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| Information on Congress' Action on Healthcare |
Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, released a health care reform proposal. The legislation would create a new government board to decide what health services would be included in health insurance plans. The bill creates a tax penalty on patients who cannot demonstrate they are covered by health insurance approved by the government board. This legislation also offers new subsidies to Americans earning up to $110,000 per year to purchase health insurance. Further, this bill creates the possibility of an employer pay or play mandate where employers must offer health insurance to employees or pay an additional tax or fine. This bill also lays the groundwork for a new government-run health insurance plan. Finally, this bill establishes a new gateway in each state to facilitate the purchase of health insurance coverage, which would include a government-run health insurance plan option. The gateway would also encourage enrollment of individuals who are eligible to use health programs and welfare programs like TANF, but who are not enrolled.
The President discussed options on how to pay for health care reform, expected to cost between $1 and $2.2 trillion. President Obama mentioned cutting spending in Medicare and Medicaid, programs serving elderly and lower income individuals, by an estimated $600 billion. To raise another estimated $300 billion, he discussed tax increases including limiting charitable and mortgage deductions for higher income earners.
Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, will release another health care proposal. It is expected that the two proposals will be reconciled, followed by consideration of the final bill on the Senate floor.
President Obama made it one of his campaign promises to change the way health care is provided to the American people. I agree that health care needs to be more affordable, but I do not think that Washington-rationed health care is the way to make this happen.
In Europe, we have seen how socialized medicine has failed. Long waiting lines and inefficiency plague hospitals; doctors are essentially government employees; and there is no incentive for innovation or new medical technology. Consequently, the U.S. is the leader in medical technology, and has some of the most efficient and well run hospitals in the world. This would not be the case if government takes over health care. My specific concern is the creation of new government-run health insurance plan. According to a recent report, creating a new government-run health plan would cause an estimated 70% of people with private insurance - 120 million Americans - to be dropped and forced onto the government-run plan, where coverage for treatments and other life-or-death decisions would be dictated by the federal government.
I am also concerned about the proposal on how to pay for these efforts, since the only way to pay for it is by raising taxes or imposing dramatic health care spending cuts that could disproportionately hurt the economies of our rural areas in Kansas.
My goal is for every Kansan to have access to affordable health care insurance through a patient-centered, not government-centered approach. It is vital that we increase U.S. business competitive, keep health care decisions squarely with doctors and patients, keep the U.S. at the forefront of technological advancements, and increase access and coverage to rural America.
If you have any questions about what my office is doing, please call my offices (contact information below).
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