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Cynthia Tucker

House GOP health care “reform” plan

7:40 am November 5, 2009, by ctucker

You may have missed this development because of all the election-related coverage, but House Republicans have, at long last, introduced their own health care reform bill. As one might expect, it doesn’t do much.

It’s an amalgam of GOP talking points — allowing insurers to sell insurance across state lines, capping noneconomic malpractice awards and expands the use of tax-sheltered medical savings accounts. The Republican bill does not include a mandate for all Americans to buy insurance — a requirement that most experts agree is necessary to contain costs. (If healthy younger Americans are in the insurance-buying pool, insurers are better able to spread the costs of insuring the sick.)

Nor does the GOP proposal prohibit insurers from denying people coverage with pre-existing conditions. It doesn’t contain subsidies to help working class Americans purchase insurance, though high cost is the main reason people don’t have it.

“What we’ve learned over many, many years is that the reason people don’t have insurance is that they can’t afford it,” said Drew Altman, president of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, an nonpartisan health policy research group. “You can’t make much progress toward helping the uninsured unless you help them buy it.”

So it’s no great surprise that the Congressional Budget Office found that the GOP plan won’t do much to reduce the ranks of the uninsured.

But the CBO analysis also concluded that under the GOP plan, 52 million nonelderly Americans would have no insurance in 2019 — even more than the 50 million in 2010. By comparison, the House Democratic bill would reduce the number of nonelderly Americans without coverage to around 18 million over the next decade.

The purpose of the GOP legislation isn’t to change the dysfunctional landscape. Rather, the purpose is to offer political cover for a party that is largely seen as a roadblock to Democratic plans while offering no plans of its own.
The Republicans were in charge of the White House and Congress for six years. If they had been serious about their own version of health care reform, they would have implemented it then.

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40 comments Add your comment

Peadawg

November 5th, 2009
10:41 am

The perfect bill would be one with:

1. All the mandates for insurance companies(denying b/c of pre-existing conditions, etc.)
2. DOES NOT include a mandate for all Americans to buy insurance
3. Allows a government option for people who want it(like Medicaid, Medicare) BUT there better not be as many loopholes (someone coming to the pharmacy in an Escalade paying 50 cents for a prescription).

jconservative

November 5th, 2009
11:12 am

In fiscal year 2010 Medicare (CMS) will spend $803.1 Billion. In a few years that will double to $1.6 Trillion a year. A few years after that it will jump to $2.4 Trillion a year.

I trust everyone remembers that in 2011 the baby boomers will start to go on Medicare.

3rd Party Guy

November 5th, 2009
11:19 am

No problem, Medicare is only $73 trillion in the hole, not including the prescription drug liability of course. America is done in 2 generations tops; maybe just one. I’m sure when the GOP gets back in power, they’ll fix everything.

Zedd

November 5th, 2009
11:25 am

What you and many others fail to realize is that any mandates for individuals and employers is unconstitutional and will be challenged!

Common Sense

November 5th, 2009
11:31 am

This is all about government “control” and little about “health care”. If you have ever had to deal with the V.A. or Worker’s Compensation issues you DO NOT want the government involved.

Vinny

November 5th, 2009
11:33 am

Yawn,

Oh, hey Cynthia. Tell us – How does it feel to be completely inconsequential?

cesar

November 5th, 2009
11:46 am

jajajaa omg how good to read ignorance hey zedd! so is mandated to have car insurance but not health insurance! cars are more important then people and if a government run option is so bad why doesnt the military cancel there insurance and join the private insurance and the elderly cancel there medicare the truth is healthcare for profit is a fundamentally unsound bussiness wich profits of denying care! understand if we paid healthcare just like we pay for the military and local police and firefighters public schools and libraries and yes our government representatives we would get better care drugs would be cheaper and doctors would get paid more money and there would and inmense security for the healthcare industry because all those billions in profit health insurance companies make would go to our care but we americans are cowards and look i dont socialism i love capitalism im an entrepreneur i sell insurance but healthcare for profit is inhuman and stupid for our society i a republican but when being a conservative became letting corporate AMERICA DO WHATEVER something good!

Dan

November 5th, 2009
11:49 am

The biggest advantage to the GOP proposal is that it allows the market to fix the problem. People make their own decisions. Buy or not, there is no punishment meted out by the government. As it should be. Personal responsibility. As it should be.

Common Sense

November 5th, 2009
11:50 am

To cesar:

I hope you can’t vote.

Chris Broe

November 5th, 2009
11:58 am

Pre-existing conditions. High Deductibles. The Healthcare Trap.

Most of the medical costs incurred by a patient accumulate in the last six weeks of life.

That end game is also where all the corruption is. Expensive, invasive and experimental last-ditch procedures are making gold-diggers out of our oncologists, with no benefit of any cure, abatement of disease, or even buying a few months of quality life.

Scott

November 5th, 2009
12:06 pm

So let me get this straight….You now cite the CBO when it puts forth information that supports your position, but when it doesn’t, you ignore it or downplay it.
“The Republicans were in charge of the White House and Congress for six years. If they had been serious about their own version of health care reform, they would have implemented it then.” Funny thing here Cynthia, the Dems did the exact thing that you say the Republicans are doing….being disruptive to the process. The even funnier thing is that the Dems actually had enough seats in both houses to actually disrupt the process and they did. They shot down every plan the Reps put forth. Now, the Dems have a SUPERMAJORITY. They can put forth anything they want and the Reps cannot do a thing about. How come they haven’t done it yet? We all know the answer to that question. Because they know that as soon as elections come around next year, voters are going to throw anybody who votes for this unpopular healthcare takeover out of office.
Rather than totally taking this system and tweaking it slightly, why don’t make slight adjustments and see where we go. That’s what successful businesses do in the corporate world. Successful businesses that actually keep their budgets out of the red. The Gov’t, on the other hand, has never been able to do that. Nobody is saying we don’t need to reform healthcare. We just do not need to make this drastic of a change. There is simply too much risk and not enough evidence that we will see any sort of a reward.

songbird

November 5th, 2009
12:09 pm

Chris – this is why we need end of life counseling to help people and their families understand what to do when someone is dying. Costly interventions at end of life are often useless and just make the patient misearable. Why live that way just for a few more months or days. Quality of life should be more important.

That being said, much of the increase in health care costs in recent decades is due to chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Many of these diseases are largely preventable because they are the result of poor lifestyle choices. We need to do a better job of keeping people healthy rather than treating illnesses. At my company, wellness is the new mantra for reducing health care costs.

Shawny

November 5th, 2009
12:27 pm

“sell insurance across state lines” – good idea. Increases competition among actual companies (not a govt entity that would compete unfairly).

“capping noneconomic malpractice awards” – good idea. Doctors pay a ton for malpractice insurance, and pass it along to us. Need reform in this area.

“expands the use of tax-sheltered medical savings accounts” – good idea. I love my health care savings account.

“mandate for all Americans to buy insurance” – bad idea. “healthy young Americans” might not want to buy into it. Force them, spread the wealth, nice.

“If they had been serious about their own version of health care reform, they would have implemented it then” – true, if it were necessary. It isn’t. Cost control is, and that is what their plan is about. Getting the costs down will allow those that opt out to be able to afford it. All the dem plan does is spread the pain. Jack up costs for those of us to cover the others.

emo

November 5th, 2009
1:08 pm

Medical malpractice verdicts account for .5% of medical expenditures. Sure, that’ll fix the problem. Until they cut off the wrong leg. Then, if you have a desk job, you get $250.000. And they cut off the right leg for free. What do you need legs for?
Don’t forget who is behind the high cost of malpractice insurance. THE INSURANCE COMPANIES. Get the picture?

buddy

November 5th, 2009
1:12 pm

“sell insurance across state lines” – good idea. The same Big Five insurance companies love this. No more pesky state regulations

“expands the use of tax-sheltered medical savings accounts” – good idea. If you have the money to save, and if you can save enough for a catastrophe. A coouple million should do it.

Steve

November 5th, 2009
1:17 pm

All 3 GOP items Cynthia mentions seem to be valid items to me. I’m not about to say they are the only things that need to happen, but please explain to me why the Democrats have constantly said no to the first two (selling health insurance across state lines & capping malpractise payouts). I know the reason for the second…the Trial Lawyers Association would be up Obama’s butt. Since 1999, they have contributed 10 times the money to the Democratic party than they have the Republican party. mmmmmm….mmmmmm…mmmmm

Jimmy62

November 5th, 2009
1:18 pm

I would like to see a study on how many of these uninsured people either choose not to buy insurance, or say they can’t afford it while going home to a big HD TV and talking on their iPhone. I’m betting we’re talking less than 5 million that genuinely cannot afford health insurance. And those could easily be taken care of by charities, the funding of which would go up massively if we were taxed less.

Jimmy62

November 5th, 2009
1:21 pm

Also wanted to point out that the GOP bill includes everything. Unlike the Democrat’s bill that shifts hundreds of billions of dollars in costs to other bills that the CBO did not examine together with the main bill. Add those in, and the Democrat’s bill bankrupts our country, and that’s the optimistic outlook.

F*** health care reform for now, let’s figure out how to get the economy rolling again, then we can worry about stealing massive amounts of money from people who earned it to give to people who didn’t.

Scott

November 5th, 2009
1:28 pm

Emo. It isn’t the justified medical malpractice suits that are the issue….it is the frivolous ones that result in nothing but inefficiencies in the system and added cost to us. It is also the reason why doctors feel obligated to order extra tests and make us pay for more services. They have to cover their own or else they are out of a job, looking at paying a huge lawsuit, and potentially looking at going to jail because some clown is looking for a free buck.
It is also funny that you mention the insurance companies as being the bad guys. They make next to nothing in profitability. Look at the research done on their profits.

Chris Broe

November 5th, 2009
2:13 pm

Poor lifestyle choices? You mean drinking the water, breathing the air, and eating the food?

NetBanker

November 5th, 2009
2:16 pm

What I rarely see people discussing when it comes to health insurance is how the view of what insurance is for has drastically changed over the past several decades. Prior to the rise of ‘managed care’ (i.e. HMO or PPO) insurance was strictly for catastrophic-type conditions. A standard doctor’s office visit was paid 100% by the patient and not submitted to or covered by insurance. Insurance only kicked in for tests or hospitalizations or emergency care, etc. The replacement of the $50 doctor’s office visit by the $10-$20 co-pay has resulted in our health care system being far more stressed because people go for every little cough or sniffle. In MOST cases if people would do the standard recommendation of drink plenty of fluids, rest, and take over the counter drugs to treat symptoms then within 5-7 days they’d be just fine. Now it’s cheap to go to the doctor now and everyone wants a pill to instantly fix every problem. This also has resulted in schedules being jam-packed with patients every 15 minutes instead of doctors spending more quality time with patients. My mother was an RN site manager for an HMO and she pointed out this shift 15 years ago because she experienced it happening as a medical professional. My doctor has confirmed and validated her observation.

If we’re going to make radical changes to healthcare in America then a cultural shift away from the current ‘instant gratification’ cheap cost for everything would do more to contain costs and ensure access to care than will any of the current legislative proposals.

Last, I do not agree with forcing everyone to purchase health insurance to spread the costs. Making a comparison to auto insurance is apples to oranges because one can choose not to own a car. In fact many city residents don’t even own cars and we don’t force them to buy auto insurance to ‘spread the costs’. Driving is a voluntary activity. Further forcing people to purchase policies that cover conditions they’ll never have just to spread cost is inherently unfair. Why should women over child-bearing age be forced to buy coverage for pre-natal care (which is outrageously costly)? Why should a single male be required to buy a policy that covers female infertility treatments? Why should a single woman have a policy that covers erectile dysfunction treatment or prostate cancers? Never in our history have people been required to buy a particular type of product and we shouldn’t cross that line now.

El Jefe

November 5th, 2009
2:34 pm

Even though the mandates might not pass constitutional muster – the DIMocrats are still pushing this dead horse.

Even though the bill is making everyone angry with Congress and the President, the DIMocrats are still pushing this dead horse.

Last Tuesday – did any lefties notice, that when the President campaigned for someone – they LOST.
I.E. Virginia and New Jersey.

The President did not campaign in the N.Y. 23rd district – and the Democrat won – this is a hint and a clue. Something the lefties don’t have.

What a maroon.

Anne/NYC

November 5th, 2009
3:07 pm

Scott – -

“The even funnier thing is that the Dems actually had enough seats in both houses to actually disrupt the process and they did.”

We’re listening. Tell us which attempts at reforming the spiralling costs associated with the US healthcare system the GOP introduced during the last 8 years, which the Democrats disrupted???

We’re all ears….c’mon, tell us.

Because the only big health care effort I remember is GWBush’ 2003 Medicare Rx Drug Modernization Act, which all the GOP lawmakers currently oppising Obama reform voted for. Called the “biggest Medicare fraud ever”, the GOP 2003 bill has so far cost US taxpayers $800 billion (twice what the GOP told Congress it would cost) and added an unplanned for $17 trillion to Medicare’s future unfunded liability, plus made the elderly pay more for their drugs, denied government the ability to negotiate favorable drug prices with PHARMA, made importing lower cost Canadian drugs illegal and gave PHARMA & insurance companies $130 billion in new profits.

Oh, yes, and it was made available for review 3 hours’ before voting started, after the lobbyists had spent the night writing sections to their advantage.

OK, Scott – what responsible GOP reform of US health care did the Democrats disrupt over the last 8 years??

Anne/NYC

November 5th, 2009
3:16 pm

The House GOP health care reform bill is a gift to the Democrats. It underscores how useless GOP lawmakers are and reminds America how our proud nation was bankrupted during two terms of profligate GOP governance….irresponsible spending, irresponsible tax cuts for the 4% richest Americans, irresponsible burdens placed on Medicare, irresponsible shipping overseas of US jobs and irresponsible bowing to big business lobbyists and Wall St.

All the GOP is good for is criticizing what the Obama administration does. When they’re forced to come up with GOP version of the Obama policies they so viciously mock, they’re shown up for what they are; incompetent irresponsible obstructionists.

emo

November 5th, 2009
3:17 pm

There is room for some tort reform – giving judges the ability to dismiss frivolous lawsuits (like Orly Taitz’) and protecting against suits over “why didn’t you do this obscure test?” type of thing. But if you were the victim of true malpractice, you would be the first demanding your day in court.
And insurance profits were $24B last year from what I hear.

Joan

November 5th, 2009
3:39 pm

This sounds like the Republicans have gotten it right. Cross state competition will bring down the price of insurance. Stopping the frivolous lawsuits would help too. Doctors pay way too much for malpractice insurance due to these stupid cases with their obscenely high awards. If we want to be so much like Europeans–well, they don’t allow these idiot cases. If you lose a case, you pay. That would slow some people, and their lawyers, down.

hatin' on the stupid

November 5th, 2009
3:54 pm

“They make next to nothing in profitability. Look at the research done on their profits.”

Yet somehow the poor things can afford to spend hundreds of millions lobbying congress.
To Anne/NYC:
Well spoke!! The little details people so easily and quickly forget!

NetBanker

November 5th, 2009
4:02 pm

” If you lose a case, you pay.” I think Joan makes a great point and the loser pays is very good system. This should apply to all types of lawsuits because that would certainly unclog all civil courts of frivolous suits.

What I also wonder about our government (I think BOTH parties are equally corrupt and out for themselves instead of looking out for constituents) is if reform is so necessary then why aren’t they starting with the low hanging fruit like cleaning up fraud which costs us billions per year, change laws to enable government the ability to negotiate favorable drug prices, allow citizens the right import drugs from Canada or Mexico if they want, etc?

Why do so many citizens trust the government with this massive reform bill when their current programs are in the toilet and this new legislation doesn’t even attempt to fix that? If your car is having a problem and a particular mechanic can’t fix that problem yet they charge you for every visit don’t you go find a new mechanic instead of buying a new, more expensive car while keeping the broken one and continuing to go to the bad mechanic? Maybe a more simple adage will make the point “you don’t throw good money after bad.”

Scott

November 5th, 2009
4:24 pm

Huh, I guess the moderator didn’t want my comment posted Anne.
Here is a list of things resolutions proposed by Reps
109th COngress: HR2203, 3075, 4838, S772, S934
110th 3509, 5923, 5955, S685, S1019, S3072
Current Congress:H.R. 77; H.R. 109; H.R. 198; H.R. 270; H.R. 321; H.R. 464; H.R. 502; H.R. 544; H.R. 917; H.R. 1086; H.R. 1118; H.R. 1441; H.R. 1458; H.R. 1468; H.R. 1658; H.R. 1891; H.R. 2520; H.R. 2607; H.R. 2692; H.R. 2784; H.R. 2785; H.R. 2786; H.R. 2787; H.R. 3141; H.R. 3217; H.R. 3218; H.R. 3356; H.R. 3372; H.R. 3400; H.R. 3438; H.R. 3454; and H.R. 3478

I am sure you won’t look at any of them. You wil just resort to listening to Olberman, CNN< and ABC for your data and probably confirming it with everything Pelosi, Reid, and Obama tell you.

Randy

November 5th, 2009
6:38 pm

Very interesting. Healthcare 2009 has become Cheney’s Iraq. “If you don’t agree with me you are un American and hate God”. First, can we trouble Congress to define the number of uninsured. If the number is 40 million- fine- let’s go with it. Second, can we define the 500 billion of savings. If it is there, let’s do it- we don’t need a bill. The savings (which are real operational costs and not bricks and mortar) should go a long way to funding the chronic uninsured. Let’s then go after the over prescribed patient. Clearly we don’t need insurance funding millions of “patients” with Viagra. Go to Pfizer and say good new bad news. Insurance no longer will cover Viagra but we (the gov’t) are going to extend patent protection. We think 50 bucks a bottle should suffice. Second, on a serious note, we have 3x more “depressed” Americans than we had in 1990. Maybe a fallout of the Cheney years. Transperancy- any conversation by a paid governmental work is subject to recording. I, and you as well, should want to hear what our politicians are saying to special interest and corporate America. Life is circular- the far right and the far left have a lot in common.

ck hall

November 5th, 2009
7:14 pm

How about something on why racial profiling is necessary–especially with what happened at Ft Hood Texas?

Commons Sense #23

November 5th, 2009
10:55 pm

“When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living together in society, they create for themselves in the course of time a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that justifies it.”

Frederic Bastiat

Commons Sense #23

November 5th, 2009
10:56 pm

To ck hall:

Sir, you are being to rational. That doesn’t work on this website. They would rather people die than hurt someone’s feelings.

Spartann

November 5th, 2009
11:57 pm

Ms. Tucker … you have NO business reporting or commenting on a damn thing… I bet you couldn’t paint a straight line down the middle of a pot hole free highway.

I’m gonna speak a lil truth to power right now…. Some thing the Leftist wench and her pals on Capitol Hill are afraid of ya’ll finding out.

Ezra Klein argues that this shows the superiority of the Democratic plan, which covers more people (about 30 million) and “saves $36 billion more than the Republican plan.”  However, that Democratic plan doesn’t include the costs of the “doctor fix”, which apply to the Democratic bill because they use Medicare and Medicaid to expand coverage — which is why the Democratic plan will not save any money at all.  But let’s say for a moment that we accept that number.  Why would we spend an additional $1 trillion to “save” another $36 billion?  That would be a waste of 97% of the expenditure.

It’s a shell game the Democrats are playing….. Earlier today, Rep. John Yarmuth(D-KY) said, “We all know that, We all know taxes and premiums will go up…. We all know family of four’s taxes will go up…. No body has ever said we’re gonna bring the costs down … “No body EVER believes we can actually bring costs down …and the truth is we can’t .”

The Democratic plan “saves” money by playing around with pricing (and ignoring their parallel compensation boost), not through actual savings, and even those savings expire in the second decade.

“Dems dont lower any costs…GOP lowers costs by 10%…GOP plan allows competive prices to be forced on Insurance Companies and allows Americans to CHOSE. GOP plan is the bill the president should sign , not the Democrat’s plan.” ….. Doug Holtz-Eakin/ Fmr.CBO Director 1:27PM EST 11/5/09 ..

Sunshine and Thunder

November 6th, 2009
2:45 am

Cyndi. You haven’t explained how the dims have repeatedly claimed that the GOP hasn’t offered up an alternative. They have had something on the table since May, I believe. The dims lie. So why not let them take over medical care for all Americans? A few more lies and we’ll all be throwing up. Cyndi, did you know that Medicare refuses medical treatment coverage much more often than private insurers?

EVIL REPUBLICANS TIME IS UP

November 6th, 2009
4:20 am

CYNTHIA U KNOW THESE DUMB REDNECK POOR REPUBLICANS INSIST ON THINKING THAT AS LONG AS THE POOR BLACKS DONT GET ANYTHING,THEY DONT CARE THAT POOR REDNECKS OUT NUMBER THE POOR BLACKS AND HISPANICS,THEY BELIEVE IN KILLING HUMANS BOMBING THEM,BOMBING BABIES AND THE ELDERLY,BUT THEY SAY NO TO ABORTION.

P.S. REMEMBER THE REPUBLICANS PUT AMERICA IN THIS HELL HOLE,FROM 2000-2006,THE DEMOCRAPS DIDNT HAVE ANY POWER,SO REMEMBER IT WAS SAXBY,JOHNNY,PERDONT,BUSH,PHIL GREEDY,AND THE REST OF THE GEORGIA REPUBLICANS THAT PUT THIS COUNTRY IN POOR SHAPE

Scott

November 6th, 2009
10:51 am

Evil republican time is up, That was some very astute observations. Thanks for your input. Gee I cannot understand how the current inept Admin and Congress became elected. Perhaps you can provide us with some more brilliant thoughts so that it can become clearer.

Dr. Alan Phillips

November 7th, 2009
8:23 am

Today’s Drudge Report boldly states that the Pelosi healthcare reform plan could penalize non buyers of her bill’s health care policy for up to five years in prison. The media has a responsibility to research and either confirm or deny these provisions.

Should the Drudge article’s assertion be correct, not only should the bill be defeated, impeachment proceedings of Speaker Pelosi should be considered immediately. If Drudge’s assertion and the documentation of the charge is factual it would indicate that there is something radically wrong with a Speaker that would propose, consider, advocate, in this House bill, the jailing of grandmothers, mothers, grandfathers, fathers, veterans, special needs individuals, young couples, single adults, regardless of marital, or economic status.

This proposal if true would be cause apriori to proceed with a full and complete investigation of any and all who have proposed this devastating idea. The press and the public needs to thoroughly and analytically informed on this, and if true Speaker Pelosi must either resign or be impeached.

This is still America with individuals freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness cannot be denied by mandate. This assertion must be investigated by all in the Congress and the media. If the article is not true the nation needs to know that fact. If it is true then the authors of this horrible provision must be held accountable and removed (if elected officials) from office, and the bill defeated.

From Committee on Ways and Means Republicans Ranking Member Dave Camp, from JCT letter, Joint Committee on Taxation. Press Release Nov 06, 2009, “If the government determines that the taxpayer’s unpaid tax liability results from wilful behavoir, the following penalties could apply…”(Page2) As Cited in Today’s Drudge Report,

Criminal penalties

Prosecution is authorized under the Code for a variety of offenses. Depending on the level of the noncompliance, the following penalties could apply to an individual:

• Section 7203 – misdemeanor willful failure to pay is punishable by a fine of up to $25,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year.

• Section 7201 – felony willful evasion is punishable by a fine of up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment of up to five years.” [page 3]

.— Dr. Phillips

Tumbleweed

November 9th, 2009
4:44 pm

And the most telling fact of all: Congress WILL NOT vote to have the same insurance plan as the rest of us. San Fran Nan, she’s just better than all of us! Would love to see weasels rip her flesh.

Josue

March 10th, 2010
8:15 pm

Great stuff. blogs.ajc.comis my favorite site.