Top 5 Reasons Why I Oppose the Pelosi Health Care Bill

Statement

Dear Neighbor,

Today, the House of Representatives remains in session and we are preparing to take up the Pelosi Health Reform bill, a trillion dollar entitlement expansion funded by taxes on individuals, jobs and small business and Medicare cuts. I will continue to oppose this job killing legislation.

As you may know, the phone lines have been jammed with hundreds of thousands of calls coming to the Hill. Members of the Tea Party, and hundreds of other organizations and groups opposed to the passage of this health care bill are rallying to oppose this bill. I have received over 10,000 contacts from my constituents on this issue. Almost 5 to 1 are against Nancy Pelosi's health reform bill. Democratic House Members, especially conservative Democrats, are feeling the pressure to oppose the legislation, which will radically alter 20% of our economy.

In addition to others, my top five reasons why I oppose this legislation are:

1. Half a trillion dollars in new job killing taxes--
* The reconciliation bill nearly triples the penalty--from $750 to $2,000--on businesses that cannot afford to provide their workers with health coverage, and applies these taxes to part-time as well as full-time workers. As if these higher taxes were not enough of a disincentive to prevent firms from hiring workers, the reconciliation bill also includes an unprecedented extension of the Medicare tax to all non-wage income. Tax increases will raise the top marginal rate on small business owners by 20%, and the top tax rate on investment income by 60% (Capital Gains will go from 15% to 23.8%) -- discouraging the investment activity needed to grow the economy and create new jobs.
2. Trillions of dollars in new taxes on families--
* The bill counts on $17 billion in new taxes on individuals who choose not to participate in government approved plans. In addition, the bill includes a new 2.3% tax on items like contact lenses, tongue depressors, bandages and examination gloves and $14.3 billion in taxes on insurance premiums. All of these taxes will be passed onto consumers, violating President Obama's campaign pledge to not raise taxes on working Americans.
3. Budgetary gimmicks to hide deficit spending--
* Democrats achieved their "deficit-neutral" score in part by excluding the cost of preventing a 21% cut to Medicare physician services, the so called "Doc Fix." Though this has been an integral part of health reform since the beginning, Speaker Pelosi has chosen to pass this bill as a stand alone measure sometime in the future. The Fix would cost well over $200 billion in deficit spending over ten years. Though I support a reform to Medicare physician payments, I believe it must be done responsibly and must be fully offset. If included in the cost of the health care overhaul bill, this spending would wipe out all the deficit reduction, leaving the legislation $59 billion in the red!
4. Threatens access to the health care system--
* Last December, the Obama Administration's own Medicare Actuaries predicted that, "…providers might end their participation in the program…" thanks in large part to lowered reimbursement rates. Further cuts in payments will drive an already diminishing number of doctors who accept Medicare patients to stop accepting Medicare at their practice. In addition, over 7 million individuals who will be newly insured under Medicaid provisions in this bill, will be faced with long waits if they are lucky enough to find a doctor who will accept Medicare and treat them.
5. Making matters worse, not better--
* The bill threatens to take away many things that work within our current health care system. The CBO confirms that the $202 billion in cuts to Medicare Advantage will result in 4.8 million fewer seniors enrolled in the plan by 2019. For those who like their Health Savings Account or Flexible Savings Account, the bill takes $5 billion from them by drastically restricting what can now be purchased using funds in these accounts. The bill contains $60 billion in taxes on insurance companies, which will be passed onto consumers, $32 billion in taxes those with "Cadillac Plans." The new taxes and mandates in the Democrat bill have led the CBO to estimate the Pelosi Health Reform Plan would increase premiums by an average of $2,300 for those who purchase insurance in the individual insurance market.

Sincerely,

KEN CALVERT

Member of Congress

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