| Dear John, The horrific and unconscionable assassination of the CEO of United Healthcare has sparked a national conversation about health insurance. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey conducted last year: - More than 80% of Americans gave their health insurance an overall rating of “excellent” or “good.”
- That number fell to 68% among those who describe their physical health status as “fair” or “poor.”
- 58% of insured adults said they have experienced a problem using their health insurance in the past 12 months — such as denied claims, provider network problems, and pre-authorization problems.
In a recent interview with Fox Business, I traced the dissatisfaction people have with health insurance to the root problem: Government policies have empowered health care middlemen and deprived individuals of control over their health care. As you may know, Obamacare created “all kinds of federal rules and mandates and price controls that have changed insured behavior so that they are constantly increasing their prices and shrinking people’s access to doctors and hospitals.” I pointed out how the health care law led to “network shrinkage.” Basically, the law incentivizes insurers to have as few doctors and hospitals in their health plan as possible. As a result, you have to drive farther for your appointment and wait longer for care. But there’s hope. Policymakers can make improvements by funding patients, not the system. Rather than continuing to send Americans’ tax dollars to middlemen to subsidize health care, Congress could send those funds directly to people like you. Empowered with complete control over your health care dollars, you could choose the coverage that works best for you and your family. Check out more from my interview with Fox Business here. | 
