The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has quietly pushed America's medical workforce into what Rep. Rich McCormick described as a "government-controlled hospital system," driving up costs, crushing independent practices, and limiting patient choice, McCormick told Newsmax on Sunday.
McCormick, a Georgia Republican who is an emergency room physician and member of the GOP Doctors Caucus, said on Newsmax's "Conversations with Nancy Brinker" that Obamacare's structure created cascading pressures that forced doctors into large hospital networks – a shift he argues has made healthcare significantly more expensive for the average American.
The congressman said that "before the Affordable Care Act, 24% of physicians worked for hospitals. Now it's over 75% — that's what's made healthcare unaffordable."
McCormick said the consolidation has been accelerated by insurance companies denying roughly one-third of claims and saddling medical providers with hours of administrative work through mandatory electronic medical record systems, coding compliance layers, and retroactive claim reviews.
Hospitals, he noted, can absorb the massive administrative overhead — independent physicians often cannot.
That reality, McCormick argued, effectively pushes doctors onto a government dole, where they must join hospital systems heavily intertwined with federal insurance programs and ACA mandates. Once inside those systems, he said, costs rise by about 30% compared with independent care.
According to McCormick, insurers have become "bad actors," increasing profits while tightening approval rules that leave both patients and providers fighting for basic care. He criticized the current structure for rewarding consolidation instead of value, and warned that the ACA continues to drive premiums higher for middle-class families while reducing competition.
McCormick said Republicans are now focused on building parallel, competitive alternatives rather than attempting another repeal-and-replace effort.
Still, he argued that any real reform must begin with restoring doctors' independence, reducing bureaucratic waste, and breaking up the financial incentives that favor large hospital conglomerates.
"Patients are paying more, doctors are burning out, and insurers keep making money," McCormick said. "That's not a healthcare system — that's a system rigged against the people actually delivering and receiving care."
He urged Congress to pursue legislative solutions that free physicians to practice outside heavily regulated hospital systems and give Americans access to lower-cost, higher-quality care.
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Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.