GOP Lawmaker Admits Congress Will Pass Democratic Health Care Bill

A Democratic-endorsed health care bill will pass both the House of Representatives and the Senate this month, one of the White House's main Republican critics in Congress acknowledged on Thursday morning.

In an appearance on MSNBC lamenting the type of health care legislation currently being pushed by Democrats in the House, Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) made an admission that seems to go against the current conventional wisdom.

"We'll get [a health care bill] through the House and Senate this month," he said, defying the usual predictions heard from leading Republicans or skeptical Democrats. Hoekstra would add that it is unlikely that legislators would be able to have a bill on the president's desk before the August recess. But the White House's own timetable doesn't call for that.

"We've known for years that we were going to reach this fork in the road where we were either going to reform health care, we were going to provide more options to individuals, more affordable options for individuals to choose their health care, or we were going to create a government-run health care where the government would be making those decisions for us," Hoekstra said. "President Obama, the Democrats in the House and the Senate, have clearly chosen the government-run option. That is why they're in such a hurry to move this program through the House, through the Senate, and get it to his desk."

Hoekstra's admission that the two chambers of Congress are likely to pass their respective health care bills within the next month is one of the few times that a lawmaker has pulled back the curtain to reveal exactly where the legislative process currently stands. Passage in the House and Senate would set the stage for reconciling the separate bills in conference committee once the August recess is over.

One of the options at the president's hand is the bill recently unveiled by the House, which has become the preference for progressives. That approach won a major endorsement from The New York Times editorial page on Thursday.

While the Senate continues to struggle over its approach to health care reform, House Democratic leaders have unveiled a bill that would go a long way toward solving the nation's health insurance problems without driving up the deficit. It is already drawing fierce opposition from business groups and many Republicans. This is a bill worth fighting for.

The bill would require virtually all Americans to carry health insurance or pay a penalty. And it would require all but the smallest businesses to provide health insurance for their workers or pay a substantial fee. It would also expand Medicaid to cover many more poor people, and it would create new exchanges through which millions of middle-class Americans could buy health insurance with the help of government subsidies. The result would be near-universal coverage at a surprisingly manageable cost to the federal government.

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Comments

[imaparrot]

Medicare is bankrupting the country. It's obvious.

[LegallyPalin]

So how come republican candidates never run on killing medicare? Oh, I know, because they won't get elected if they do. Thanks.

[Peter007]

The bottom line is that insurance companies and legislatures have been in bed with each other for 50 years. All the health care insurance problems are due to insurance laws passed by congress with help from the insurance lobby.
The laws have screwed so many people for long , we now need an overhaul of the laws.
Guess who is writing the new insurance law? Its the insurance companies that screwed you over the first time.
To add salt to the injury, they are forcing every American to buy health insurance so even if you hate the insurance company and you don't want to do business with them, you now will be forced to by LAW.
Democracy means laws written by the lowest common denominator.

[mad as heck]

I hope he's wrong. This is no reform. Gift to private insurance, really.

[Citizen4Justice]

If the dems pass this legislation mandating insurance purchase instead of letting everyone have access to a public plan, I will strongly avoid voting for a democrat again. I will vote for a thrid party candidate that has no chance, because we collectively believe they have no chance. We are such suckers.

[Montgriz]

I agree...and know more people who feel the same....I don't want an insurance company deciding anything for me....or my family.....we do not need a middleman.....

[Halter]

The United States spends more on medical care than any other developed country and is ranked at the bottom of quality of care among those same countries. One third of money paid for medical care goes to health insurance companies in the US. Their greed has led to a call for reform. As a country, we could be spending less for better coverage for everyone if the insurance companies were disbanded. THEY PROVIDE NO MEDICAL SERVICES, but are parasites feeding off all of us and increasing their profits by denying medical services. This is madness..

[floib]

Totally agree.

Why do our citizens have to go bankrupt because of medical bills? Canada's health care system may not be perfect, but their citizens won't be losing their homes due to medical bills like in the U.S. This whole system of our is just plain crazy.

[sarabono]

Here is an interesting video of every day Canadian citizens trying to use the Canadian Health Care System which is Single Payer, Public Option and tax supported.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2jijuj1ysw

[Montgriz]

that video represents every day occurences at my local hospital and they treat mostly those with insurance but California law demands they treat the poor and indigent...we aren't all selfish..

[Mugzi]

This doesn't sound like health care reform, just more insurance...(sigh)

[Citizen4Justice]

Yes, and you WILL give them your money or you will be fined! Of course, they reserve the right to rescind your coverage if they determine you are too big of a hit for their profits. Then you can crawl into a hole and die. The important thing is that you pay them each month.

America: Land of the Illusion of Freedom

Its a good thing we don't live in a socialist country. If we did, we could just go to any hospital and get taken care of without exchanging money. Everyone could see the doctor, even the poor and the minorities. That's SOCIALISM!

"Slavery is freedom, freedom is slavery."

[YeWight]

Let's not forget Big Pharma...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124779006528954995.html#mod=rss_US_News

[tralfas]

I don't understand how medicare gets fixed by offering a new plan that is simply an expansion of medicare. One of the reasons healthcare costs have increased is because medicare price controls have forced doctors to increase their costs to compensate. If medicare expands, it will create an expensive private health insurance option that most middle class can't afford, and rationing of care for those on the public option in order to control costs. How on balance is this a good thing, especially if more than 15 million are still not covered?

[KrugnacTheMagnificent]

Some doctors have learned to game the system. If they get reimbursed less per procedure, simply prescribe MORE procedures.

Perhaps that's why McAllen, Texas spends almost DOUBLE per patient than the national average. And Medicare reimburses it all, so why not?

If we could simply divide up all the congressional districts in the country and cap all their per capita Medicare spending at the median level across all districts nationwide, 90% of our Medicare funding problems would go away overnight.

And the clincher is that based on past studies, the medical outcomes would be no different.

[freshnotbitter]

Let congress decide how much it can appropriate total for public option (including medicare, medicaid, schip and public option for uninsured) and let a medical board consisting of doctors and patients ( the latter would be presidential political appointees, probably, regretfully, since election by popular vote might be unconstitutional) set the payout rates for procedures, handle audits, run automation, design delivery, create administrative law system for malpractice, etc., and you have a system run by patient/doctors while government collects the premiums.

This keeps the nightmare of politics out of the health system.

I'll bet that any bill coming out of congress will eventually fail as a real system to the extent that politicians have kept their fingers in the pie. Imagine campaign contributors getting appointments to medical commissions and you see the problem. We might as well have the crooked insurance companies and their cronies on the Hill.

[marxmarv]

Increase their prices, you mean? Actually, they increase their prices to private insurers because private insurers are harder to work with and pretty much only pay out when and as they feel like it. You or I could probably get a better deal than either Medicare or private insurance for most services by offering cash up front.

I've heard varying reports on whether the public plan will pay Medicare rates, market rates, or somewhere in between.

[imaparrot]

Take Chrysler as an example. A private bankrupt co that not only received TARP funds but paid off the TARP loan with TALF funds. Now if that's not a public private success story I don't know what is.

[imaparrot]

We are on a slippery slope to socialism and it cost too much money. Money isn't just borrowed in to existence by some private bankers you know.

[losingitbigtime]

Your argument ignores the fact that the US lags behind other first world countries in quality of healthcare while we pay more out of our pockets than all of those "socialist" countries like Canada, Germany, France, Great Britain, and all other western democratic countries. It is our system that is broke.

[lj9283]

Is argument is based on red baiting, not an issue with health care.

[Cleanerman]

Americans need to decide collectively what they want from government and then be willing to pay for it--which means taxes, of course. Washington (both parties) has been good at trying to please everyone without taxing more and, so, we have the yearly deficits. Now, with the economic collapse (caused by both parties in Washington (deregulation), private citizens living high, speculation gone amuck, corporations living high) requires even more spending without taxation--a vicious cycle and a scary one. We are in a situation almost as bad as the Great Depression.

[Cleanerman]

I might add, also, two wars which we do not fund. More deficit spending. Gotta hope China keeps buying our debt.

I want health care reform, but, for God's sake---no, I mean for Our sake, please let it be fully funded.

[Cleanerman]

Sorry, the wars are funded, but with borrowed money. I misspoke there.

[tralfas]

Why can't I just buy health insurance that I think is best for my family and I and not have to pay more taxes for coverage that I may not like? Under this plan, it sounds like I will be paying twice, and likely more as private insurance will likely be only available to the wealthy

[MESGAIN26]

u have no ideal what ur talking about socialism is the oppsite of captilism where people are left to fend for their self and be greatful they can feed their family take a look around this isn't the first time we used socialism to sure up the econmy evrey time captiolism fail we use temporay socialism to sure up the econmony over and over , capitoism only asure the rich stay rich and the not so rich be greatful they can feed their familys capilism is not ur freind thats not what it was design to do wake up

[RepugsOut08]

"We are on a slippery slope to socialism..."


Wow! I sure hope so. Capitalism has only worked for 2% to 5% of the population. The rest of us are their wage slaves. Most other countries would have had a revolution by now over health care and the billionaire bailouts.
Throw some more grease on that slope, and give the other 95% of us a shot at the good life.

[marxmarv]

Better slipping towards socialism than wallowing in anti-socialism.

[Cleanerman]

I hope this thing gets done and done correctly. I just can't help but be a bit pessimistic, though. I will believe it when I see it. I just pray the new health care for America won't be "half-ass" like the economic recovery programs appear to be. The new health care needs to be fully funded. Besides good health care available to all, a better, strict educational system needs to be implemented as well. And deficit spending!!!!!! needs to be seriously addressed. Americans need to pay for what they want from government!!!!! I am still behind Obama but feel he has got to really start fighting the fight and being very candid with the American people at all times. Evidently, the Republicans don't want to play a role in trying to make America a better place, so Obama needs to forget about bipartisanship.

[ntmessage]

It is amazing that the congress continues to play favorites on the most important issue for our country. Health Care. If someone has gold plated plan why not tax it? These people are rich in health care. Why not get rid of the waste mostly on the insurance side. Why pay more for a bigger system, when we already pay too much. Why not No Tax Public Plan? Why is Pelosi picking winners and losers, business as usual? Why do we think lowering the rise in costs in a depression with everything worth half of what it was two years ago is a win? This is a huge loss and give away. What the heck is wrong with everyone? Look at the Swiss system. It is regulated. They manage costs and quality. Today in the United States BOTH are OUT OF CONTROL!

Why are we going after the Banks with regulation when this industry has never manned-up to their fiduciary responsibility and are charged with our very lives, more important than money.

All of the bureaucracy in the system today is self-imposed by the insurance companies to cheat people out of benefits. The government is not the problem.

[condor101]

I know it's going to pass. But there are loopholes. As long as you're poor on paper, you don't have to pay for this insurance. Thank god I have a cash business. All who support this bill are naive, at best.

The poor will not pay; The rich will pay less in insurance coverage
Oh, and if you're employed, it will show up as an additional tax out of your paycheck. The middle class will be hurt paying for all this insurance.

It's NOTa Health Care Bill. It's a Health Insurance Bill, designed to make that industry even more money.

Wake Up People!
Do Something!

[Greenman7]

If that is the case that should become a clear law enforcement issue and those caught attempting to be "poor on paper" should be heavily fined to help pay for those who will use the system fairly. I don't think it would be too hard to catch these sorts of fraud cases and when we do, make an example of them.

That being said this is why a single payer system is best. Canada, Britain, and France have it and it works for them--

[ohiomark]

For all you Libs who believe Obama's lie that if you have private insurance, then you can keep it, not so fast. Page 16 of the "bill" says something different. Investors Business Daily found it.

http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=332548165656854

Another lie says that this "plan" will save money. The Congressional Budget Office says the opposite.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2009/07/cbo-sees-no-federal-cost-savings-in-dem-health-plans.html

This health care "reform" is a scam and it will destroy our fragile economy.

[thaneb]

IBD mis-read the bill. They have egg on their face. That part specifically has to to with Grandfathered plans--not Qualified plans. You can, in fact keep a grandfathered plan and your beneficiaries can join it but the plan can take on no other new members. This part is prevent unfair competition in the future since grandfathe­red/non-Qu­alified plans can and do have exclusions of pre-existing conditions, limits to coverage, etc. Why do you think IBD is misrepresenting the bill in this way?

[Greenman7]

Hmmm. I wonder if you think the Iraq war (more private contractors than any other war in history, more corruption, more money completely unaccounted for down the tubes) has devastated our economy and all of the Bush years of looking the other way as they encouraged deregulation and no-holds barred borrowing and lending.

THAT wouldn't have anything to do with our poor economy, would it.

Bark up another tree.

[Davwbaird]

you are so full of it. You work for the insurance companies?

[marxmarv]

IBD stands to lose a lot of importance if less health insurance premium money goes to hang out in the Wall Street casino.

[imaparrot]

If a private insurance co pays out 79 cents of every premium dollar on claims their stock will get smashed. It's labor racketeering if a public option is implemented.

[ntmessage]

Insurance companies are designed to collect money and keep as much of it as possible for as long as possible.

[marxmarv]

Fine line between labor racketeering and democracy, isn't it?