WALLY HERGER: “I would like to encourage every Member of Congress to ask their constituents one simple question: Are your health…”

“I would like to encourage every Member of Congress to ask their constituents one simple question: Are your health insurance premiums high enough yet? Because this bill will make them even higher. We all want to improve access to mental health treatment. But the legislation before us could force some employers to drop mental health benefits altogether. Under this bill, plans are actually prohibited from covering treatment for depression, or potentially even a program to help someone quit smoking, unless they agree to cover literally everything in the book. I am especially concerned by the offset that effectively bans physician investment in hospitals. I am concerned that this provision could have a devastating impact on access to high quality health care. For example, there are just two hospitals in the city of Redding, California, in my northern California district. One of them nearly shut down a few years ago. It was bought by a company that specializes in turning around failing hospitals. Part of their strategy was to give the physicians who work at the hospital a partial ownership stake. They were successful. As a result, a vital community hospital is still open in a largely underserved area. This so-called ``offset'' would subject it to crippling new regulations, and it could doom other struggling hospitals to closure. Vote ``no'' on this legislation.”