Rep. John Kline (R-MN), the top Republican on the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee, today called Democrats’ partisan health care overhaul a huge missed opportunity and repeated his calls for a bipartisan approach to reforming American’s health care system. Kline and his fellow Republicans have pressed for a commonsense plan that will improve health care affordability, accessibility, and availability while ensuring Americans who like their current coverage are able to keep what they have.
“America is facing a crisis in our health care system. Costs are spiraling out of control, leaving families, employers, and taxpayers to shoulder the burden," said Kline.
The Education and Labor Committee held a hearing today - the first full committee hearing on health care in the 111th Congress - on the “Tri-Committee Draft Proposal for Health Care Reform," the 852-page partisan health care plan crafted behind closed doors by the Democratic chairmen of three House committees. Kline noted that the plan was first released last Friday afternoon, and by scheduling the hearing on a day when many Members are returning from their Congressional districts, the majority is denying them the opportunity to examine the bill.
“Speaker Pelosi announced earlier this year that a health care overhaul would be voted on in the House before the August district work period. That doesn’t give us much time for a serious debate," Kline noted. “That’s too bad, Mr. Chairman, because this is a very serious issue. It deserves a real debate. The American people deserve an opportunity to weigh in. But you haven’t allowed that to happen."
Republicans called a number of witnesses for today’s hearing who could shed light on the massive government plan advocated by Democrats, and their testimony raised serious concerns.
Crafted Behind Closed Doors
“This Committee, in cooperation with the two other committees of primary jurisdiction, crafted legislation behind closed doors. This more than 850-page bill was released just four days ago, and although it still contains significant gaps (including missing cost estimates and expected offsets), already we are engaged in hearings, markups possibly scheduled soon, and the bill will be rushed to the floor without proper time for consideration and revision," said Paul S. Speranza, Jr., vice chairman, general counsel, and secretary for Wegmans Food Markets.
Empowering Federal Bureaucrats
“The bill would concentrate enormous regulatory authority over health insurance in the federal government, where the content of health benefit packages, and even the levels of these benefits, would be under the direct authority of the Secretary of HHS and the Advisory Committee," said Dr. Robert E. Moffit, director of the Center for Health Policy Studies at the Heritage Foundation.
Imposing Costly Employer Mandates
“Employer mandates, especially their manifestation in the ‘pay-or-play’ penalties currently under discussion, have the potential to seriously harm employer-sponsored plans. … Employer mandates by definition restrict our ability to devise and operate health care plans that best meet the needs of our employees. Mandates increase costs and limit flexibility. Coupled with punitive regulatory regimes, employer mandates will discourage employers from continuing to provide quality, affordable health care to their employees," said Michael Stapley who testified on behalf of the ERISA Industry Committee.
Jeopardizing the Coverage Americans Receive Through their Job
“The potential for varied state remedies or onerous new federal remedies to erode private employer-sponsored health coverage cannot be overestimated. Employers would face the prospect of either maintaining health benefits for their employees or being subject to unlimited state law remedies or dropping coverage to avoid excessive financial risk. We believe that this provision alone could seriously destabilize employer-based coverage," said James A. Klein, president of the American Benefits Council.
“Today may be our first hearing, but I hope it won’t be our last. The proposal we are debating today is clearly partisan, but I continue to believe that Republicans and Democrats can - and should - come together to develop an American plan that will make health care more affordable, reduce the number of uninsured Americans, and increase quality at a price our country can afford," said Kline.
