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WASHINGTON, D.C. - With Alabama’s unemployment rate over 10 percent, most folks are deeply concerned about the issue of jobs.
We’re all looking for our economy to rebound. We’re also looking for any signs of growth in the job market. Any legislation that comes out of Washington these days must be viewed through the lens of our economy.
That’s why the upcoming vote on Speaker Pelosi’s health care reform bill concerns me and so many others across the country and back in East Alabama.
This bill could seriously hurt our jobs through mandates and tax increases. It’s another step toward bigger government – all 1,990 pages of it, and I oppose it.
As I’ve said all along, I agree with the authors of this bill that our country needs some sort of health care reform. We’ve got to lower the cost, improve the quality of care, and help increase access to health insurance for more people.
But not this kind of massive reform. Speaker Pelosi’s $1 trillion health care bill, H.R. 3962, offers a government-run plan also known as a “public option” that is supposed to compete with private insurance companies.
The problem with this is, besides further expanding the Federal government’s role, it actually incentivizes companies to drop their private insurance and force their employees into the “public option.”
Over time, it can only cause unfair competition with the private sector, and ultimately threatens to force all Americans into the government-run plan.
House Democrats have decided the bill will be funded mostly by cutting Medicare
by almost $500 billion and raising taxes on some small business. During these tough economic times, that’s tough medicine for our employers to swallow.
I’m concerned the tax increases and insurance mandates will dampen too many employers’ ability to hire and expand.
To get a bipartisan solution, I believe the “public option” should be taken off the table. Congress should allow Association Health Plans (AHPs) so that your church or business association, for example, could pool its members and help spread the risks and lower costs. Or how about having the option to purchase insurance across state lines to drive down costs through competition?
Tort reform should also be addressed in true health care reform. Doctors sometimes are forced to practice defensive medicine and perform additional tests on patients to avoid law suits. These practices should cease when unnecessary, which would help make insurance more affordable.
But that’s not the bill presented in the House. Speaker Pelosi’s health care bill cuts Medicare, and if passed, could result in a massive expansion of the Federal government when we can least afford it.
Most of all, I am concerned it further threatens too many jobs. Congress can do better, and folks across East Alabama deserve better.
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