Editor 's note : Rep. Dave Camp is a Republican from the 4th district of Michigan and is his party 's ranking member on the House Ways and Means Committee . Rep. Dave Camp said Americans pay too much for health care due to waste , lawsuits and fraud . WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- Americans want , deserve and demand health care reform . Wednesday , I and my Republican colleagues in the House of Representatives are unveiling common sense health care reforms that focus on increasing the affordability , accessibility and availability of quality health care . Our plan will lower costs , make health care more convenient for patients and improve quality at a price our country can afford . Our chief concern is making health care affordable for all Americans . To do so , we believe in reforming before spending . The system now is so complex and unwieldy that billions of dollars are wasted every year . In fact , Americans pay more for their health care per person than anyone else in the world ; twice what the Canadians do and two-and-a-half times what the British spend . It makes no sense . To lower health care costs , we must 1 ) weed out the rampant overspending in our current system that is driven by the twin forces of trial lawyers and fraudsters , 2 ) modernize medical regulations that have n't been changed in decades , and 3 ) make sure the government is helping every American get insurance , not just those who have health insurance through their job . Attacking the unnecessary costs in our current system starts with implementing comprehensive medical liability reform , so when doctors are in exam rooms they are thinking about their patients , not about ordering more tests in case somebody tries to sue later . This will reduce the practice of defensive medicine and save billions of dollars in wasted health care spending . We also must demand greater oversight and fraud prevention in Medicare and Medicaid -- the nation 's health care programs for the seniors , the poor and the disabled . Abuse is so rampant in these programs that the chief counsel to the Health and Human Services Inspector General said , `` building a Medicare fraud scam is far safer than dealing in crack or dealing in stolen cars , and it 's far more lucrative . '' Malpractice reform and fraud prevention are a good start , but just a start . We will build on those successes by accelerating the move toward an electronic record system , minimizing the numerous administrative requirements at doctor offices , hospitals and insurance companies . By doing so , we can tackle the mountain of repetitive and unnecessary paperwork that clogs our system , drives up costs and creates headaches for patients and doctors alike . It is also time to allow states , small businesses and other organizations to increase their purchasing power by banding together to offer health insurance at lower cost . A small business in Ohio might not be able to afford health insurance on its own , but when joining with dozens of other small employers in Michigan and Indiana , the pool gets bigger and the price gets lower . Even with these reforms , the cost of health care is still too high for many Americans . The federal government has a patchwork of subsidies for those buying health insurance that is full of inequities . While we are waiting for the cost of our plan to be determined by the Congressional Budget Office , we already know it would be cheaper than other alternatives being discussed . To help address the inequities , our plan gives Americans who purchase insurance on their own a tax deduction , treating them more like those who get insurance through a job or who are self-employed . And we create incentives for all Americans to save now for future and long-term health care needs by improving health savings accounts and flexible spending arrangements and creating new tax benefits to offset the costs of long-term care premiums . Republicans also provide financial assistance through new refundable and advanceable tax credits to those who need it most : low- and modest-income Americans . And , especially in today 's economy where so many workers have been forced to retire early or have been laid off , we recognize that many Americans who have not yet hit retirement age often have an especially hard time finding affordable health insurance . Thus , we offer additional financial help to those ages 55 to 64 . We also recognize that many Americans with pre-existing conditions find insurance is either unaffordable or unavailable . Our plan addresses this by fostering innovative state reinsurance programs and improved high-risk pools , ensuring that high-risk individuals get affordable coverage . These and other measures will ensure every American , regardless of income , regardless of where they choose to live , regardless of pre-existing conditions or past illness , will have access to affordable , quality health care . Republicans stand ready to work with the president and our Democratic colleagues in Congress to improve the affordability , accessibility and availability of health care in this nation . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Dave Camp .
Rep. Dave Camp : Health care must be made available and affordable . He says fraud , lawsuits and abuse drive up the cost of health care . Bush : Americans pay much more per person than other countries . He says tax incentives can help Americans pay for health care .