Republican US Sen. Tim Scott calls for 'accountability' in health care spending at Iowa town hall

U.S. Sen. Tim Scott said Saturday that "transparency and competition" were key for improving American health care, as he fielded questions from Iowans at a town hall event.

The forum at a gym in Waukee — filmed extensively by a team of videographers — comes weeks before Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, is set to formally announce his candidacy for president.

A crowd of roughly 50 heard from Scott about his background, faith and policy stances, including health care, which one attendee called a "system that seems broken."

"In South Carolina and across the country, what you'll find is that health care costs are driven by zip codes as much as anything else," Scott said.

Government's involvement in health care programs for low-income families and seniors results in "inefficiencies in our systems," Scott argued.

"We spent about $850 billion through Medicare, but we have very little understanding and accountability on how all those dollars are being spent," Scott said. "Not by the recipient, but by the entire system that is driven by a bunch of bureaucrats in Washington, with very little time in the office these days."

Additionally, money for Medicaid should "pay for outcomes, and not just transactions" to prevent "eating away at those health care dollars" without tangible progress after surgeries or other procedures, Scott said.

Scott's comments come as Democrats across the U.S. amplify their attacks on Republicans regarding Medicaid and other safety net programs, arguing they support reducing the programs' spending.

Scott did not call for direct cuts to those programs in his remarks Saturday, as other prominent Republicans — including former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is weighing a bid for the presidency — have traded blows over the issue in recent months.

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The senator also touted the quick creation of the COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S., due in part to "public-private partnerships," and said those private companies should retain the ability to hold the rights to drugs and treatments they create.

"We're going to have to make sure that things like patent protection remain in place so that in the long run, the cost of our drugs and pharmaceuticals goes down, not up," Scott said.

Scott said it was necessary to "fix the front end of the cost of the drugs so at the back end, we continue to have the benefit of the research and development that comes with the greatest nation's innovation."

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Sarah Gruber, a 27-year-old nursing assistant who works in Ankeny, praised Scott's comments on health care.

"People that are in assisted living and memory care and long-term care, they shouldn't have to worry about where their money is going," Gruber said. "And making sure that they get the quality of care they deserve."

Gruber said Scott seems like "a very good candidate," but is keeping her options open, planning to attend events for Trump and Nikki Haley in the future.

Scott is a "man of good Christian character," said Joyce Babbitt, a Granger resident in her 70s.

"I like his conservative views on just about everything he spoke on," she said.

The senator ended the Saturday forum by urging Iowans to back a candidate that can bring three traits: "backbone, common sense and winning elections."

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Galen Bacharier covers politics for the Register. Reach him at gbacharier@registermedia.com or (573) 219-7440, and follow him on Twitter @galenbacharier.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Tim Scott calls for 'accountability' in health care spending in Iowa