Editor’s note: This is one of two opinion pieces, each expressing an opposing view on health care.

By U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly – D – Virginia

You might be surprised to hear this, but the problem with health care in America today is not that we spend too little, but that we spend too much.

Health-care cost increases for families, small businesses and government are unsustainable. Premiums have doubled over the last nine years and we currently spend 18 percent of our nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on health care. If we do nothing, premiums will continue to rise and by 2040 we will be spending a staggering 34 percent of GDP.

That’s why we need reform now. But we have to get it right.

When Congress returns in September, we will continue work on a health-care bill. My approach to dealing with this issue has been to read the bill from cover to cover, immerse myself in the fine print and the nuances of health-care reform, and most importantly listen to you, my constituents.

Through telephone town hall meetings, a presidential town meeting, office open houses, community events, health-care town halls at senior centers, e-mails, phone calls, and even while eating lunch at the Roy Rogers in Manassas, I’ve heard your thoughts and concerns and those of thousands of others.

This is what you’ve had to say:

• Reform must make health care more affordable for everyone – families, businesses, and the government. The legislation must not increase the deficit and can’t place new burdens or taxes on families and small businesses already struggling under the weight of health-care costs.

• You must have the freedom to choose your own doctor and insurance plan. If you like the plan you have, you must be allowed to keep it. If you would like a new plan, you should have that option as well.

• Insurance companies shouldn’t be allowed to cherry pick and drop coverage based on pre-existing conditions, giving you the peace of mind to know that you can’t lose your coverage if you get sick or lose your job. We need to take power away from the insurance companies and give it back to people.

• We need to cap costs for those who suffer a catastrophic illness so that no individual or family is forced into bankruptcy or faces losing their home and everything they own because a loved one suffers a life-threatening or debilitating injury, illness or disease.

• We need to close the “donut hole” in Medicare Part D that costs seniors thousands of dollars many cannot afford to pay for prescription drugs they need to stay alive or maintain their quality of life.

• Every American should have access to quality care. Economists estimate that families with health insurance pay an extra $1,000 each year in premiums to cover the cost of the uninsured. That’s wrong.
In addition, we have to hold the line on taxes. New taxes should be the last resort, not the first.

We must do everything possible to find cost savings. As I mentioned before, we are spending too much, not too little, on health care. For example, the top 10 insurance companies have seen their profits increase 428 percent over the last decade. Yet, they have offered nothing by way of cost reductions. That’s unacceptable. Simple reform there could save as much as $100 billion.

I oppose taxing employer-provided benefits. That tax would have a devastating impact on Northern Virginia residents, many of whom enjoy generous employer-provided health plans. Thankfully, it appears that proposal is no longer on the table.

I also joined other moderate Democrats in expressing concerns about the impact of a proposed “surtax” on high incomes.

The original surtax proposal would have had a disproportionate impact on small businesses and families in Prince William County and across Northern Virginia.

I want to make sure that the final bill Congress sends to the president will make health-care costs more affordable, improve the quality of health care, provide access to all Americans and hold the line on taxes.
We have postponed final consideration of the bill until September. That gives us more time to make sure we get it right and more time for you to give me your views on what we need. Please don’t hesitate to contact me through my Web site – connolly.house.gov – and let me know what you think.

Democrat Gerry Connolly is a member of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia’s 11th District.