During the past year, members of Congress and the American people have continued to learn the details hidden in the Majority’s massive new health care plan. As a physician, I am convinced that this reform is bad medicine for the American people. Early in this debate, in response to the insistence by many in the majority that health reform contain a government-run “public option,“ I offered a resolution, H. Res. 615, that offered members of Congress an opportunity to put their money where their mouth is, and urge their colleagues who vote for legislation creating a government-run health care plan to lead by example and enroll themselves in the same public plan.
Under the original version of the Democrat health care legislation, members of Congress were curiously exempt from the government-run health care option, keeping their existing health plans and services on Capitol Hill. Because of the millions of Americans who made their voices heard, Congress was forced to abandon the so-called “public option” in their push to overhaul our nation’s health care system. Millions called and wrote their Members of Congress demanding that Congress enroll themselves in the same health coverage they were forcing on the American people.
The result?
The health bill signed into law by the President forces Members of Congress to abandon their federal health benefits and enroll in the newly created exchange. I would like to extend my appreciation to the many Americans like you, who joined me to make their voices heard on this important issue.
We won the first round, but we have not won the war. A memo recently issued by the non-partisan Congressional Research Service identified "drafting errors" in this section of the bill. We must be on guard for Congressional efforts to "fix" this portion of the health care bill by exempting Congress from the health coverage many Americans will now be required to buy. Congress must stop giving itself special treatment under the law.
To see a list of Representatives who currently support H. Res 615, please click here.
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