Last week’s announcement on health care reform by Democrats has spurred republicans into action.
- Republicans may request a public hearing with Obama administration.
- Republicans may attempt to change the scope of the legislation.
- Republicans may attempt to slow the process down.
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The Republican Party is set to announce their version of an alternative health care reform bill to Congress just as the House is getting ready to take up the Democratic version.
Here are some thoughts on the possible Republican version from media and watchers.
From Kaiser Health News:
The Wall Street Journal reports that House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio said the G.O.P. proposal would aim to cover millions of Americans but wouldn’t be the same in scope as the Democrat bills. “It would, among other things, propose new limits on medical malpractice lawsuits and make it easier for individuals and small businesses to pool resources to purchase insurance. Mr. Boehner said the Republican bill would also propose grants for states that use ‘innovative’ solutions to expand coverage. He pointed to states that have created special ‘high-risk pools’ to provide insurance to individuals with pre-existing conditions” (Hitt, 11/2).
Reuters reports that the GOP House plan would not raise taxes nor require people to purchase health insurance. But “Republicans in the Senate have said they do not plan to unveil a rival plan but will instead offer amendments [to the Democratic proposal] on everything from abortion to medical malpractice liability. They also are focused on eliminating requirements to buy health insurance while allowing people who want to buy a policy to do so across state lines” (Heavy, 11/1).
Roll Call reports that Republicans in the Senate will try to use “targeted amendments to attack the legislation issue by issue” to turn the public against the measure and set the stage for the 2010 elections. “According to GOP sources, Senate Republicans also are ready to use parliamentary tools to slow down the floor debate to ensure it lasts at least four weeks. This could complicate pledges by Democratic leaders to deliver health care reform to President Barack Obama by year’s end” (Drucker, 11/2).
The Hill reports that Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, is asking House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman to hold a public hearing with Obama administration officials to discuss the health care reform bill. Barton “wrote, in a letter to his counterpart, that it was imperative that lawmakers question Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Congressional Budget Office Director Doug Elmendorf as to the implications of the bill.” House leadership has said members have had a lot of time to consider the bills and many hours of hearings (Hooper, 10/1).
Republicans seem to want to reduce the cost of care - a worthy goal. Democrats want to expand coverage and provide health care to the currently uninsured or underinsured without increasing costs - equally worthy.
Now comes the hard part. Getting the left and the right to embrace our goals in health care reform.
- no preexisting condition exclusions on insurance coverage.
- no institutional bias, i.e. home and community based services preferred over nursing home admissions.
- durable medical equipment (such as wheelchairs and scooters)treated as covered expenses with no for use “in the home” only limitation.
Providing equal access to care for those with disabilities through healthcare reform is good policy and should be exempt from politics.