Mitch McConnell: The Trouble With Health Reform.
The trouble with health reform
By Mitch McConnell • Special to The Courier-Journal • October 6, 2009
The liberals in Congress who want to impose a government takeover of health care have been very busy. In order to take over one-sixth of America's economy, they've concocted a plan that will cost a trillion dollars, cut a half-trillion dollars from Medicare, and raise hundreds of billions of dollars in new taxes. Even worse, it will mean higher costs and lower quality care for many Kentuckians.
The bill will likely number 1,000 pages — the equivalent of the first three Harry Potter books, combined. Yet the authors of this bill rejected a common-sense suggestion by Sen. Jim Bunning that would have given the American people at least 72 hours to read it before a final vote.
Around the same time, one senator directed the federal government to place a gag order on Humana Inc., a health-care company based right here in Louisville, and on insurance providers across America, to stop them from simply communicating with seniors about the impact this legislation could have on their health care.
The federal government unleashed this outrageous, unjustified attack on one of Louisville's largest employers simply because one senator didn't like what they had to say — even though their claims were backed up by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
As Kentuckians witness these attempts to shroud a government takeover of health care in secrecy, one simple question comes to mind: What are they hiding?
Let me pull back the curtain and show you. The liberals' plan for more government intrusion into health care will mean fewer choices, and it will be paid for with $350 billion in new taxes and $500 billion in Medicare cuts.
If you already have health insurance, this plan will tax you in the form of a new tax on insurance companies, which of course would be passed on to consumers.
And if you don't have health insurance, this plan will tax you for that, too.
If you are one of the tens of millions of Americans who take prescription drugs, this plan taxes you.
If you're an employer who can't afford to provide health insurance to your employees, this plan will tax you — at a time when American businesses need help, not punishment, from the government to pull us out of this recession.
Then there are the hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicare cuts. This plan will slash nearly $140 billion from Medicare Advantage, a program that gives 11 million seniors more choices and options when it comes to their health care, including 92,000 seniors here in Kentucky.
The plan will cut nearly $120 billion in Medicare funds that go toward hospitals for seniors. The Kentucky Hospital Association has warned that such cuts could adversely affect care for seniors in the Bluegrass State, and Kentucky hospitals believe that cuts like these could cost them about $2 billion.
I've heard from thousands of home health workers and patients who are concerned about the impacts these Medicare cuts could have on their quality of health care. And thousands of Kentuckians have expressed their concerns about what these tax hikes could do to their family finances.
They're right to be concerned. Health care is too important for Congress to rush through in secret. We need to take our time and get it right.
Mitch McConnell is the U.S. Senate minority leader. His home is in Louisville.
Editor's comment: The REAL trouble with healthcare reform is that it is way too late, and should have taken place already!
By Mitch McConnell • Special to The Courier-Journal • October 6, 2009
The liberals in Congress who want to impose a government takeover of health care have been very busy. In order to take over one-sixth of America's economy, they've concocted a plan that will cost a trillion dollars, cut a half-trillion dollars from Medicare, and raise hundreds of billions of dollars in new taxes. Even worse, it will mean higher costs and lower quality care for many Kentuckians.
The bill will likely number 1,000 pages — the equivalent of the first three Harry Potter books, combined. Yet the authors of this bill rejected a common-sense suggestion by Sen. Jim Bunning that would have given the American people at least 72 hours to read it before a final vote.
Around the same time, one senator directed the federal government to place a gag order on Humana Inc., a health-care company based right here in Louisville, and on insurance providers across America, to stop them from simply communicating with seniors about the impact this legislation could have on their health care.
The federal government unleashed this outrageous, unjustified attack on one of Louisville's largest employers simply because one senator didn't like what they had to say — even though their claims were backed up by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
As Kentuckians witness these attempts to shroud a government takeover of health care in secrecy, one simple question comes to mind: What are they hiding?
Let me pull back the curtain and show you. The liberals' plan for more government intrusion into health care will mean fewer choices, and it will be paid for with $350 billion in new taxes and $500 billion in Medicare cuts.
If you already have health insurance, this plan will tax you in the form of a new tax on insurance companies, which of course would be passed on to consumers.
And if you don't have health insurance, this plan will tax you for that, too.
If you are one of the tens of millions of Americans who take prescription drugs, this plan taxes you.
If you're an employer who can't afford to provide health insurance to your employees, this plan will tax you — at a time when American businesses need help, not punishment, from the government to pull us out of this recession.
Then there are the hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicare cuts. This plan will slash nearly $140 billion from Medicare Advantage, a program that gives 11 million seniors more choices and options when it comes to their health care, including 92,000 seniors here in Kentucky.
The plan will cut nearly $120 billion in Medicare funds that go toward hospitals for seniors. The Kentucky Hospital Association has warned that such cuts could adversely affect care for seniors in the Bluegrass State, and Kentucky hospitals believe that cuts like these could cost them about $2 billion.
I've heard from thousands of home health workers and patients who are concerned about the impacts these Medicare cuts could have on their quality of health care. And thousands of Kentuckians have expressed their concerns about what these tax hikes could do to their family finances.
They're right to be concerned. Health care is too important for Congress to rush through in secret. We need to take our time and get it right.
Mitch McConnell is the U.S. Senate minority leader. His home is in Louisville.
Editor's comment: The REAL trouble with healthcare reform is that it is way too late, and should have taken place already!
Labels: Politics, Public health
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