Issue Position: Health Care Reform
Issue Position
Several months ago President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 (a companion package of "fixes"). Taken together, the two laws do more to change our country's health care system than any other law in the past 50 years. One of the most important factors in the overall picture of our health care system is the high cost of care. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 did nothing to reduce costs for our medical care.
Totally ignored by the lawmakers is Tort Reform. There can be no principled healthcare reform without realistic TORT REFORM.
There are some avenues available that could be used to halt this legislative health care debacle. The federal government does not have the powers to mandate the purchase of medical insurance by individuals. Georgia has joined other states to challenge the unconstitutionality of the law. Incidentally, Georgia joined this multi state lawsuit without the help of our Democratic State Attorney General and may take years to work its way through the court system. Another method to halt the progress of the law is through the repeal process. Again, that will take time as well as a major realignment of the House of Representatives and the Senate. We, the Conservative Republicans, must take back both houses of congress in the Fall. An additional alternative to impede the progress of the healthcare reform will be to stop the funding. It is the responsibility of every fiscal conservative member of congress to block funding for the law. Without funding all of the numerous new regulations, departments and agencies can not function.
The trigger date for implementation of the law begins September 23, 2010. Many provisions of the new health reform law impact the consumers now, while others take effect over the course of the next 8 years.
The length and complexity of President Obama's health care reform bill, combined with a debate that often generated more controversy than clarification, has led to massive confusion about the law's impact. However, we are now able to analyze what is and what is not in it. We can also identify when some of the things will begin to effect us.
Ramifications of the Health Care Reform Bill:
1. While the new law will increase the number of Americans with insurance coverage, it falls significantly short of universal coverage; by 2019, roughly 21 million Americans will still be without insurance.
2. This healthcare legislation will cost far more than advertised, more than $2.7 trillion over 10 years and will add $352 billion to the national debt over that period.
3. Most Georgians along with most American workers and businesses will see little or no change in their skyrocketing insurance costs, while millions of others will actually see their premiums go up faster as a result of this legislation.
Additional consequences include:
1. The new law will increase taxes by more than $669 billion between now and 2019, and the burdens it places on business will significantly reduce economic growth and employment.
2. The law contains indirect provisions for rationing care, it sets the stage for government rationing and interference with how doctors practice medicine.
3. The millions of Americans who are happy with their current health insurance will not be able to keep it.
In short, the more we learn about what is in this new law, the more it looks like bad news for American taxpayers, businesses, health care providers and patients. Please contact me with any questions this information may generate.
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