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GOP offers alternative to Democrat healthcare reform bill
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The Republicans in the House of Representatives have produced a response to the Democrat’s 1990 page healthcare bill. The 230-page alternative, presented by House Minority Leader John Boehner is focused on lowering healthcare costs for Americans, as opposed to expanding healthcare coverage. While the Associated Press has obtained a draft of the bill, aides to Representative Boehner made clear the measure is not final and changes are still being made.
The current Republican version from the House addresses conservative issues that would address the high costs of healthcare. The GOP proposal includes:
• Increased incentives on health savings accounts
• Caps non-economic jury awards in malpractice cases at $250,000
• Offers incentives for states that will aim to drive down premium costs
• Allows health insurance to be sold across state lines, increasing competition and lowering premium costs
• Includes a permanent ban on any federal funding for abortions (except in cases of rape, incest or threat to the life of the mother)
"As Leader Boehner has made clear, our proposal will focus on the No. 1 concern of the American people—reducing health care costs, and we do it at a price tag our nation can afford," said spokeswoman Antonia Ferrier, though Republicans have not said how much their bill would cost.
"Our proposal will help struggling middle-class families and small businesses by increasing access to affordable, high-quality health care," Ferrier said.
Democrats are not taking the Republican plan seriously. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer(D-MD) told reporters “[The GOP alternative] does little to provide security and stability to all Americans, doesn't provide insurance availability for all Americans, does little to expand access to coverage.” Hoyer went on to say, “Ours is vastly superior and we think the American public will think that.”
While the Democrats are saying they expect to vote on Nancy Peolsi’s bill this week, they are still working on ironing out the final language for parts of the bill including government funded abortions and government health benefits for illegal immigrants. With that, Hoyer says he is confident of a Democrat victory before Veteran’s Day (Wednesday, November 11).
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has not yet released the details of his (and a few others) healthcare bill that was written in secret. As it stands, the Senate debate may not begin much before Thanksgiving.
The Democratic leadership has ignored the American people since the beginning of the healthcare debate. With the latest poll numbers from Rasmussen, they may want to reconsider their power grab. Rasmussen is reporting:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi introduced the House version of health care reform legislation last week, but most voters are still opposed to the effort.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 42% now favor the health care plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. That’s down from 45% a week ago but unchanged from two weeks ago.
Fifty-four percent (54%) now oppose the legislative effort, up three points since last week.
Seventy-three percent (73%) of liberals support the plan, but just 18% of conservatives agree.
Only 23% of all voters Strongly Support the plan while nearly twice as many (44%) are Strongly Opposed.
As Scott Rasmussen, recently wrote in the Wall Street Journal: “The most important fundamental is that 68% of American voters have health insurance coverage they rate good or excellent. … Most of these voters approach the health care reform debate fearing that they have more to lose than to gain.”
The American people appear to be educating themselves on the effects of the plan President Obama and his administration want to implement. It will be interesting to see what the people think of the Republican suggestion.
