Chairman Pitts, Ranking Member Pallone and members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify regarding fiscal priorities in the 114th Congress. As a major driver of federal spending, our health care system must be central to this discussion. I would like to make three main points today regarding the fiscal future of the health care system in the 114th Congress.
First, the expansive spending created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will continue to generate fiscal issues for years to come. The ACA was left largely untouched by the Budget Control Act, resulting in unrestrained spending in some of health care’s most expensive programs. Next year Congress should rein in this spending and subject the ACA and Medicaid to cost saving reforms.
Second, making reforms within the exchanges and cutting back on ACA spending will create savings; some of which should be utilized to ensure a sustainable Medicare program for seniors well into the future. In order to preserve Medicare for the next generation, big policy changes must occur, and savings generated through scaling back the excesses of health reform can help pay the way.
Finally, decreasing ACA spending and applying some of these savings to Medicare reform is just part of the fiscal priorities conversation. Any change undertaken should lay a foundation for a more efficient health care system, and the 114th Congress should work to towards that ultimate objective by focusing on achievable goals in the present.
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