Washington, D.C. – Congressman Jeff Fortenberry today voted against HR 3962, the House health care bill.

“Clearly, we must strengthen health care in America. We must improve health outcomes for all Americans and reduce costs – especially for families and small businesses- while protecting vulnerable persons. The question is what will be most effective.

“The House bill is very risky. It is a mind-numbingly complex and costly prescription, nearly 2,000 pages long at a cost of $1.3 trillion. While I agree we should promote a health care culture that focuses on wellness and prevention, remove lifetime caps, and further support high-risk pools for those with pre-existing conditions, this bill will fail to reduce costs, shift the costs to more government run health care, and reduce health care liberties.

“We should adopt a number of common sense reforms, such as portability of insurance, buying insurance across state lines, and creating new insurance association models for farmers and families for more affordable options.”

Fortenberry has supported various approaches to health care reform, including promoting health and wellness incentives, enhancing existing public services such as community health centers and hospice care reimbursement, as well as creating new insurance models for vulnerable persons.

To view Congressman Fortenberry’s address to the United States House of Representatives in its entirety, go to fortenberry.house.gov.

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