(Adam Khan, Washoe County Republican Party) – We are on the verge of a healthcare crisis in America. It is apparent that the cost of prescription drugs in this country is skyrocketing out of control, and it saddens me that government is at the root of the problem. The fact of the matter is that prescription drug costs have more than doubled over the past two years, and the federal government does not have a viable solution to fix the problem.
In 2009, President Obama made a promise to American families to reign in healthcare costs, while ensuring that every person in our great county would have access to quality healthcare. Six years have passed and it remains clear that the Affordable Care Act has done nothing to address rising healthcare costs, as insurance premiums continue to rise, and hardworking Americans are forced to pay out of pocket for expensive medications.
For far too long, liberal attempts at reforming the healthcare system in the United States have continued to be an affront on small business owners, workers, seniors, and low-income families.
Recently, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have come up with proposals to address the cost of prescription drugs, and both fall short of solving the problem. Clinton’s plan would put a $250 cap on co-pays for prescription drugs, and pass the remainder of those costs onto the backs of small business owners and their employees in the form of increased health insurance premiums. I don’t know about you, but I believe that this administration has burdened small businesses enough. It’s time for real conservative reform in our healthcare system.
What we are experiencing today is in no way a failure of capitalism, but rather a failure of government. Right now, as it stands, federal government regulations have made it so that pharmaceutical companies can charge whatever they want for lifesaving medications, while also forcing generic drugs as well as foreign drug companies out of the market.
If we really want to lower the cost of prescription drugs in this country, we must allow competition to flourish. This will make it so that all drug companies have to set fair prices in order to compete with others.
It shocks me that I am one of the first Republicans to weigh in on this ever-important issue. Therefore, I invite all members of the Washoe County Republican Party and their elected representatives to join me in supporting the conservative solution to fix our broken healthcare system and ever increasing prescription drug costs.
Adam Khan is the chairman of Washoe County Republican Party. He can be reached at adam@washoegop.org.
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