A life-long resident of Howard Township, Centre County, Pa., Congressman Glenn 'GT' Thompson represents Pennsylvania’s Fifteenth District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Prior to being elected to Pennsylvania’s geographically largest congressional district, GT spent 28 years as a therapist, rehabilitation services manager, and a licensed nursing home administrator. Through his professional experiences, GT has touched the lives of thousands of individuals facing life-altering conditions. As a result, he has learned firsthand the importance of access to quality healthcare and has become a strong advocate for increased access, affordability, quality of care, and patient choice.
Prior to being elected to Congress, I spent 28 years as a therapist, rehabilitation services manager and a licensed nursing home administrator. As a result, I’ve learned firsthand the importance of access to quality healthcare in rural communities and have become a strong advocate for increased access, affordability, quality of care, and patient choice. I came to Washington to help address the many challenges we face in healthcare and advance these same principles.
On March 25, 2010, Congress passed sweeping legislation that seeks to fundamentally realign our nation’s health care system. This massive health care overhaul—a remake of one-sixth of our economy—will exacerbate the very problems this reform effort sought to address. I actually sat down and read all 2,000 pages of the healthcare bill. As I read through the measure, I became increasingly alarmed at the level of control over an individual’s health that would be vested in the federal government. Since passage of this bill, my worst nightmares have become a reality as the law’s implementation continues to drive up costs, saddle small businesses with burdensome regulations, and imposes unfunded mandates on the Commonwealth, by shifting costs from the federal government to the states. We must repeal this law and move forward with commonsense reforms that will improve our nation’s healthcare system and provide even greater access to more Americans.
During the 115th Congress, I introduced several pieces of legislation that offered real reform to key areas of healthcare and care delivery. I formally introduced H.R. 1041, the Fairness in Medicare Bidding Act, deficit neutral legislation to fix the Medicare Durable Medical Equipment Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) competitive bidding program. Created under the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, the DMEPOS program’s goal is to create cost savings. However, both provider and consumer groups have illustrated problems with the program, which will force smaller suppliers from the market, threaten Medicare beneficiaries’ quality of care and ultimately drive up costs. We must allow for a marketplace where seniors have quality and choice and smaller, local providers are competing to deliver these supplies.