The Affordable Care Act is the law of the land and it is a law that is already helping people

The ACA is here and it is here to stay.

That is a good thing.

But it could be a better thing.

The ACA needs to be tweaked, yes, and making necessary improvements will require bipartisan action in Congress. “Bipartisan,” however, may be found in the dictionaries within congressional offices but it is too often missing from the lips of members of congress who define themselves as anything but bipartisan.

Rather than continue to wage war against it, Republicans in congress would do far more for the American people by joining with those, like Senator Mark Warner, seeking to make targeted improvements to the ACA, which does have its flaws.

Constructive partnership, rather than destructive partisanship, is this nation’s need.

“Before, during and after the debate over health care reform, I consistently said that The Affordable Care Act was not perfect,” Sen. Warner said while unveiling proposed reforms to the ACA, “and that congress would have to revisit the ACA to correct problems for consumers and employers as this new, improved system was implemented. We have listened closely to Virginia consumers, small businesses, providers and insurers to identify and work through some of these challenges. We have designed some targeted, commonsense improvements to keep what works and improve what could work better, and we will continue to look for places to make additional improvements.”

Sen. Warner’s legislative proposal includes a new lower-cost health coverage option for consumers and would allow coverage plans to be offered regionally and across state lines, as well as ease unnecessary and burdensome, as the senator’s website describes them, reporting requirements for employers.

For some to criticize and condemn the ACA but refuse to fix its flaws is an act of supreme political selfishness. Such politicians force one to conclude they care more about their political party than about the American people.

—JKW—