McCormick at new member orientation Nov. 14. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Rep.-elect Rich McCormick, the newest member of the GOP Doctors Caucus, says he wants to push his new Republican colleagues to put addressing health care costs at the forefront of their agenda in the next Congress in anticipation of 2024.
What he's saying: "We may have a new president in a few years, but if nothing else we should have something ready to go. Because even though health care isn't on the front burner, it should be," McCormick told Axios in a phone interview last week.
- "Literally, you're talking about something that is the biggest cost for Americans. We should be all over this."
- McCormick discussed ideas such as making prior authorizations easier for patients to access cancer medicine so they're not paying out-of-pocket for expensive drugs, or comparing health care prices across state lines.
- But he didn't point to specific legislative policies, besides saying they should be "free-market based."
McCormick, who will represent Georgia's 6th Congressional District, is an emergency room doctor and a Marine veteran, and is now set to be the only new member of the GOP Doctors Caucus next year.
- As of our call, he said he had eight more ER shifts to work at Northside Hospital Gwinnett in Lawrenceville, Georgia, before showing up to his new job on Jan. 3.
- McCormick believes being an ER doctor makes him think differently from other Republicans on health care, since he's seen the difficulties for both patients and hospitals up close.
- "ER is an interesting specialty," he said. "We are the safety net of health care. I do have a well-rounded perspective, being an ER doc, seeing first-hand frustrated patients with surprise billing, lack of transparency."
- "I get to witness first hand where the frustrations are from the people and the frustrations from the health system, simultaneously."
Yes, but: McCormick doesn't expect big health policy accomplishments in a divided Congress, "although I think incremental changes could be achieved."
- Some of those other incremental changes he'd like to work on are further addressing surprise billing and solving the nursing shortage.
One skeptical thing: He doesn't think the GOP's COVID investigations will lead to any big revelations — though that won't stop him from supporting them.
- "I think we all know where COVID came from, and whether it was an accident, or mismanagement or whatever it was, we know it came from China. The question is why and how," McCormick said.
- "I think it's going to be a very difficult investigation because I don't think there's going to be transparency ... I'm all for it, but I don't have high hopes that it's going to solve anything."
Two fun things: His wife, Debra, is also a doctor (an oncologist), and McCormick is a self-described history buff.
