GOP Set to Propose Its Own Health Bill
By GREG HITT
WSJ
WASHINGTON -- Republicans are preparing an alternative health-care bill to Democratic legislation, House Republican Leader John Boehner said, marking a shift in strategy as the full House is set to begin debate on the issue this week.
Mr. Boehner said Sunday the Republican bill would extend health-insurance coverage to "millions" of Americans but wouldn't try to match the scope of the House Democratic bill unveiled last week. The Democratic legislation, if passed, is estimated to expand coverage to more than 30 million Americans now without insurance. Its estimated gross cost is $1.055 trillion over 10 years.
"What we do is we try to make the current system work better," Mr. Boehner, of Ohio, said on CNN's "State of the Nation." The GOP plan would likely be less costly to taxpayers and involve less government intrusion into the private sector. Mr. Boehner said the bill would take "a step-by-step approach" to expanding coverage.
It would, among other things, propose new limits on medical malpractice lawsuits and make it easier for individuals and small businesses to pool resources to purchase insurance.
(More here.)
WSJ
WASHINGTON -- Republicans are preparing an alternative health-care bill to Democratic legislation, House Republican Leader John Boehner said, marking a shift in strategy as the full House is set to begin debate on the issue this week.
Mr. Boehner said Sunday the Republican bill would extend health-insurance coverage to "millions" of Americans but wouldn't try to match the scope of the House Democratic bill unveiled last week. The Democratic legislation, if passed, is estimated to expand coverage to more than 30 million Americans now without insurance. Its estimated gross cost is $1.055 trillion over 10 years.
"What we do is we try to make the current system work better," Mr. Boehner, of Ohio, said on CNN's "State of the Nation." The GOP plan would likely be less costly to taxpayers and involve less government intrusion into the private sector. Mr. Boehner said the bill would take "a step-by-step approach" to expanding coverage.
It would, among other things, propose new limits on medical malpractice lawsuits and make it easier for individuals and small businesses to pool resources to purchase insurance.
(More here.)
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1 Comments:
This is great news.
First, it will put them on the record. Reading the story, it would appear that Boehner ‘s "a step-by-step approach" is geared toward new limits on medical malpractice lawsuits and making it easier for individuals and small businesses to pool resources to purchase insurance. Those will have minimal impacts.
Second, the one thing that they talk about is the need to address pre-existing conditions, yet if Boehner proposal is based on states "innovative" solutions that create special "high-risk pools" to provide insurance to individuals that will leave many people without coverage.
IMO, the Republicans will have a great talking point if a bill is passed that includes pre-existing condiations. Currently, insurance companies keep rates down by dening coverage for pre-existing conditions. Once that is removed, rates have to go up … the Dems will be blamed, but nobody is asking the GOP how much rates will rise under their proposal and how much they agree that premiums will increase with pre-existing conditions being covered.
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