Wicker Opposes Back Door Socialized Medicine Plan

Press Release

WICKER OPPOSES BACK-DOOR SOCIALIZED MEDICINE PLAN

Under the guise of providing more health care to needy children, the Democratic leadership rammed legislation through the House of Representatives in early August that would dramatically expand the government's health care reach, tax every private insurance policy in America, and threaten the solvency of Medicare.

An even more ominous concern is the groundwork laid in the bill for moving to a socialized medicine plan for all Americans.

The State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) was created in 1997 to extend health coverage to needy families who earned too much money to qualify for Medicaid. It is a good state-federal partnership with states having the flexibility to set eligibility limits and operate their programs.

BIPARTISAN SUPPORT FOR ORIGINAL SCHIP

I strongly support the concept of reauthorizing and expanding SCHIP. There was bipartisan support for this effort, but by providing coverage to families with incomes over $125,000, the Democrat majority went far beyond reasonable limits. Instead of strengthening a worthy program, the bill takes us down the path toward government-run medical care for virtually all Americans under the age of 25. A Washington Examiner editorial rapped Democrats for this back-door attempt to nationalize health care. "Democrats should fess up that their real goal is to socialize American medicine," the newspaper wrote.

To finance this massive expansion, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that the bill would cut Medicare by $193 billion. The plan would include higher co-pays and force three million senior citizens out of the Medicare Advantage program. Long-term care, home health, and Medicare Part B oxygen payments would also have to be cut. In addition, a tax would be imposed on all private health care insurance policies.

U.S. DOESN'T NEED SOCIALIZED MEDICINE

The report card is not a good one from countries such as Canada, France, and Great Britain where the government is in charge of health care. A doctor who practiced 20 years in the British system recently wrote a stinging indictment in the National Review. He said there is widespread public dissatisfaction and estimated 50 percent of physicians have been threatened or assaulted by angry patients. More and more Britons are seeking treatment abroad rather than endure long waiting times. Health care costs have increased 300 percent over the past 10 years.

On the other hand, the U.S. has the most innovative medical system in the world, and our health professionals are renowned for research that has produced countless medical breakthroughs. Inserting more government bureaucracy into our system would diminish the quality of care and stall the advances our current free-market system encourages.

"HILLARY CARE" FAILED

With much fanfare, First Lady Hillary Clinton led an attempt to nationalize our health care system during her husband's first year in office. Once the American people began to understand her proposal, they soundly rejected it. Today's proponents of nationalized health care are hoping to fly under the radar, selling this plan as a way to help needy children when in fact it goes much further.

Congress' ultimate goal should be a program to make individual health insurance policies available to everyone. Until then a reasonable and affordable reauthorization of SCHIP should be passed and sent to the President.

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