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November 7, 2009 Contact: Robert Reilly
Deputy Chief of Staff
Office: (717) 600-1919
 
  For Immediate Release    

Statement of Congressman Todd Russell Platts in Opposition to H.R. 3962

 

 

 

The House of Representatives passed Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s health care bill (H.R. 3962) by a vote of 220 - 215 on November 7, 2009.  I voted against this legislation for numerous substantive reasons, including my concerns about its trillion dollars plus cost to taxpayers, its mandates on individuals and employers, its deep cuts to Medicare, and the strong likelihood that H.R. 3962’s provisions will cost millions of Americans their jobs.  H.R. 3962 is a health care bill that fails to abide by the physician’s guiding principle:  “First, do no harm.” 

H.R. 3962 consists of approximately 2,000 pages and costs more than $1 trillion over ten years.  As adopted, this legislation will destroy millions of jobs by raising taxes on small businesses and other employers.  H.R. 3962 also imposes new taxes on certain employer-provided health benefits and on medical devices such as wheelchairs and walkers.  In total, H.R. 3962 includes more than $700 billion in new taxes. 

Unbelievably, in the name of health care reform, H.R. 3962 cuts Medicare benefits by more than $400 billion and raises Medicare premiums, making access to comprehensive health care more difficult for our Nation’s senior citizens.  Additionally, over time, H.R. 3962 will move countless Americans involuntarily from private health insurance to government-run health care.

I have long maintained that there is no “silver bullet” for health care reform.  We should aim to build upon the current health care system in a variety of ways, making health insurance more affordable and more accessible.  In other words, Congress should fix what is broken in our nation’s health care system and be certain not to break what is not.

Congress should adopt insurance reforms to end the practice of denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions and ensure the portability of one’s health insurance.  Additionally, Congress should allow small businesses to band together to negotiate insurance coverage for their employees, just as large corporations and labor unions are already allowed to do.  Congress should also allow individuals to purchase health insurance across state lines from a competitive, nation-wide market and should enact responsible medical malpractice reform to lower health care costs.  On the House floor, I was pleased to join with my fellow Republicans in voting for an alternative legislative proposal that included such reforms.  Unfortunately, our proposal was defeated along partisan lines by a vote of 176 to 258.  

The full Senate has yet to act on a health care bill of its own.  Hopefully, when it does so, the Senate will better adhere to the principle of:  “First, do no harm.”

 

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