McCarran-Ferguson Act – Is as relevant today as it was when it was adopted.  It declares “that the continued regulation and taxation by the several States of the business of insurance is in the public interest, and that silence on the part of the Congress shall not be construed to impose any barrier to the regulation or taxation of such business by the several States.” It stated that from then on, “no Act of Congress shall be construed to invalidate, impair, or supersede any law enacted by any State for the purpose of regulating the business of insurance.”

 

Question:  What is more important than the care of your health?

Answer:  Nothing!

 

Yet, we’ve left one of the most important aspects of our lives in the hands of bureaucrats, politicians, and lobbyists.  Year after year, politicians stand before us spouting off the need for transparency, increased competition, expanded access, lower prices, greater quality and on and on.  They do this only to return the next election cycle spouting off the need for transparency, increased competition, expanded access and on and on.  It’s time for real and meaningful change.

 

How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time.

 

Bit #1:  It’s time the federal government begin to pivot away from a centralized healthcare model and begin to encourage states to take control of their healthcare system.

• States are oftentimes the largest employer within the state. As such they wield a tremendous amount of leverage that can be used to renegotiate contracts, prices, quality and the level of transparency. States taking control of its own healthcare system will obviously benefit their own State plans but will also give them the opportunity to reform the insurance sector from the inside out and throughout the entire State.
• In 2016, Montana reformed its State’s health plan by renegotiating contracts with hospitals and third-party administrators to move away from inflationary “chargemaster” or “escalator” plans that do not reflect market rates to Referenced-Based Pricing that is slightly more than what Medicare pays out.[1] Montana demanded full accountability of pharmaceutical costs including fees paid up and down the supply chain to help eliminate duplicate costs and it worked.  They achieved more than $50 million in cost-savings within the first three years, did not see an increase in utilization rates, and have not seen an increase in employee/employer premiums since 2016.[2]
• The massive infusion of federal dollars into existing health care systems, along with a lack of transparency, is what has contributed to exorbitant inflationary costs and have failed to produce an adequate supply and quality of care. Oftentimes the consumer does not know what the cost of the service is until AFTER the service has been performed. The federal government pivoting away from centralizing healthcare and giving that control back to States, who are closer to the people they represent, know their needs better and are oftentimes more incentivized to “fix” the issue, is how we begin to meaningfully address a mammoth issue.

 

Bit #2:  Audit Medicaid’s eligibility rolls & include a Work-Search requirement

 

• According to The National Association of State Budget Officers, in fiscal year 2021 Pennsylvania spent more on Medicaid (36%) as a percent of total state expenditures, then it did on Elementary & Secondary Education, Higher Education, Public Assistance, and Transportation COMBINED (35.1%).[3]
• Medicaid was designed for the truly needy among us – the disabled, the elderly and the extremely poor. However, able-bodied people are the fastest growing group enrolling in Medicaid.[4] Able-bodied people on Medicaid grew from 6.7 million in 2000 to 27.8 million by 2018. Their enrollment has far outpaced the enrollment of any other eligible category.
• Furthermore, 1 out of 4 (25%) federal dollars spent on Medicaid is due to improper enrollment. According to the Center for Medicare & Medicaid (CMM), more than 80% of improper payments are due to not confirming eligibility, income, citizenship, household size, etc.[5]
• When the state of California audited their Medicaid rolls, they found that a third (1/3) of those on their rolls were dead and had been dead for at least a year.[6]
• We know there is tremendous waste in Medicaid spending. We can begin to resolve this issue by simply auditing the Medicaid rolls, verifying those who are receiving aid are entitled to do so and demand a federal “Work-Search” requirement for able-bodied people as a condition for benefits.

Bit #3:  Increase Choice & Access

• Allow doctors to practice across state lines. There is no need for them to waste their training for arbitrary regulations.
• Allow non-MDs to practice without “mandatory collaborative practice agreements.” This will increase access to quality care in rural and urban areas.
• Make permanent many of the “telehealth” reforms such as doctors working across state lines.
• Allow doctors with a valid license to start practicing immediately upon relocation.

 

Kathy Barnette Proposes Improvements of Senior Issues

Social Security Financial SolvencyWe must preserve Social Security. Many people rely on its supplement retirement income, disability benefits and survivor benefits. Everyone who works pays into this system for decades either through payroll taxes (6.2% of wages matched by their employer) or double that amount (12.4%) if they are self-employed. 65 million American currently receive benefits from the Social Security System totaling over $1 trillion per year.

However, according to the 2021 Social Security Trustees Report* total costs were expected to be higher than revenue for this year and fund reserves are projected to be exhausted by the year 2034. The report also states that there are currently three people working for every person receiving benefits, but, by the year 2030 there will only be two- and one-half people working for each person receiving benefits. This is unsustainable.

There have been many onerous suggestions to solve the long-term funding issue. One is to reduce promised benefits to 75%. This is unfair to the next generation of beneficiaries who have paid into the system.

Payroll taxes could be raised which would result in more money taken out of people’s pay checks and more costs to struggling businesses.

I believe there is a better way forward. Currently our labor force is projected to be only 62% of the adult population in our nation. If we were to encourage more employment, wage growth by reigning in the Federal Reserve’s strategy of suppressing income growth, cutting regulations and onerous tax policies we would see a robust and growing economy. This would increase revenue for Social Security benefits.

We should also find ways to assist more people with disabilities to find meaningful employment and thus reduce the costs within the Social Security Disability program. As your next Senator I would look for ways for more people to still receive a portion of disability benefits while they work through the Ticket to Work program so they would be encouraged to join the ranks of the employed.

Let us make our Social Security system work better for all Americans.

Medicare Solvency and ImprovementsSince 1965, Medicare has provided health benefits for tens of millions of older and disabled Americans. However, now we are facing a crisis; one that has been ignored for many years.

According to the 2021 Medicare Trustees Report,**the cost of Medicare in 2020 was $926 billion. Medicare Part A, which is primarily hospital care has been running a deficit for many years. The report projects that by the year 2027, it’s deficit will be $58 billion. Part A is funded by payroll taxes, just like Social Security. Employees pay 1.45% of wages and receive an employer match. Self-employed people pay double at 2.9% of their net income.

Just like my recommendation for Social Security solvency, a robust and growing economy could close the short fall.

However, there is more to the problem. For 2022, Medicare beneficiaries just receive one of the largest increases in their Part B premium. Part B is primarily for outpatient services. For most people the increase was $21.60 going from $148.50 per month to $170.10 per month; a 15% increase. Higher income people pay even more.

This is just another financial burden on many people with fixed incomes as the costs of other necessities have increased at the same time.

The multiplier effect of the number of medical services times the cost of those services plus administrative and regulatory costs creates the overall expenses of any health care benefit program including Medicare.

I believe there is a long-range solution. First, we must reduce the fraud and abuse within the Medicare program. Most health care professionals are honest and provide quality care for our needs. However, lax oversight and focusing efforts on honest providers rather than a concerted effort to root out those who abuse the system is part of the problem.

The Government Accountability Office report of March 2, 2020 estimates that our federal government improperly paid out $121 billion in just Medicare, Medicaid and Earned Income Credit alone. This is our money lost. I will work with members of the Health, Education and Labor (HELP) Committee to push the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to increase oversight in the areas where the largest amount of fraud and abuse of our tax dollars occurs.

I will also encourage Pennsylvanians to join the Medicare Senior Patrol program to report fraud and abuse within Medicare.

Second, encouraging people to take advantage of wellness and preventive services within the program is not only good for the beneficiaries within Medicare, it will reduce costs for expensive hospital stays and chronic conditions. People with lifetime health issues need to be treated with dignity and given all the tools available to maintain quality of life despite their chronic illnesses.

Young people should be encouraged to make good health choices by reducing stress, maintaining a positive attitude, eating well, exercising and socializing. I will work with medical professionals to find ways to best promote healthy life styles so that, as people get older, they will be able to enjoy life for many years into retirement because of the actions they took when they were young.

We should also reinstitute rebates to consumers by PBMs, which are middle men in the prescription drug program in Medicare Part D, that President Trump’s executive order established as well as the “most favored nations” executive order which requires drug companies to charge Americans no more than they charge people in other countries.

Long term care and quality of livingAmericans should have every opportunity to have choices as to how and where they live throughout their lives. Our “golden years” should be filled with the joy of good health and the love of our families.

I will promote new and innovative tax breaks for those who plan ahead through the purchase of long-term care insurance as well as retirement savings and investments. Working Americans should be able deduct the cost of personal care insurance through their employer through Cafeteria Section 125 plans. Current and future retirees should be rewarded when they plan and enjoy a secure life for many years after.

Promote the Value of All American Regardless of AgeOlder Americans have great wisdom that all of us can benefit from. I will work with organizations like Retired Seniors Volunteer Program (RSVP) and mentoring programs that connect seniors with younger people who can benefit from their life experiences.

 

 

 

Immigration

Article 4, Section 4 – Protecting our borders under the U.S. Constitution:  The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government and shall protect each of them against Invasion…(to include invasion of drug cartels and uncontrolled ILLEGAL immigration)[1].

Border control is a question of sovereignty, but the open border policies of the Biden Administration and Democrat controlled Congress are dangerous and counterproductive.  The Administration is refusing to enforce our laws and openly proclaiming to the world that we will not seek to keep caravans out of the United States or remove unlawfully present people.  This encourages desperate people to entrust their lives to traffickers and to risk travel across some of the most inhospitable territory in the world.  Despite the claim these policies are about helping poor people, they are anything but “compassionate.”

No nation can remain sovereign without secure and safe borders, and we have given the federal government the authority and power to determine who is coming to the U.S., for what purpose, and for how long.  Our immigration laws give agencies tremendous authority to keep us safe from threats as varied as COVID-19 and terrorism and we should expect the Administration to use that authority to our benefit.  Instead, the Administration’s reckless and feckless policies jeopardize the safety of Americans and migrants alike.  Our health and welfare have taken a back seat to political considerations.

“Chaotic” is a fair description of the state of our immigration laws and practice.  Our immigration enforcement is in shambles while we transport unverified, untested, and unvaccinated illegal immigrants all over the country.  Adding insult to injury, the Administration seeks to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to people detained by immigration authorities.

The numbers speak for themselves, with more than 1.7 million illegal aliens encountered by U.S. immigration authorities last year alone.[2]  The numbers are explosive. If current numbers hold[3], we are on trend to have roughly 4.0 million illegal alien encounters at our border this fiscal year.  This is unacceptable.  Credible academic research demonstrates that we have lost control over our southern border.  This rise in illegal immigration correlates with the conduct of administrations which favor lax enforcement.[4]

The bottom line is that broadcasting to the world that the U.S. is not serious about immigration has created this crisis.  Making matters worse, Congress has a constitutionally mandated role in setting and funding immigration policy – and it has too long sat on the sidelines, allowing the White House to act unilaterally, and (often) unconstitutionally.  Senators should take their oversight role seriously and stick their noses into Executive Branch activities.

Pennsylvanians have a right to influence what happens in our country and we have a right to an immigration policy that works.

‘First Things First’ Policies

1. Various amnesty provisions have been proposed by the Administration and Congress, but before we talk about amnesty for unlawfully present aliens we must secure the border with a wall, technology and personnel.
2. Trafficking has serious consequences in our everyday lives. We need to stop these at the border and prosecute them here.  S. attorneys and federal law enforcement take their cue from the White House, but Congress controls the budget.  Trafficking investigations, prosecutions, and long jail sentences should be a priority.
3. Getting away with fraud encourages it. Those who enter or attempt to remain here through fraud should be barred from obtaining status in the U.S.  This Congress’s immigration legislation ignores fraud, encouraging it, rather than making the consequences serious, cutting those would-be immigrants off from obtaining benefits.
4. Deportations are down nearly 60%, despite the claim that criminal alien removal is a priority.[1] Tellingly, the Administration and Congress haven’t done anything to address the backlog problems with Immigration Judges.[2]  Criminal aliens should be the number one priority for apprehension, detention, and removal and Congress has the authority and tools it needs to do something about it.
5. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is supposed to efficiently and effectively determine who qualifies for immigration benefits, but the agency is a failure and Congress has not held it accountable. USCIS’ director is now the Secretary of Homeland Security, rewarded with more power and influence for failing to manage his agency.  This is Congress’s fault because it throws money at the agency but leaves the agency alone to manage its affairs.  This must stop and the right place to start is to strip USCIS of its Fee Funded Agency status.  For nearly twenty years, the agency has been permitted to underperform and Congress must provide oversight.
6. Among the more significant problems with immigration is that Congress has not provided guidance. Instead of narrow, discrete bills that solve immediate problems, Congress looks to giant, unworkable bills that go nowhere.  My highest priority will be a bill that deals with the southern border.  A combination of physical barriers, technology solutions, and manpower solutions can make the border secure.  Instead of seriously discussing this, Congress permits the Administration to spend billions paying to NOT build sections of wall authorized by statute.[3]  Similarly, Congress has long known that the H2A visa program does not serve the industries which suffer chronic labor shortages that it was designed to serve, but no remedy has been seriously proposed.  Immigration problems deserve hearing and narrow, discrete bills that represent compromise and real solutions.
7. The Remain in Mexico Policy was crafted to discourage caravans of foreign nationals from coming here in anticipation of easy asylum approvals. It stages them in Mexico while they make their claims rather than turning them loose in the U.S. Both the Trump Administration and the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that it is an effective way to manage this problem.  It is time for Congress to formally authorize the program.
8. Congress should also engrain the “First Safe Country” rule in statute. Foreign nationals who find haven in a third country should remain there while they pursue benefits in the U.S., NOT be invited to enter the U.S. while we figure out IF they have a claim.
9. Of the 1.7 million unlawfully present aliens who were encountered at the Southwest Border in 2021, over 1 million[4] of those encountered were from countries other than Mexico – by far the highest total for non-Mexican nationals. Most of the encounters were people from the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. Yet, the U.S. provides over $1 billion[5] in government aid to these three countries combined for a variety of initiatives including energy, clean water, financial services, COVID, transportation, infrastructure, education, etc. Why do we continue to send financial aid to these countries if their citizens are relocating, in record numbers, to the United States? Congress controls the purse. It is time for Congress to redirect these funds in stabilizing our border crisis.
10. As long as the United States remains under a state of National Emergency concerning COVID, Title 42 must be strictly enforced. Title 42 was invoked under the previous Administration and is a public health order allowing Border Patrol to expel migrants immediately in an effort to control the domestic spread of the coronavirus.

 

[1]https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/biden-ice-deportations-record-low/2021/05/05/522ee35c-adb8-11eb-8109-f8ba1ea2eeab_story.html
[2]http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/report/111621_immig_court_backlog/immigration-court-backlog-reached-nearly-15-million-october/
[3]https://nypost.com/2021/07/24/biden-spending-over-2b-to-halt-border-wall-construction-amid-migrant-crisis/
[4]What’s happening at the U.S.-Mexico border in 7 charts | Pew Research Center
[5]U.S. Government Support to El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico During the COVID-19 Pandemic – United States Department of State
 

As your U.S. Senator, I will vociferously defend your Medical Freedom.

1. Medical Freedom means “patient autonomy.” I, the individual, get to decide what treatments I will subject my body to. 
2. Medical Freedom also means the freedom to discuss ideas and differing views. Who are we, if not slaves, if we can no longer even question what happens to our own bodies?  We are at a very dangerous time in America’s history when those on one side of the argument gets to be the sole arbitrator of truth. 

 

In America, for now, we still have the right to question the “experts.”  In fact, asking questions is central to “good” science. 

 

The scientific method:

1. Ask a question
2. Discuss what is observed
3. Test hypothesis
4. Look for trends

China and Our International Interests

Fact: America is the Face of Freedom

• When America’s leaders decide to “lead from behind” we create a vacuum that despotic and debased regimes will move in to fill the void. China, Russia, North Korea and Iran are tyrannical regimes who want absolute control and power above all else.
• High drama and escalating rhetoric do not deter these tyrannical regimes. A show of decisive strength is the most effective deterrence against the naked aggression we see unfolding in places like Ukraine.
• These oppressive regimes see in Joe Biden what we all see – sheer incompetence, instability and weakness. They see a man who has surrounded himself with inferior talent who all seemingly lack an understanding of the world as it is.

Russian/Ukraine European Conflict

• My heart goes out to the citizens of Ukraine, as well as to the citizens of Russia who have no control over a regime that has gone rogue.
• What we are all witnessing is the reality of a simple truth:
  • PEACE comes through STRENGTH
  • WAR comes through WEAKNESS
• Biden is weak.
  • Rogue regimes and our allies around the world know this.
  • Our world will become a more dangerous place to live in as a direct result of the failures and incompetence of the Biden Administration.
• I appreciate that European countries in NATO have decided to step up their assistance in helping Ukraine.
  • But their dependence on Russia’s oil and gas has limited their ability to respond effectively to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
  • NATO’s strategy to help Ukraine is tantamount to watching a dog chase its tail
    • They’re doing something, but what’s the point.
    • NATO is supporting Ukraine, while they are also supporting Russia by giving Putin the resources needed to destroy the sovereignty of Ukraine.
      • Germany receives ~50% of their energy source from Putin.
      • Italy receives ~46% of their energy source from Putin.
      • Moldova receives 100% of their energy source from Putin.

As your next U.S. Senator

• As your next U.S. Senator, I will never vote to send our children or our resources to fight someone else’s war where there is no clear American interest to do so.
• As your next U.S. Senator, I will write and co-sponsor legislation that removes restrictions on oil and gas leases on federal lands.
• I will work to protect our gas and oil pipelines (e.g., pipelines 3 and 5)
• I believe now is the time when our “leaders” should practice great restraint and discipline to deescalate further conflict with a nuclear power.
• Energy is freedom!!!
  • Biden is 100% responsible for the war in Ukraine.
  • Putin has always been a despot of an individual.
    • Under Obama, Putin annexed Crimea.
    • Under President Trump, Putin sat on his hands and did nothing.
    • Under Biden (another Democrat), Putin feels so embolden that he has decided to take ALL of Ukraine.
• America must become Energy Independent again.
  • Biden has created a hostile energy sector environment that is keeping those who could invest to increase oil and gas production away.
  • Like President Trump’s Operation Warp Speed, I will call an emergency meeting with leaders and oil executives to ask how the government can help them meet our immediate and world needs.
  • I would then work with those in the Republican Party and across the aisle to incentivize oil executives to increase production.

China is our #1 ThreatThe Chinese Communist government does NOT want to be the sole and unopposed superpower over just the Continent of Asia.  They want to be the singular, unopposed superpower over the entire world.

• China is NOT simply our “competitor” as Joe Biden declared just a few months ago. Disturbingly, our Secretary of State Anthony Blinken recently doubled down stating, “We welcome competition of a
  near”
• China is NOT simply our competitors. The dictators who run China present a very real and present threat to freedom, prosperity and democracies throughout the world.  They want absolute control and their insatiable thirst for power is going unchallenged by the Biden Administration.
• As your next U.S. Senator
  • Protect Taiwan
    • America has a very real national interest in protecting the 1^st Island Chain that serves as a parallel wall that runs from Japan down to the South China Sea.
    • This parallel wall prevents China from expanding westward into the Pacific Ocean. It guarantees that the U.S. will be able to move freely in the S. China sea and Pacific Ocean.
    • China is about to do a “Hong Kong” on Taiwan:
      • Why is this important to us?
        1. Taiwan produces more than 90% of the world’s semiconductors.
        2. Roughly 20% of the world’s trade passes through the straits of the South China Sea.
        3. Whoever controls this trade route will have significant control over the trade throughout the world.
  • Energy is Freedom
    • It always comes down to energy.
    • If China continues their aggression towards Taiwan, America must make it plain that we will cut off all access of transporting oil from the Middle East to China.
    • China has significant coal reserves
      • But, not oil & gas
      • America must be ready to cut off access to the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean
      • America must show decisive strength in creating a blockade through the Malacca Strait

What I Believe:

1. I believe in parental choice.
2. I believe as parents we love our children more than Dr. Fauci, Joe Biden, and Nancy Pelosi, combined. As such, I believe that if given the best available information parents will make the best decision for their family.
3. I believe in parental consent BEFORE a child is vaccinated.
4. I believe there should be absolutely no vaccine mandates, specifically among those 18 and younger.
5. I believe there is no logical reason to jab perfectly healthy children with an experimental vaccine we do not know the long-term developmental and reproductive impact it will have on our children.
6. I believe Americans should have the same or more rights than unlawfully present aliens who are being resettled throughout the nation unvaccinated, untested, and unverified.
7. I believe categorizing vociferous dissent as “domestic terrorism” is wrong and removes legitimate parental concerns from the realm of civic debate.
8. I believe parents have the right to see all books and materials used in classes taken by their children.
9. I believe in school choice.
10. I believe we can do better than this Administration.

Creating an ECONOMY that creates JOBS!

I want to create an economy where corporations don’t have to leave our country to flee our onerous tax system.  Instead, they can keep their money and investments here and provide jobs in America.

I want to create an economy where the Middle-Class is not squeezed under the pressures of taxes, instability, inflation, mandates, and regulations.

I want to create an economy where those who find themselves below the bottom rung of the economic ladder, as I once was, have the ability to claw themselves from underneath that rock and carve out a life for themselves.

 

FACTS

• Today, our country is not working for us, and we are growing more and more divided as a nation.
• I want to help create sustainable growth. Growth solves the deficit problem, the spending problem, and the debt problem. Growth restores solvency to the Social Security and Medicare programs without breaking promises. Growth improves living standards and our quality of life. Growth extends the ladder of economic opportunity off safety nets and gives a chance to those wanting to help themselves. Growth creates jobs and drives incomes higher.
• In short, growth does the most to solve the most problems at the lowest cost and does so in a way that unites the country.

 

1. Clarify the mandates of the Federal Reserve.
   • The Federal Reserve plays a significant role in creating income inequalities for certain wage earners. They pump up asset values for those who have assets and then taper quantitative easing when the bottom 90%’s wages begin to grow.
   • Today, the Federal Reserve’s primary focus is on monitoring wage growth. When there’s growth in the bottom 90%’s income, this oftentimes signals to the Feds that inflation is impending. The Fed then rushes in and raises rates to stymie that growth.
   • As your Senator, I will work to clarify the Fed’s mandates to focus on stabilizing the U.S. dollar instead of punishing income growth. Since the creation of the Federal Reserve, during times when the dollar was stable, real wage growth for the bottom 90% increased by more than 3.5%.  Conversely, during those times when the dollar was volatile, real wage growth for the bottom 90%, decreased -0.07%.

 

2. As your Senator, I will work to make the tax code Pro-Growth:
   • A tax code that puts exports on the same playing field as foreign products.
   • A tax code that puts domestic products on the same playing field as imports.
   • A tax code that is Simple, Transparent, Efficient, Fair & Neutral.