Virginia Foxx: “Voters all across the country have rejected the ``government knows best'' philosophy that prevailed during last year's…”

“Voters all across the country have rejected the ``government knows best'' philosophy that prevailed during last year's health care debate. In contrast, my Republican colleagues and I believe that American innovation and reduced government intervention are keys to successful health reform that reduces health care costs. After all, reducing the costs of health care should be the primary focus of any health care reform bill. Unfortunately, the highly flawed health care bill that passed last year does not bring down the cost of health care. It drives costs up. If we are ever going to fix health care, we must focus on reducing costs. For instance, it's estimated that 1 percent of the most seriously ill in America account for more than 25 percent of all health care expenditures. What if we could improve the care of these patients and at the same time reduce costs? We can. We can by harnessing the power of innovation and health research in groundbreaking fields like regenerative medicine. Regenerative medicine is a highly specialized field that focuses on developing technologies to replace or regenerate organs and tissues using the patient's own cells. These treatments would reduce the cost of chronic diseases by up to $275 billion a year and would dramatically improve the lives of older Americans suffering from terrible, chronic illnesses.”