Rep. Roe Op-Ed: Congress Extends Benefits to Veterans & Considers Health Care Legislation
Weekly Column,
Nov 4 -
By Congressman Phil Roe
While the health care debate rages in Congress, it is easy to miss that we passed legislation that will honor and better serve our Veterans. The U.S. House passed, and I supported, legislation that will offer our veterans’ job training assistance, and legislation that will offer assistance for veterans’ small business ventures. In addition, Congress passed a resolution that encourages our nation to offer greater support for Veterans Day each year.
On Wednesday we will celebrate Veterans Day, which is a very important holiday because it is reserved to honor the men and women of this nation who have served in our armed forces to ensure our freedom. As a veteran and a member of the U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee, I am committed to ensuring our veterans receive the best care, benefits and opportunities possible. I believe that’s our duty as a nation. I was proud to support legislation this week to support our servicemembers, who so tirelessly fought for the freedom of our nation.
As I mentioned, Congress is also considering a new bill that will dramatically change our nation’s health care system – H.R. 3962 – and in my opinion as a doctor with more than 30 years experience in health care, I think this bill will result in more government, higher taxes, more spending and less quality than we have today. As I write this today, the Democratic leadership in the House cannot find enough support among Democrat members to pass this 1,990 page bill.
In an editorial titled “The Worst Bill Ever,” the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) described this new legislation as “… destructive on every level—for the health-care system, for the country's fiscal condition, and ultimately for American freedom and prosperity.”
The WSJ writers go on to explain the astronomical cost factor of this legislation, saying:
“The House disguises hundreds of billions of dollars in additional costs with budget gimmicks. It ‘pays for’ about six years of program with a decade of revenue, with the heaviest costs concentrated in the second five years. The House also pretends Medicare payments to doctors will be cut by 21.5% next year and deeper after that, ‘saving’ about $250 billion.”
In fact, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office confirmed that this legislation is almost $300 billion more expensive than its proponents earlier claimed.
Ultimately, the costs and the mandates for this bill are going to fall on heavily on employers – both big and small. Section 512 imposes an 8 percent tax on jobs for firms that cannot afford to purchase “bureaucrat-approved” health coverage; according to an analysis by Harvard Professor Kate Baicker, such a tax would place millions “at substantial risk of unemployment.” At a time when we are trying to create more jobs in our economy, it just doesn’t make sense that we are going to hinder job creation by dramatically increasing the cost of hiring workers.
I have been spending this week, going through this nearly 2,000 page bill, and I wanted to share with you a few of the other items I have found:
· Page 94—Section 202(c) prohibits the sale of private individual health insurance policies, beginning in 2013, forcing individuals to purchase coverage through the federal government
· Page 110—Section 222(e) requires the use of federal dollars to fund abortions through the government-run health plan—and, if the Hyde Amendment were ever not renewed, would require the plan to fund elective abortions
· Page 211—Section 321 establishes a new government-run health plan that, according to non-partisan actuaries at the Lewin Group, would cause as many as 114 million Americans to lose their existing coverage
· Page 225—Section 330 does not require—members of Congress to enroll in government-run health care, regardless of the fact they may have imposed this on you
· Page 520—Section 1161 cuts more than $150 billion from Medicare Advantage plans, potentially jeopardizing millions of seniors’ existing coverage
Is this the kind of change and reform our country wants and needs? I believe the answer to that question is NO. I am seeking to input the following health care solutions for our country:
· Medical malpractice reform, to rein in abusive lawsuits and reduce the cost of defensive medicine.
· Association health plans, to allow small businesses to pool their resources and receive negotiated discounts on health insurance just like larger employers.
· Eliminating state boundaries, to allow consumers to purchase health insurance wherever they can find a plan that best suits them, which increases competition among insurers and the portability of insurance.
· Health Insurance Tax Credits, which give individuals the same advantage to purchase health insurance that employers have and can lower the cost of insurance up to 30 percent.
· High risk pools to make health insurance affordable for people with pre-existing conditions. These pools are already allowed, but do not receive enough funding.
I stand ready to incorporate any of these ideas into health care reform, but Democrats and their leadership have made clear time and again they want no Republican input, preferring to draft their bill behind closed doors. This Congress needs to put forward ideas to make insurance more affordable and improve quality of care.
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