Calls Needed For Health Care Freedom in Ohio!

Passing out of the Ohio House in October 2015, the Health Care Compact (HB 34) has a new life and making an end of session comeback to put Ohio back in charge of our own healthcare destiny.

The Health Care Compact legislation can be one of the most powerful and one of the most important bills that can pass this legislative session. The Health Care Compact would empowere member states with the legislative and fiscal freedom to make health care truly reflective of the health care needs of their state and not a costly one-size-fits-all federal health care program (Affordable Care Act) that has proven to be a failure.

The Ohio Senate Government Oversight & Reform Committee is holding hearings on the Health Care Compact (HB 34) today and tomorrow. To read the text of HB 34, click here. To read the Legislative Services analysis of HB 34, click here.


Already passed in 9 states, in line with health care freedom Ohioans have been fighting for and looked at favorably by the incoming Trump Administration, more and more the Health Care Compact is becoming the clear solution to Obamacare....

Obamacare is dead.  Long live ... what?  That is unclear.  "Vice President-elect Mike Pence said Tuesday that repealing and replacing ObamaCare would be the first item on President-elect Donald Trump's agenda," according to Fox News.  Its successor will emerge from a series of discussions soon to take place.  "It’ll be the first thing out of the gate. ... He wants the Congress when they convene in early January to take up the task of repealing and replacing ObamaCare first."

One of the possible replacements could be the Health Care Compact if only because the list of those who supported H.J.Res.50 reads like a Who's Who in the incoming administration.

• Indiana (home to VP-elect Pence)


• Alabama (AG-nominee Sessions)


• Georgia (HHS nominee Price)


• Texas (endorsed by Sen. John Cornyn)


• Kansas (proposed and endorsed by Rep. Pompeo and Sec. of State Kris Kobach)


• Oklahoma (endorsed by Sen. James Lankford)

The program that Mother Jones once derided as "a longshot" and pipe-dream of a delusional Tea Party has now come within measurable distance of becoming a serious contender to replace Obamacare.

HHS nominee Tom Price's rhetoric suggests he would have no objections in principle to  taking Washington out of the picture. In a quote cited by the Wall Street Journal Price said:  “We think it’s important that Washington not be in charge of health care,” the six-term congressman said in an interview this summer. “The problem that I have with Obamacare is that its premise is that Washington knows best.”

Congressman Price supporting the Health Care Compact, which utilizes block grants for the states and is a state based solution, is consistent with the incoming strategy of Trump & Pence as noted below....

Trump and Pence reissued their calls to eliminate barriers to encourage competition between health insurers across state lines, make it easier for Americans to open health savings accounts and block grant Medicaid funds to the states

Please contact the below GOP members of the Senate Government Oversight &Reform Committee and respectfully request that they support the Health Care Compact (HB 34) and put Ohioans in charge of their own health care destiny.


Senate Government Oversight & Reform Committee
State Senator Bill Coley (R) Chair
PH: (614) 466-8072
Email: Click Here


State Senator Bill Seitz (R) Vice-Chair
PH: (614) 466-8068
Email: Click Here


State Senator Troy Balderson (R)
PH: (614) 466-8076
Email: Click Here


State Senator Dave Burke (R)
PH: (614) 466-8049
Email: Click Here


State Senator Kris Jordan (R)
PH: (614) 466-8086
Email: Click Here


State Senator Frank LaRose (R)
PH: (614) 466-4823
Email: Click Here


State Senator Larry Obhof (R)
PH: (614) 466-7505
Email: Click Here


State Senator Tom Patton (R)
PH: (614) 466-8056
Email: Click Here 


State Senator Bob Peterson (R)
PH: (614) 466-8156
Email: Click Here

ALERT! Ohio Health Care Compact coming up again in Ohio Senate Committee!

Late last week, Cleveland Tea Party blogged about the re-emergence of the Health Care Compact as a key part of the solution in rolling back Obamacare. Rep. Tom Price,M.D. (R-GA) is President-Elect Trump’s nominee to head up Health and Human Services, and Price is a longtime advocate of the Health Care Compact.

Last year, the Ohio House passed the Ohio Health Care Compact, and then the bill stalled. It was supposed to come to a vote in the Senate but nothing happened. However, with the incoming administration and Rep. Price’s upcoming nomination, something is percolating in Columbus. The Senate Committee is finally planning to reconsider the bill (and hopefully get the bill passed out of Committee for a vote).

The committee reviewing the legislation is the Government Oversight and Reform, and that committee website is here.

At this link, you can access the Chair, Sen. Bill Coley (R); Vice-Chair Bill Seitz (R); and Ranking Minority Member Kenny Yuko (D). You can access these and the rest of the members of the Committee by phone or by email. Urge them to support the Ohio Health Care Compact (HB 34); if you are emailing, just click on the committee member's picture to access the "contact" options, then choose the health-related drop-down subject line and type in that you support putting the Ohio Health Care Compact before the full Senate. That’ll take a few seconds. And if you have a little bit more time, call or email them to let them know WHY you support it.

If you previously submitted proponent testimony in support of the Ohio Health Care Compact in 2014 or 2015, this is the time to update your testimony and resubmit it directly to Chair, Sen. Bill Coley. Or write up a few paragraphs now and email the Chair. 

# # #

Ohio Health Care Compact: House votes Tuesday, June 30th

Ohio Health Care Compact (HB 34) House vote scheduled for 
 ~ Tuesday, June 30th

Calling all Ohio Patriots!

In a 6-3 ruling last week, the Supreme Court again ruled in favor of Obamacare.  The ruling upheld the federal government’s right to provide Obamacare subsidies in states that did not set up their own exchanges, despite clear language in the law that stated the contrary.

In light of the SCOTUS ruling and Congress’s failure to repeal Obamacare, it is abundantly clear that if we in Ohio are going to break free from the freedom-sapping chains of Obamacare, we must take action ourselves.

US Senators John Cornyn & James Lankford explain in this op-ed how through the Health Care Compact, we have a second chance to get health care right in our state and in our country.

Ohio is looking to become the 10th member state; the Ohio Health Care Compact (HB 34) is scheduled for a full House vote on Tuesday, June 30.

With your support and immediate action, we can move one step closer to achieving our goal of true health care freedom for all Ohio citizens and getting ourselves out from under Governor Kasich's Medicaid expansion.

Please take a few minutes to contact your Ohio State Representative and respectfully request that they support the Health Care Compact (HB 34) and put Ohioans in charge of their own health care destiny.

Click for OH House Directory. Click here and scroll down for key Committee members.

Cuyahoga County Area GOP State Reps -

Rep Mike Dovilla
Phone: (614)466-4895
Contact: Click Here

Rep. Nan Baker
Phone: (614)466-0961
Contact: Click Here

Rep Marlene Anielski
Phone: (614)644-6041
Contact: Click Here

# # #

It is Time for Ohioans to be in Control of our own Health Care

With the uncertainty of Obamacare in the courts, the outcome of any ruling, even if in our favor, will not completely rid Ohio citizens from the chains of Obamacare & the federal government.

US Senator John Cornyn & US Senator James Lankford explain in this op-ed how through the Health Care Compact, we have an opportunity at a second chance to get health care right in our country.

 At the federal level, Congressman Doug Collins of Georgia filed the Health Care Compact in the U.S. House of Representatives. Once Congress passes the legislation, the nine (and counting!) states that have joined the Compact would be able to take back control of health care from the federal government.

Looking to become the 10th member state of the Health Care Compact, the Ohio Health Care Compact (HB 34) has passed out of State Government Committee and is eligible to be put on the Floor for a House vote.

The House Rules & Reference Committee sets the schedule for House votes.

Please contact the below GOP members of the House Rules & Reference Committee and respectfully request that they support the Health Care Compact (HB 34) and put Ohioans in charge of their own health care destiny.

With your support and immediate action, we can move one step closer to achieving our goal of true health care freedom for all Ohio citizens and remove ourselves from under Governor Kasich's Medicaid expansion!

Rules & Reference Committee

GOP Members

Rep. Ron Amstutz / Chair
Phone: (614) 466-1474
Contact: Click Here

Rep. Cliff Rosenberger / Vice-Chair
Phone: (614) 466-3506
Contact: Click Here

Rep. Andrew Brenner
Phone: (614) 644-6711
Contact: Click Here

Rep. Bill Hayes
Phone: (614) 466-2500
Contact: Click Here

Rep. Ron Hood
Phone: (614) 466-1464
Contact: Click Here

Rep. Stephanie Kunze
Phone: (614) 466-8012
Contact: Click Here

Rep. Dorothy Pelanda
Phone: (614) 466-8147
Contact: Click Here

Rep. Scott Ryan
Phone: (614) 466-1482
Contact: Click Here

Please call your OH House member and tell them to support the Health Care Compact - Click for OH House Directory.

House Bill 34 - Taking A Stand For Ohioans’ Healthcare

The blog below appeared at the Health Care Compact blog and at the Ohio Representatives' website here:

THE OHIO HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: House Bill 34 - Taking A Stand For Ohioans’ Healthcare

POSTED BY HEALTH CARE COMPACT

By: Ohio State Representative Ron Maag

As in all General Assemblies, protecting the healthcare of Ohioans is a very important issue to those of us in the state legislature. That is why I decided to co-sponsor a bill, introduced by my colleagues Representative Wes Retherford (R-Hamilton) and Representative Terry Boose (R-Norwalk), that I see as crucial to protecting the healthcare coverage of my constituents and citizens around the state.

House Bill 34 seeks to ratify the Health Care Compact, which allows Ohio to suspend the operation of all federal laws, rules, regulations, and orders regarding healthcare that are inconsistent with Ohio laws adopted pursuant to the Compact. I believe that this issue is better served at the state level, by Ohioans who know what we as a state need in terms of coverage.

Restoring the power to regulate healthcare to the states is crucial. House Bill 34 would require that Ohio secures Congress’s consent to regulate its own healthcare standards, freeing us from unnecessary federal regulations and mandates.

The bill would also require our governor to appoint a member to the Interstate Advisory Health Care Commission, which would collect and evaluate information that is needed for these member states to regulate their own healthcare system. Input from all members and states on this commission will be valuable in making determinations for the future.

By placing a firm focus on how to best serve our residents, I believe we can take a step in the right direction in terms of offering Ohioans exceptional healthcare options while removing hindrances from the federal government. I want our citizens to have access to affordable, reliable care that does not encourage a dependence on government services. I will continue to support regulations made by Ohioans for Ohioans.

Please feel free to contact my office regarding this legislation or any other state government related issue. My door is always open as I continue to serve as your state representative. You can contact me at (614) 644-6023 or Rep62@ohiohouse.gov. 

# # #

Do you know where your Representative stands?

The Destiny of Health Care in Ohio is in Our Hands: Support the Health Care Compact (HB 34)

With the uncertainty of the health exchanges in the courts, the outcome of any ruling, even if in our favor, will not completely rid Ohio citizens from the chains of Obamacare.

As we continue our call for a full repeal of Obamacare, it is important that, when doing so, we also continue our fight for healthcare freedom in Ohio with support and passage of the Health Care Compact (HB 34).

Currently, the Health Care Compact (HB 34) is in the Ohio House State Government Committee. To read the text of HB 34, click here. To read the Legislative Services analysis of HB 34, click here.

Please contact the below GOP members of the House State Government Committee and respectfully request that they support the Health Care Compact (HB 34) and put Ohioans in charge of their own health care destiny.

With your support and immediate action, we can move one step closer to achieving our goal of true health care freedom for all Ohio citizens!

State Government Committee

Rep. Ron Maag / Chair
Phone: (614) 644-6023
Contact: http://www.ohiohouse.gov/ron-maag/contact

Rep. Stephanie Kunze / Vice-Chair

Phone: (614) 466-8012 

Contact: http://www.ohiohouse.gov/stephanie-kunze/contact

Rep. John Becker

Phone: (614) 466-8134 

Contact: http://www.ohiohouse.gov/john-becker/contact

Rep. Cheryl Grossman

Phone: (614) 466-9690

Contact: http://www.ohiohouse.gov/cheryl-l-grossman/contact

Rep. Bob Hackett

Phone: (614) 466-1470 

Contact: http://www.ohiohouse.gov/bob-d-hackett/contact

Rep. Ron Hood

Phone: (614) 466-1464 

Contact: http://www.ohiohouse.gov/ron-hood/contact

Rep. Stephen Huffman

Phone: (614) 466-8114 

Contact: http://www.ohiohouse.gov/stephen-a-huffman/contact

Rep. Sarah LaTourette

Phone: (614) 644-5088

Contact: http://www.ohiohouse.gov/sarah-latourette/contact

Rep. Rick Perales

Phone: (614) 644-6020 

Contact: http://www.ohiohouse.gov/rick-perales/contact 

State Rep. Wes Retherford & State Rep. Terry Boose introduce State-based Alternative to Obamacare in Ohio

Below is a great article explaining the Health Care Compact (HB 34) introduced in Ohio by State Rep. Wes Retherford & State Rep. Terry Boose.
Please contact your State Rep (Click Here) and ask them to support true healthcare freedom in Ohio by supporting HB 34 - the Health Care Compact.

From The Sidney Post --

If Ohio likes its Obamacare, it can keep its Obamacare – but it won’t have to if a group of state lawmakers have their way.

State Rep. Wes Retherford, Hamilton - House District 51, and Rep. Terry Boose, Norwalk – House District 57, have introduced legislation that would give Ohio greater control over federal health care programs. It’s called the Health Care Compact, and it would allow Columbus to regulate health care and provide an alternative to Obamacare.

“We’ve begun to see with Obamacare and the Veterans Administration debacles that a centralized health care system run out of Washington is destined to fail. States should be free to come up with the approach that best reflects the needs and wants of its citizens,” Retherford said. “By transferring decision-making authority, responsibility and control of federal health care funding from Washington, D.C. to Columbus, the Health Care Compact gives Ohio the option to choose a different health insurance system than Obamacare, one that actually works to meet our families’ needs.

“The Health Care Compact will shield Ohio citizens and businesses from the burdensome regulations of Obamacare, and protect our seniors from the $700 billion dollars that Obamacare cuts from Medicare to pay for Medicaid expansion and insurance subsidies,” he said.

The move to give states more say-so over health care policy is gaining momentum. The Health Care Compact has been approved by nine states — Indiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Texas, Kansas and Utah.

“Under the Healthcare Compact we won’t have a national program. Some states could implement a single-payer system, while others push more market-oriented mechanisms. Others could choose to remain in the federal program,” Retherford said. “The Health Care Compact has only one single requirement for every state: it requires that federal health-care dollars be spent on health care, and only on health care – they cannot be siphoned off to other, non-health-care programs. After that, the citizens of Ohio and their representatives in Columbus will decide how those dollars will be spent to provide the best health care for the citizens of Ohio.”

Under the Interstate Health Care Compact, Ohio would receive annual federal funding that must be spent on health care programs within the state. Ohio’s allotment would be calculated from a baseline of 2010 federal health care spending in the state, adjusted for changes in population and inflation.

State compacts are governing tools that have been used on a number of occasions to establish agreements between and among states. Mentioned in Article 1, Section 10 of the Constitution, compacts are the constitutional instruments that provide authority and flexibility to the states for administering specific programs. Congressional approval is required for states to enter into a legally binding compact.

More than 96 percent of health care is provided and consumed within a state by residents of that state. The Health Care Compact recognizes that since the lions share of health care is locally provided and locally consumed, regulating it at the state level makes more sense than mandating a single set of policies from Washington. Centralized micromanagement of a complex industry serving more than 300 million people won’t work.

“Americans are expected to spend $4 trillion on health care this year,” Retherford said. “Letting one group of bureaucrats manage that in Washington makes no sense. Each state is different — different demographics, different insurance companies, different political perspectives — so a single national solution is madness. The Interstate Health Care Compact allows for uniquely tailored, state-based solutions to health care delivery and affordability problems.

“A one-size-fits-all health care policy handed down from Washington simply does not work.

The Health Care Compact gives states decision-making authority so they can design healthcare programs that meet their unique needs and priorities,” said Shonda Werry, executive director of Competitive Governance Action, the non-profit organization that advocates for interstate compacts.

Click Here to visit the Health Care Compact Website.

The Cost of Obamacare: The Numbers Don't Lie

While President Obama and the Democrats may lie about the costs & effects of Obamacare - the numbers don't....

From Tea Party Patriots --

Remember when Obamcare opponents were warning about the havoc the law would surely wreak on our nation’s finances? Well, we’re already starting to see glimpses of that come to fruition. The first quarter of 2015 isn’t even over yet, and overall spending has increased eight percent, thanks to, you guessed it, Obamacare.

President Obama brazenly promised nationalized health care would reduce the deficit. Now we can count that as just one more Obamacare lie. As economist Stephen Moore noted in a recent op-ed, health care costs are exploding. The increases account for spending on everything from insurance subsidies to Medicaid.

Meanwhile, the government is pushing more and more people to sign up for insurance through the Obamacare exchanges, thereby making even more Americans reliant on taxpayer-funded subsidies. And as if that weren’t enough, those fortunate enough to be on the private market are still facing spikes in their premiums.

When is enough enough? Obamacare has neither lowered costs for Americans nor reduced the deficit. But it’s like President Obama expects the country to either keep living in a fantasy world with him, keep giving him the benefit of the doubt, or both.

The jig is up, Mr. President. The numbers don’t lie, and Obamacare’s are pretty horrific.

The Health Care Compact (HB 34) has been introduced in Ohio and if passed would give the state legislature the ability to take control of health care in our state out from under Obamacare and away from the federal government.

To learn more about the Health Care Compact (HCC) click here.  Then contact your OH Rep (Click Here) and ask them to support true healthcare freedom in Ohio by supporting HB 34 - the Health Care Compact in Ohio.

Ohio Looking to be 10th State to Pass the Health Care Compact

For Immediate Release

February 6, 2015

Contact: Marianne Gaseicki
mansfieldteaparty@gmail.com

Ohio State Reps Committed to Giving Citizens Control of Their Health Care

Health Care Compact (HB 34) Introduced in Ohio House

Ohio - We would like to applaud Rep. Wes Retherford and Rep. Terry Boose for introducing the Health Care Compact (HB 34) and for remaining steadfast in their commitment to putting Ohio and its citizens in charge of their own Health Care destiny and decisions.

The Health Care Compact is the only Constitutional avenue for Ohio citizens to have a voice in their own health care decisions by providing true health care freedom. Passing the Health Care Compact will also give the Ohio legislature the legislative and fiscal freedom to make health care in Ohio truly reflective of the health care needs of our state.

With nine other states having already passed the Health Care Compact, thereby putting the health care concerns of their citizens first, we look forward to the Ohio legislature and Governor Kasich duplicating their efforts by making Ohio the tenth state to pass the Health Care Compact.

To find out more about the Health Care Compact, please go to www.healthcarecompact.org.


Ralph King

Marianne Gasiecki

State Coordinators (OH)

Tea Party Patriots