Shifting federal healthcare support away from insurers and toward patients, paired with price transparency, would drive down costs and give consumers more control, Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told Newsmax on Wednesday.
"I came to Congress to fix the cost of healthcare," Marshall told "Wake Up America," citing his background as a physician and hospital administrator.
Marshall said the Affordable Care Act "empowered insurance companies" and criticized what he described as a major annual federal outlay routed through insurers.
"We're borrowing from your grandchildren to send to big insurance companies," said Marshall. "We want to empower you, the consumer."
Marshall said part of the answer is directing some federal dollars into individuals' healthcare savings accounts and requiring providers to disclose prices up front, arguing that consumer choice can drive costs lower.
"We're going to force all providers, all healthcare providers to show you a price tag," he said, adding that "women make 80% of the healthcare decisions on where you're going to go. They're great shoppers."
Marshall pointed to economist Art Laffer's estimate of potential savings, framing the proposal as a household benefit.
"Art Laffer says that's going to bring down the cost of healthcare — $1 trillion," he said. "That's $1,000 a month for hardworking families."
Asked about support for a consumer-directed approach, Marshall said he expects a bipartisan effort early next year, while predicting little movement this month.
"We're not going to see it here in December," he said. "December is going to be, I'm going to call it, a showboat."
"But in January, we hope to have a bipartisan package."
He also cited expanded ACA subsidies during the pandemic and alleged they fueled fraud and inflated enrollment figures.
"These enhanced Biden-era tax credits are about $35 billion a year," Marshall said. "And what it did was it increased fraud."
He claimed millions may be enrolled without meaningfully using coverage and suggested fraud could be significant.
"There are millions of people, about 35% of the people on Obamacare — about 8 million people — never even use it," Marshall said. "They don't even know they're on Obamacare right now."
"So, we think that there's probably $30 billion of fraud as well."
Marshall said one way to address the issue is to ensure consumers contribute something toward premiums.
"One of our fixes is regardless of where you're at, you need to be putting some type of skin in the game as well and address the fraud," he said.
In closing, Marshall defended President Donald Trump's health after reports of a cardiac MRI, calling it routine for older adults receiving high-level preventive care.
"If you went to the best wellness centers in the country, they're going to order that on people probably over the age of 65," Marshall said, adding that age-related plaque buildup is common. "He's in incredible shape right now."
"And you talk about sharp," Marshall said. "He's playing three- to four-dimensional chess right now with time being that fourth dimension."
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