Bradenton health care summit: Officials warn millions face barriers to medical care due to high, rising costs

Lawmakers debate health care crisis in Bradenton

The House Ways and Means Health Care Subcommittee held a hearing on Tuesday on America's health care system. FOX 13's Evan Axelbank reports.

BRADENTON, Fla. - The House Ways and Means Health Care Subcommittee Chair Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Bradenton) convened a health care summit at the Lake Erie College of Medicine in Bradenton on Tuesday.

Members of both sides of the aisle were included in the meeting, while several advocates who work in the health care system spoke. 

By the numbers:

Representative Buchanan started the summit with some sobering statistics.

Americans spend more money on health care than anywhere in the world, but according to Buchanan, six-in-10 Americans have chronic diseases and 20% of children are overweight.

Many of the speakers argued that access to care is the biggest problem, with millions of Floridians and tens of millions of Americans being kept away from doctors because of the cost.

The backstory:

In Florida, Obamacare premiums have increased by almost one-third since just last year.

Three rural hospitals have closed in the state since 2020.

Speakers at the summit insisted on a system that rewards prevention as opposed to rewarding procedures.

"I've seen patients regain energy, clarity, and hope. But what has moved me most is this. I've watched people go from fear to understanding the ownership of their own health," committee witness Dr. Chris Davis said. "This is what healthcare should look like. But there's a problem. This level of care is still out of reach of far too many Americans. The people who need prevention the most often have least access to it."

Dig deeper:

Speakers also lambasted the system that calls for pre-authorizations and the practice of trying lower-cost medicine unless there's an exception granted, which all create a lack of trust.

"Everyone needs to be covered, and that's just insurance math, right?" Scott Darius of Florida Voices for Health said. "We learned this in just this last year, insurers justified their premium increases. They pointed to the fact that they expected healthier people to drop off of coverage, and that made it more expensive for everyone else."

Members of Congress, who came from all over the country to listen, floated several proposals, one of which is to reimburse pharmacists more efficiently.

But the question of a long-term health care solution is still very open.

What's next:

President Trump has often pledged a health plan that will provide better coverage for less money.

A plan to cover all Americans has not been unveiled, but he did release what he calls "The Great Health Care Plan."

The White House has a web page for it called Great Health Care.