Health Care Repeal Is 'Dead,' Says Top Republican, Sights Turned To Repealing Individual Mandate

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, acknowledged Thursday that Republican plans to repeal President Barack Obama’s signature health care law were “dead.” Instead, Camp predicted, the GOP would turn its focus to overturning the most controversial portion of that legislation: the mandate requiring individuals to buy insurance.

"Obviously, I voted to repeal the bill and you pretty much know where I am on replacement because I put out a bill last year on that," Camp said. "Is the repeal dead? I don’t think the Senate is going to do it, so I guess, yes."

Camp added, "In terms of the House, I put out a bill [to replace the law]. We know where I stand.”

“I think we have to see where this [health care] lawsuit that is working its way through the courts goes,” he said. “I’m monitoring that pretty closely. The individual mandate, I think, we need to get an answer from the courts on that. ... I do think we may have a vote to repeal that provision some time in this Congress ... the individual mandate.”

A chief plank of the 2010 GOP platform was to wipe the Affordable Care Act from the books and replace it with something else. The latter promise has long since dissipated. But Republican leadership still held on to the former -- attempting to attach repeal language, most recently, to the continuing resolution to fund the federal government.

Camp also threw a bit of cold water on the Medicare reforms included in Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) proposed 2012 budget. He said that legislation to turn Medicare into a voucher system would likely not get a hearing in his committee.

"I'm not really interested in just laying down more markers,” said Camp. "I'd rather have the committee working with the Senate and the president, focusing on savings and reforms that can be signed into law."

"I don’t think we can afford to wait," he added, "I think we needed to make progress now.'

Camps said he was unmoved by the protests that have erupted over Ryan's Medicare proposal at recent constituent town halls. “We have stepped forward pretty boldly on this issue,” he said, adding that he did not regret voting for the budget when it came to the House floor.

But he also echoed comments made Wednesday night by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), who said that in the spirit of deficit and debt reduction, lawmakers would need to first act on areas of agreement.

“I think what [Cantor] might have been referring to is there are some common ground areas in Medicare and those as important to proceed forward [on],” Camp said of an interview with the Washington Post that Cantor was later forced to clarify. “I think, maybe, that is part of what he was trying to say.”

Comments

[robokoi1]

01:20 AM on 05/10/2011

I forgot to mention I have ran a small business the past 26 years, if they make me pay even 1% of this health care I have 2 choices. Raise my rates or cut my employees wages, you people are so stupid. Where do you think us business owners will get the extra money, some bag of cash under our desk? I am praying that this bill will get crushed in the long run, screw with the small businesses and you are messing with over 65% of the employers in this country. Sure we will al have health care and the guy washing your car will be making $17 per hour, your lawn cutter will get double, and maybe that sub you ate will be $15 in 2014!!! America you are doomed, my ex was from Canada, she came down here to get eye surgery. My lawyer was from Spain, the hospitals there you are lucky to see a nurse every few hours, good luck!

[My five cents]

07:01 AM on 05/11/2011

I am an American who retired to Germany. Healthcare here is great and all the people are treated the same. There are no waiting list or rationing. I receive my pension in dollars and although the cost of living is higher here my money goes further because of one thing.Health care here is non profit. In the end my complete family is covered including dental, fillings and pulling all for 200 dollars a month.Most prescription drugs are included in the plan and when not it cost 7 dollars for that prescrption.
I am only sorry that the American news media does not do an indept investigation on other systems of healthcare used in other countries.Why don't they do an investigation?? Because of advertizing dollars they would lose from the Pharma industry.Greed continues to rule in America.

[robokoi1]

01:14 AM on 05/10/2011

Why do I have to buy insurance by law, I thought this was a free country? I am 43 years old, work out 3x's per week, have not been to the doctors in 10 years. Over the past 20 years, no insurance and have maybe paid $650 in medical with medicine. So I am being penalized for the fat out of shape people who are sick, not my problem. I work 6 days a week, have insurance on my kids why can't I do what I'm doing, This country is a joke! try going to Spain or Canada and get into the doctors office...wait America...wait!

[LordByron13]

11:48 AM on 05/09/2011

"Q. Though you avoid stating your own political beliefs too openly, you entered into the health care debate here in the United States last year. Why did you do that?

A. I entered the health care debate in response to a statement in the United States press in summer 2009 which claimed the National Health Service in Great Britain would have killed me off, were I a British citizen. I felt compelled to make a statement to explain the error.

I am British, I live in Cambridge, England, and the National Health Service has taken great care of me for over 40 years. I have received excellent medical attention in Britain, and I felt it was important to set the record straight. I believe in universal health care. And I am not afraid to say so."

--Steven Hawking, interview released in today's NYTimes.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/10/science/10hawking.html?pagewanted=2&hp

Yes its only a segment of the conversation, but it speaks volumes about the truth of universal health care, and highlights another of the GOP's LIES willfully peddled by Corporate Media.

[MinerSam]

05:12 PM on 05/08/2011

Everything Republicans do & say (IN EVERY CATEGORY) ends up costing our country so much more. Small wonder they wracked up 87% of the debt we are in, starting with the newly
invented Reagan!!

Last time I checked The Mandate means people making 31K a year will Max out at $169 Per Month and Annual Catastrophic == No more than $4,700 a year (Famillies= $9,700 which means no more 700,000 families having to declare bankruptcies.

As for the Republican Talking Point Lie of: "Government Run Health Care"

In fact there will be:

1) Continued Employer Based Benefits
2) Which will help Small Business to be competitive w/Large ones through Volume Discounts.
3) By creating an Exchange (i.e. list of companies who''ll compete for their business
4) Versus how it is now where Health Insurance Companies have Monopolies in States.
5) New Law limits HC companies' Profits to 15% (vs. 23-33% these days) Supermarkets industry only makes 5% on food).

The other way HC will save enormous sums == Cleveland Clinic Model. Where Primary
Care & Specialists are paid high salaries and Work in Teams in the same place. Which
yield Faster, More accurate Diagnosis & Treatment for 1/2 the cost! Was Part of Obama's
Vision at the Onset!

Versus doctors operating as Per dium Contractors While Health Insurance Companies
--NOT DOING THEIR JOBS-of working to reduce cost -- Either passing higher cost to their customers, or Bumping them off Precisely when they need HC the Most.

[NancyY]

06:47 PM on 05/08/2011

Please re-read your post, and see how silly it is in regards to an objective viewer. In fact, it stinks of partisan stench worse than anything. Phew.

Stop and think about this for a second (if you can manage it): maybe if people made better and more responsible decisions with their health, their reproduction and their lives, they would be better off and not have so many problems. We as a society get what we reward. For years we have rewarded stupid decision-making, and that's what we've been getting.

[LawrenceL]

12:13 AM on 05/08/2011

"Camps said he was unmoved by the protests that have erupted over Ryan's Medicare proposal at recent constituent town halls."

Mr. Camps, if you are ever kidnapped, I hope we elect to pay the ransom in whatever currency your abductors consider the most useless, just as a sign of our deep appreciation.

[threewarveteran]

04:52 PM on 05/07/2011

Great. Repeal the Individual Mandate and instead levy a 5% added value tax on all health care plans covering individuals with individual annual incomes over $250,000 and combined incomes over $350,000. Levy an additional annual tax on all health care plans covering individuals with an annual income on wages, capital gains, and regular investments of $ 1 million at the rate of 20%. This will sufficiently fund the assistance to purchase plan for people who cannot afford coverage and in essence actually raise the coverage limits on these rebated policies. we may also be able to fund the high risk pools to decrease cost to the consumers and provide better coverage. This plan will cost the government much less and provide expanded coverage for everyone at a lower goverment and individual rate.

[martingibsonusa]

05:10 PM on 05/07/2011

Nice plan. What do you think of an individual flat tax that would cover an Obama like healthcare for all, without purchasing mandates and ceiling caps. Corporations and businesses that create jobs would be tax exempt per # employee. That way we wouldn't be adding to the insurance monster. Individual unwarranted Ceo's bloated salary's and huge corporate individual bonuses would be subject to luxury tax..

[threewarveteran]

05:44 PM on 05/07/2011

I would impose a one time flat tax on the fortune 500 companies and the corporations trading on the S & P. With that money I would pour it all into the medicare trust and provide medicare for all. Employers will then contribute a percentage of medicare cost as well as the employee, just like social security. I'm on medicare and the cost of my monthly premium is $110.00 a month and is an individual plan.

[Charles G Hunter]

04:38 PM on 05/07/2011

REPEAL IT! GET SERIOUS REPUBLICANS AND WIN THIS REPEAL! NOTHING WILL SATISFY AMERICA TO RID OUTSELVES OF THIS HORRIBLE LEGISLATION THAT WAS PROPOSED BY A VERY EVIL PRESIDENT AND A SOCIALIST GROUPS OF DEMOCRATS!

[kmkatoz]

06:35 PM on 05/08/2011

Really...... you don't sound crazy at all.

[martingibsonusa]

03:31 PM on 05/07/2011

Socialist sheep for the slaughter, say baaaaa.. say goodbye to quality health care in the USA. Hope those individually mandated caps they don't want you to see doesn't cut into your cancer treatment once you hit the cap limit. And I doubt it will be very high. Hey Canada, how is that working out for you guys? Have you actually seen the Doctor yet? No? Oh.
The US does not have to turn socialist to pass a couple of laws to keep insurance from unreasonable denials.The always backwards socialist agenda calls itself progressive. Socialism and communism are re-gressive in nature, and fail at every turn in history. Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.

[kmkatoz]

06:36 PM on 05/08/2011

You do realize that we still have private health care, don't you?

[Coinspinner]

10:49 AM on 05/07/2011

So those 30,000,000 people under the individual mandate will get free health care from the Republicans since they won't have the mandate? Er, isn't that the socialism that they rail against?

[threewarveteran]

06:01 PM on 05/07/2011

If you cannot understand the simple, then the complex is out of the question. For the politican to relate to the electorate they must be on the same level of thinking and understanding.

There, wasn't I nice?

[rodjard]

09:50 AM on 05/07/2011

Insurance Companies, Doctors, Lawyers, Polititions and
others expecting to get wealthier on tha backs of the poorer
and poorer ought to be able see the futility of their efforts.

[rodjard]

09:40 AM on 05/07/2011

Three years ago I might have had a little breathing room, like maybe $200
a month. There have been no SS increase since then. That was sucked up
by price increases almost immediately and now all my other expense are
under intense pressure.

[rodjard]

09:25 AM on 05/07/2011

Mandate all they want. I have no money.
I spend what I do have on gasoline, groceries, electric bill, phone bill,
fixing every cheap made thing that breaks, property tax, and surviving
to the next day. I do not go to a doctor. I have no money. Can any of
you Idiots ever get that through your thick sculls. Mandate this XXXXXX

[kmkatoz]

06:38 PM on 05/08/2011

Before you get all excited, read this:
The individual mandate is a requirement that all individuals who can afford health-care insurance purchase some minimally comprehensive policy. For the purposes of the law, "individuals who can afford health-care insurance" is defined as people for whom the minimum policy will not cost more than 8 percent of their monthly income, and who make more than the poverty line. So if coverage would cost more than 8 percent of your monthly income, or you're making very little, you're not on the hook to buy insurance (and, because of other provisions in the law, you're getting subsidies that make insurance virtually costless anyway).

[Dunkleberger Karl]

05:16 AM on 05/07/2011

 
Just because republicns and Faux news, complimentry
 confirm that "jesus poops apple flavored jelly beans"
Dont mean its true!
Reporting me as using said analogy  and
 claiming Im a communist dont mean its true!
This" its a proven fact" crap Prefixes, Lies, lies and more Lies!

[Rick4646]

10:02 PM on 05/06/2011

He is just saying that to get people to forget about how much they want to repeal it; trying very hard not to make it an issue until, they hope, the GOP controls the house, senate and whilte house in 2012. then they will screw Americans. The same game goes with Medicare

[Christy Jacobson]

10:38 PM on 05/06/2011

If the GOP controls the House, the Senate,and the White House in 2012, America deserves to get screwed.

[stevestrange]

05:24 PM on 05/06/2011

Why do conservatives seem to always be against any policy or movement, that fosters more inclusion into the greater society? Healthcare reform, affirmative action, the dream act, unions, same-sex marriage, the repeal of DADT, ANYTHING that even suggests helping out a wider more diverse array of people they're agains......Wait...They want to conserve....For a smaller, more select amount of people,...CONSERVEative....Damn! now I get it!

[mercedes1947]

05:43 PM on 05/07/2011

The GOP of today is not your father's political party, unfortunately. Some of the great reformers - were Republican - Teddy Roosevelt - and of course there is Lincoln. Eisenhower was pro-unemployment insurance, pro-education - pro-union.

Even Jimmy Carter in his book American Values Endangered, remarked that in the beginning of his administration, Democrats were not talking to him. He worked across the aisle in early days and Republicans were open to discussion. Imagine that!

Since Reagan the party has drifted away into elitism.

[stevestrange]

02:15 AM on 05/08/2011

I agree Mercedes.

[unionbrother]

01:02 AM on 05/08/2011

anything that drives the republicanbaggers, has to do with 1. how will this affect my relection funds, and 2. how will this affect my campaign donors (corporations) ...the rest of us are peasents.....

[stevestrange]

02:16 AM on 05/08/2011

Hear, Hear! Well said.