Rep. Pitts sets the record straight on Obamacare

Setting the Record Straight on Healthcare

By Congressman Joe Pitts

In his address last week, President Obama laid out his case for healthcare reform. I firmly believe that we need reform, but I do not support the House Democrats' plan. The President made his case before Congress with passion, but I believe there are some issues that he was not perfectly clear on.

At times President Obama has maintained that Republicans don't have a plan. This is not true. I myself have introduced bipartisan legislation with Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.), chairwoman of the Small Business Committee, to allow small business to band together and purchase insurance at bulk rates.

Also, I'm a cosponsor of H.R. 3400 sponsored by Rep. Tom Price, a physician from Georgia. This is a comprehensive Republican proposal to reform healthcare. All told, Republicans have dozens of bills to reform healthcare that could be included as part of a reform package. Unfortunately, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic leadership has locked out Republicans from the start of this year.

One of the President's central claims is that his bill will have no impact on our burgeoning deficit. He wants a bill that is fully paid for by finding Medicare efficiencies and raising taxes and fees.

Current legislation, however, would have a great impact on the deficit. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that H.R. 3200 would increase the national debt by $239 billion over the next ten years. That debt is incurred despite the legislation calling for $800 billion in new taxes.

The President has repeatedly maintained that nothing in his plan will require you or your employer to change the coverage or doctor you have. In his address he stated that only five percent of Americans would sign up for the "public option."

However, the Urban Institute estimates that 47 million Americans would end up in the plan and the Lewin Group estimates that 114 million could eventually be placed into the government-run insurance plan.

Also, the current legislation would make significant cuts to Medicare Advantage plans in which millions of seniors are currently enrolled. The President supports these cuts even though they would mean substantial changes to many seniors.

There has been lots of controversy over whether new healthcare benefits would be open to illegal immigrants. While the President maintains that it would not, the current legislation does not include provisions for verifying citizenship.

Republicans supported amendments that would require identification in order to receive benefits, but they were rejected. Without verification there is no way to be sure whether a person applying for benefits is here legally. We check ID to purchase cigarettes or alcohol; it only makes sense to check when an individual is applying for thousands of dollars in health benefits and subsidies.

During his speech, the President asserted that no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions. When the Energy and Commerce Committee considered H.R. 3200, I worked together with my Democratic colleague, Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI), to offer amendments that would have continued the current policy of prohibiting federal dollars from funding abortion or plans that include abortion.

Committee Chairman Waxman worked to defeat these amendments and the current bill contains only accounting gimmicks that do nothing to prevent government-funded abortion. In regard to the current bill, Rep. Stupak maintains, "You're funding the public option; it will be part of the public option; and the Treasury will write checks to plans for abortion."

Finally, the President claims that his plan would cost around $900 billion over ten years. Currently however, the House plan would cost $1.6 trillion over this time period. The Senate is working on a plan with the goal of costing under $1 trillion but the exact details are still being worked out.

Despite 28 speeches on healthcare, there remains much that is unclear about the President’s plan. The President said that he has an open door and is willing to consider solutions from both sides of the aisle, but he hasn’t met with House Republican leaders since April. We need healthcare reform, so I hope he remains true to his word and works to achieve a truly bipartisan bill.

Rep. Joe Pitts represents Pennsylvania's 16th Congressional District, which includes parts of Berks, Chester and Lancaster counties.