VB Dems

(Note: I moved this post back to the top of the page because the crucial House vote is likely to happen by the end of this week.)

More than a year ago, Rep. Glenn Nye established his “Principles for Health Care Reform.”

In violation of his own principles, Rep. Nye voted against the House bill.

Soon he will have another chance to stand up for his principles.  Democrats are urging him to vote in favor of a bill that already passed the Senate by a 60% supermajority, along with a budget reconciliation bill to amend it.

UPDATE: An unofficial whip counts lists Rep. Nye as “leaning no.”

 The Senate bill already meets or exceeds all 7 of Rep. Nye’s principles:

“PRESERVE CHOICE: If you like your doctor and your health insurance, you keep them – no questions asked.  I authored a Congressional Resolution guaranteeing the right of Americans to choose their own doctors, and I will only support a reform plan that protects your choice of doctor, health insurance and treatment.”

The Senate bill keeps in place the current employer-provided private insurance market and does not affect the individual’s choice of doctor or treatment in any way.  For people in the individual insurance market, it will expand their choice of health insurance by increasing market competition in American Health Benefit Exchanges.

“EASE THE BURDEN ON SMALL BUSINESSES: We need to ease the burden on small businesses by stopping the spiraling increase in costs.  Rising health care costs are crippling small businesses and holding back our economic recovery, and we must ensure that health care reform helps small businesses and allows them to create jobs.”

Small businesses (less than 50 employees) are exempt from the employer mandate.  Small businesses (less than 25 employees) will be provided a tax credit to allow them to afford providing health insurance to their employees. Small businesses would be able to choose health insurance from competitive Small Business Health Options Program Exchanges.

“FISCAL DISCIPLINE: Health care reform must be paid for, and we must not pass the bill to future generations. After years of reckless deficit spending, it would be irresponsible to enact health care reform without paying for it. We have to control the cost of health care in order to return to fiscal sustainability.”

The CBO estimates the Senate bill will actually reduce the deficit by $132 billion over the first 10 years and by $650 billion over the next 10 years (The final budget reconciliation version hasn’t been scored by the CBO yet, but the reconciliation rules require even more deficit reduction.)

“ACCESS AND AFFORDABILITY: All Americans should have access to quality, affordable health care – regardless of preexisting conditions. If you lose your job, change jobs, or decide to start your own business, you shouldn’t have to worry about losing your health care coverage. We also need to stop bureaucrats from telling doctors what treatments are allowed or what illnesses can be covered. Medical decisions should be made by patients and doctors, and no one else.”

The Senate bill will expand access to 31 million Americans who are currently uninsured (12.4% of the 2nd district).  It will end discrimination by eliminating exclusions for preexisting conditions and lifetime maximum benefits.  Insurance company bureaucrats will be prohibited from denying coverage because of a person’s medical condition, charging higher premiums because of a person’s sex or health status, or rescinding coverage when a person became sick or disabled.

“HEALTH CARE; NOT SICK CARE: Preventive medicine saves lives and reduces costs.  Health care reform should ensure that Americans have access to preventive screening and care before they get sick.  We must reduce costs by cracking down on waste, fraud and abuse, and by reforming the system to promote better outcomes instead of simply more procedures.”

The Senate bill mandates 100% coverage of preventive care.  It provides enhanced enforcement of fraud and abuse.  It supports comparative effectiveness research and establishes a national quality improvement strategy.

“PROTECT VETERANS’ BENEFITS: We must not fund health care reform on the backs of our veterans and their families. The health benefits earned by our veterans and servicemembers are an absolute guarantee. I will oppose any plan that reduces these benefits – or that increases costs for our military personnel or veterans – in order to pay for health care reform.”

The Senate bill does not affect veteran’s benefits.

“SUPPORT SENIORS AND MEDICARE: Medicare, and the senior citizens who depend upon it, must be protected.  Health care reform should not come at the expense of cuts to Medicare benefits or reimbursements.”

The Senate bill cuts Medicare costs, not benefits received by senior citizens.  For example, it cuts out middleman insurance companies who are currently skimming 14% from Medicare Advantage plans.  The Senate bill actually enhances benefits by providing 100% coverage of preventive care and by shrinking the Medicare Part D “donut hole” for prescription drugs.  (President Obama’s proposed revision will eliminate the “donut hole”completely.)  It extends the solvency of Medicare by a decade.  Health reform is enthusiastically supported by the AARP. 

Health reform offers many other specific benefits for Virginia.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 17th, 2010 at 10:00 am and is filed under Misc. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.