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There is bipartisan consensus in Congress that we need to #LowerHealthCareCosts. 
Health care and health insurance coverage are often conflated in both Congress and in media stories, so I want to be very clear that I am talking about the bipartisan consensus that health care itself is too expensive.
Health insurance has gotten a lot of attention recently – the president tweeted earlier this week, and I agree. High deductibles tied to high premiums make care inaccessible for too many Americans.
But the truth is the cost of health insurance will not go down, or even increase more slowly, unless we lower the cost of health care.
And so, my top health care priority this Congress is to pass legislation that will give Americans better health outcomes and better experiences at a lower cost.
Because we have a Democrat controlled House, a Republican Senate, and a Republican president, Democrats and Republicans will have to work together to reach a result.
That's why I’m working w/Sens @PattyMurray, @ChuckGrassley & @RonWyden to develop specific bipartisan steps to help deal w/the startling fact that up to 1/2 of what Americans spend on health care services may be unnecessary, according to Dr. Brent James of the National Academies.
It’s important to know that the cost of health care has, in effect, become a tax on the budgets of families, employers, the federal government, and state governments.
.@WarrenBuffett has called the ballooning costs of health care “a hungry tapeworm on the American economy.” Almost every day I hear from Tennesseans concerned that health care is too expensive.
Many people worry about “surprise billing” – which is when a patient receives care at an in-network hospital, but an out-of-network specialist also treats them and sends a separate bill.
I hear about high cost of prescription drugs. I hear from doctors about administrative burden. And, I hear about how the place where medical procedures are performed can make health care more expensive.
Last December, I wrote a letter to @AEI, @BrookingsInst, governors, state insurance commissioners, doctors, patient groups, academic experts, and the public, asking them all to submit specific recommendations to Congress to #LowerHealthCareCosts.
As of the March 1st deadline, we have received over 400 recommendations, some as many as 50 pages long.
The recommendations include increasing transparency, lowering prescription drug costs, eliminating surprise billing, expanding primary care, improving electronic health records, and addressing consolidation.
Some of these the Senate health committee can work on, some of these fall under the jurisdiction of other committees, and some are steps the Administration can take.
Today, I am also asking that senators continue to come forward to Senators @PattyMurray, @ChuckGrassley and @RonWyden and me with their specific proposals for how we can reduce health care costs.
I hope to compile the proposals that fall under the Senate health committee’s jurisdiction into a package of legislation that the committee will vote on early this summer.
We can then combine that with what @SenFinance passes, ask the @senatemajldr to put it on the Senate floor, and work with the House to send legislation to the @POTUS’s desk.
