes more sense for their situation. They make informed choices that reflect the realities of their lives, not the preferences of distant policymakers. It’s no accident that this solution comes from leaders representing Texas and Florida, two states that have consistently shown that less government interference and more market freedom deliver better results for families.
Our bill maintains all protections for Americans with preexisting conditions, a commitment we make without caveat or exception. It also gives states the flexibility to expand narrow markets by waiving certain federal mandates that have restricted competition and driven up costs.
Perhaps the most transformative element is transparency. Right now, American healthcare operates in a pricing black box. Families receive more information about the cost of a used car than a CT scan. We change that by requiring hospitals to disclose actual prices — not estimates, not ranges, but the real costs patients will face. Additionally, this legislation mandates public reporting of outcomes data so Americans can compare not just prices, but quality and success rates across providers.
Imagine seeing upfront what a procedure will cost, then comparing that price and the provider’s track record with other hospitals in your region or across the country. This is standard practice in virtually every other consumer market. There is no reason healthcare should remain the exception.
And now is the time to act. Republicans control both chambers of Congress and the White House. If meaningful reform cannot happen now, with a unified government and clear public demand for change, when can it? The people didn’t grant us this majority to conduct more studies. They expect solutions to problems that have festered for more than a decade.
ASSOCIATION HEALTH PLANS CAN FIX THE SMALL BUSINESS HEALTHCARE CRISIS
Our proposal provides the people with solutions to the core complaints Americans have about their healthcare: costs, choice, and transparency. It is a proposal that maintains the exchanges, protects coverage for preexisting conditions, and supports working people. At the same time, it radically transfers power away from Washington and into the hands of patients by allowing you to keep the money you earn, shop for the care that fits your needs, and know the true cost of the treatments you’re considering. This isn’t ideological warfare; it’s common sense.
It’s time for Congress to stop talking about addressing the failures within our healthcare system and start voting on it. The More Affordable Care Act is on the table. The people are watching. It’s time for us to act.
August Pfluger represents Texas’s 11th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Rick Scott is the senior U.S. senator from Florida.
, 2025-12-12 20:36:00, 
, Washington Examiner, %%https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-favicon.png?w=32, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/feed/, Rep. August Pfluger and Rick Scott
