House Democrats Unveil Landmark Health Care Legislation

Published: July 14, 2009
Truthout
From the San Franscisco Chronicle
By Carolyn Lochhead

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, (D-Calif.), left,
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, (D-Md.), right,
Rep. George Miller, (D-Calif.), back right, join
other Democratic leaders to announce health
care legislation on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, July 14. (Photo: Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP)

Washington - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and top Democrats opened an all-fronts charge today to pass a $1.5 trillion, 10-year health care overhaul by August, unveiling legislation that would tax the wealthy to pay for universal coverage, create a public insurance plan and require individuals to carry insurance and businesses to offer it.

The bill would also begin wide-ranging experiments to change the way doctors and hospitals are paid in an effort to slow decades of relentless cost increases.

The legislation arrived after a strong shove from President Obama at a White House meeting Monday, when he ordered Democratic House and Senate leaders to begin moving bills that have languished for months as opponents have gathered force and polls show public skepticism on the rise.

Pelosi, D-Calif., and three key committee chairmen she has dubbed "three tenors" - Democratic California Reps. George Miller and Henry Waxman, and Rep Charles Rangel, D-N.Y. - vowed to make history by achieving universal coverage, a dream of Democrats since President Harry Truman.

"Inaction is not an option," Pelosi said. The Democrats described a crisis among individuals, businesses and governments at all levels facing cost increases that are driving all them toward financial ruin.

"You will never again be one treatment away from bankruptcy," Miller promised.

The bill would levy a surtax starting at 1 percent on individuals earning more than $280,000, rising to 5.4 percent for those earning $1 million a year. Businesses would have to pay a tax of 8 percent of their payroll if they do not offer coverage, with an exemption for businesses with payrolls less than $250,000.

Business groups immediately slammed the idea, saying it would impose an enormous tax on small businesses and kill jobs.

"If there's one sure way to kill the goose that lays the golden egg, this is it," said U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tom Donohue.

Obama and Democrats see health care reform as central to their election victory last year and are determined to succeed for fear they will not have another chance.

But conservative "Blue Dog" Democrats threatened a revolt over mandates on small businesses. The House, Senate and administration are at odds over which taxes to raise. Two Senate committees are clashing with each other and the House.

In an effort to hold Democrats together, Pelosi has begun sounding like a Blue Dog herself, emphasizing "savings, savings, savings" and "squeezing" excess costs out of the system. "We are committed to fiscal soundness," she said. "Lowering costs is essential to this."

Rep. Pete Stark, D-Fremont, chair of the Ways and Means health panel and one of the House negotiators, predicted a close vote when the bill comes to the floor, with all but unanimous Republican opposition.

Waxman was reluctant to describe the cost estimates expected from the Congressional Budget Office, which will not count as savings many of the changes Democrats believe will slow cost growth, such as increases in preventive care.

Health care is a giant, complex industry, representing more than one-sixth of the U.S. economy, an estimated $2.5 trillion or $8,160 per resident. Changing that system, however unpopular or dysfunctional in its individual parts, is an immense political and technical challenge.

While the health reform clashes starting to look reminiscent of the failed effort by former President Clinton, Pelosi has vowed not to let that happen. Rangel's Ways and Means Committee and Millers Education an Labor Committee scheduled action on the legislation this week.

Rep. Mike Thompson, a member of the Ways and Means Committee, did not join the Blue Dog revolt last week, saying he favors a government-provided insurance option. He said his constituents are nearly split among three positions:

"About a third of the folks I hear from want single-payer," or one government-provided system, Thompson said. "About a third of the people I hear from say that health care reform of any type is socialism, and the third group wants an improvement in health care, and they want access to quality health care, they don't' want to continue to pay the prices they've been paying."

But nobody wants to pay for fixing the system, he said.

"I suspect everybody has concerns about having to pay more, or how it's going to be paid for," Thompson said. "The truth is, without fixing health care they're going to be paying more, and that's the problem."

House Health Care Bill Taxes Millionaires

Tuesday 14 July 2009

by: Stephanie Condon | CBS News

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other leaders from the House of Representatives on Tuesday unveiled the House version of health care reform legislation.

The measure, among other things, would impose a new income tax on the wealthiest Americans and mandate all Americans get health insurance. Pelosi and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), who is responsible for health care reform in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, stood under a banner today that read "Quality affordable health care for the middle class," while promising the bill would pass before Congress breaks for its August recess, the Associated Press reported.

The House Ways and Means Committee, one of three committees that will review the bill, is expected to vote on it as early as this week. The swift movement on the legislation, however, does not mean the debate over reform is over. The House bill embraces some of the most controversial reform proposals on the table.

The legislation comes at a price of $1 trillion over 10 years, the New York Times reported, which legislators aim to pay for in part by raising taxes by 5.4 percent on taxpayers making more than $1 million a year. The plan would also seek out revenues from anticipated cuts in Medicare and Medicaid spending.

The bill would create a government-run health insurance option, or "public plan," a key part of reform for most liberals. It would also prohibit insurers from raising rates or denying coverage to people because of pre-existing conditions.

It also includes a mandate for both individuals and businesses. If individuals do not acquire health insurance, they would face a penalty of 2.5 percent of their income, the AP reported, though the penalty would not exceed the average cost of health insurance. Meanwhile, employers would have to offer workers insurance or pay a fee of 8 percent of a worker's wages. Small businesses would be exempt.

The bill comes one day after President Obama met with Democratic leaders in charge of the reform efforts to urge them to pass legislation in both the House and the Senate before the August recess. Leaders at the meeting discussed the House income tax proposal - which the Senate is unlikely to consider, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said, according to the New York Times.

Mr. Obama in a statement today praised the House for its "unprecedented cooperation to produce a health care reform proposal that will lower costs, provide better care for patients and ensure fair treatment of consumers by the insurance industry."

"I look forward to continuing to work with all House members in ensuring this legislation helps all Americans and plays an essential role in reducing deficits and bringing fiscal sustainability to our nation," Mr. Obama said.