Prior to representing the great people of East Tennessee in Congress, I served for 30+ years as a licensed community pharmacist. Healthcare issues and solving patient problems are near and dear to me.
As a member of the House Republican Doctors Caucus, I understand the importance of reducing health care costs and increasing access to care. And I know how Obamacare has wreaked havoc on our healthcare system, driving up costs, making the system more complex and confusing, and empowering bureaucrats and insurance companies over patients. Our current healthcare system is deeply flawed, forcing folks into insurance plans that don’t fit their needs and away from doctors they trust.
Unlike the government-run overreach of Obamacare, I believe in personalized medicine as part of a reformed and modernized healthcare system, one where patients and healthcare providers have more ownership and control over their own healthcare dollars and decisions. This sort of modernized healthcare system should include:
- Common-sense patient protections
- Competition and consumer choices
- Price and quality transparency
- Reducing our reliance on China and other adversary countries
- Addressing health professional workforce shortages
- Rooting out waste, fraud and abuse
- Incentives to lower or restrain costs while improving quality, access and innovation
Guided by these principles, as a member of the House Committee on Energy & Commerce I am taking an active role in developing and supporting meaningful legislation and policies that will make a difference for individuals, families, patients and providers in East Tennessee.
More on Health Care
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Last week, Representatives Diana Harshbarger and Andrea Salinas (OR-6) introduced the Home-Based Telemental Health Care Act, bipartisan legislation that expands access to mental health and substance abuse services for rural patients, particularly for individuals in the farming, fishing, and forestry industries.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger and Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) re-introduced the Immediate Access for the Terminally Ill Act, which would remove the burdensome waiting period for terminally ill patients' access to their Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program benefits.
Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger introduced the bipartisan Seniors' Access to Critical Medications Act last week.
The bill would make permanent a waiver issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that allowed for Medicare patients to receive critical medications by mail, or allow for caregivers and family members to obtain medications for them.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Last week, the Chairs of the Congressional Bipartisan Rural Health Caucus, Representative Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) and Representative Jill Tokuda (D-HI), held a kick-off event marking its formal launch. The event received wide participation, including caucus members Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA), Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA), Rep. Carol Miller (R-WV), Rep. Andrea Salinas (D-OR), Rep. Nikki Budzinski (D-IL), Rep. James C. Moylan (R-GU), and Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM).
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Yesterday, Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger introduced the bipartisan Seniors' Access to Critical Medications Act, which would make permanent a waiver issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that allowed for Medicare patients to receive critical medications by mail, or allow for caregivers and family members to obtain medications for them.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger, a strong pro-life advocate and co-chair of the Congressional Family Caucus, introduced the Life .Gov Act, a bill which will support the creation of a first-of-its-kind website that would provide information on local resources available to those who are experiencing an unexpected pregnancy, as well as expectant mothers and families.
Tennessee officials know the needs of its residents better than any bureaucrat in Washington ever could, and so I strongly support Tennessee’s innovative section 1115 demonstration, known as “TennCare III,” announced in January, 2021.
Medicare has secured and made more affordable important access to healthcare for generations of American workers and their families. I support preserving and protecting benefits for current and near-term retirees, but due in large part to changing demographics, Americans living longer and the continued rise in health care costs, Medicare faces a sizable gap between scheduled benefits and the revenues needed to fund them.
Here is additional information about my legislative work to address Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) and behavioral health.
Knowing the devastating toll that opioids and other substance abuse has taken on so many individuals and families in East Tennessee and across the country, I welcomed the opportunity to join the Bipartisan Addiction and Mental Health Task Force.