Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) blasted his fellow Republicans in Congress for “running afraid” from health care, reiterating his belief that major federal health programs must be reformed “top to bottom.”
Roy, who is running to replace Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), spoke with the libertarian outlet Reason Magazine to discuss his views and recent votes in Congress.
Reason’s Nick Gillespie asked Roy why Republicans waffled when it came to repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Enhanced premium tax credits for ACA Marketplace plans are at the center of the government shutdown, with Republicans refusing to budge on extending them after this year.
“Republicans in Congress suck on this and are running afraid to touch and deal with health care,” said Roy. “To the credit of the administration, we were told that we weren’t going to touch health care at all, and we did touch Medicaid in a very big way. I think that’s a baseline to now give us some offense.”
A prominent deficit hawk in Congress, Roy has consistently spoken in support of reining in spending. He called on Republicans this week to stand firm in the current ACA fight.
“It doesn’t take a seasoned pol or savvy operative to know the answer is no. The jig is up, the pandemic is over and my colleagues shouldn’t blink in any other direction. Republicans must prove that we are for healthcare freedom and against socialized medicine. If we cave on these expensive and outdated subsidies, achieving our goals will be nearly impossible,” Roy wrote in an op-ed published by The Wall Street Journal.
Recent polling by the health policy nonprofit KFF found that the majority of voters, including most Republicans, are in favor of extending the ACA tax credits. Appearing to acknowledge the public consensus, Roy wrote in his op-ed, “If Republicans govern by poll and fail to grab this moment, they will own it. Don’t expect me to.”
Speaking with Reason, Roy said, “I fundamentally believe for Medicare and Medicaid, and frankly, [Veterans Health Administration], [Children’s Health Insurance Program] and these other health programs, you have to have fundamental health care reforms from top to bottom that starts with the individuals, doctors, and liberty.”
“Look, fighting the health care swamp is brutal because the insurance companies, pharma, big hospitals, they’re all colluding to make it where you and I can’t go to the doctors of our choice,” he added. “I’m a member of Congress and I’m on Obamacare. If my cancer comes back, which I had 13 years ago, I can’t go to MD Anderson [Cancer Center], which is an hour up the road right here in Texas, because Obamacare won’t let me go to MD Anderson. That’s asinine.”
