June 17, 2009 12:45 PM

House Republicans Offer Health Care Plan

By
Jill Jackson
Topics
Health Care
(AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari, File)
House Republicans unveiled a plan today that they say would solve the nation's health care crisis.

Rather than the complete health care overhaul that five different congressional committees are writing, Minority Leader John Boehner, left, said they would take the current system and improve it by reforming Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

How much the Republican plan would cost and how many uninsured Americans would gain coverage remains unclear. Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said "we believe we can come up with a plan where every person in the uninsured has access to insurance."

Blunt made clear, however, that there would not be a mandate that individuals purchase insurance or that employers offer it. He also claimed that the overall price tag would be significantly lower than Democrat's proposals.

The four-page Republican health care outline lays out a plan that would allow states, associations and small businesses to pool together to offer health insurance. It would give tax credits to low and modest income Americans to help them buy health insurance. It would also let dependents under twenty-five stay on their parent's health insurance.

Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), the top Republican on the House tax-writing committee, said that provision alone would "cover seven million people in America."

Given the large Democratic majority in the House, it will be difficult for Republicans to get their proposals into the bill that ultimately comes to the floor. Members, however, hope that by offering alternatives and publicly criticizing provisions proposed by Democrats, they might be able to get the public on their side.

House Democrats plan to unveil a draft of their health care proposal later this week. It is expected to center around a public health insurance option that House Republicans say would put private insurers out of business.

Boehner said "middle-class families and small businesses simply don't support a government takeover of health care, and neither should Congress."

Click here to read the plan as released by the House Republicans.

Jill Jackson is a CBS News Capitol Hill producer.

Add a Comment See all 17 Comments
by Keptins August 5, 2009 5:02 PM EDT
Here is the details of the R-Health Care plan

The most obvious difference from the D-Health Care Plan, just by looking at the two plans, is the length. While the Democrats? bill is needlessly complicated and overlong, the Republican bill appears to have been written on the back of a cocktail napkins after a crazy night on C Street.

When it comes to health insurance itself, there is no national plan. The first rule of the Republican bill, in capital letters at the top of the napkin, is ?GET WHAT U PAY 4.? (The spelling indicates one of two things: either a 14-year-old girl was taking notes, or they?re so used to posting on Twitter now, they can no longer write in any other way.) This accomplishes two things: it ensures the survival of the upper-class, white Conservative base, who can afford the highest quality medical care; and since the lower- and middle-classes (read: minorities) won?t be able to pay for premium care, they will inevitably die off. Whites will no longer have to feel threatened by the changing demographics of the population.

As for the insurance companies themselves, they will remain privatized; any that are not privatized will be required to; and they?ll be allowed to charge whatever price they deem fit for patient care, and are not obligated to cover anyone with any sort of pre-existing conditions? unless they have the money for it. (For that is the genius of the free market system.) Some pre-existing conditions may include: near- and far-sightedness, balding, and ?morning wood? for men; and menstruation for women. The bigger boogeyman to Conservatives is Medicare, and that longtime program will be coming to an end, to be replaced with ? you guessed it ? private insurance. Start saving now!

Abortion, birth control, Viagra? ANYTHING having to do with sex will not be covered through the Republican plan, because as the napkin says, ?sex = bad.? Unless it?s with an underage congressional page or someone outside your own marriage, like an Argentine mother or the wife of one of your employees. In any case, rich white sex addicts will be allowed to seek treatment with the help of ?The Family,? the quasi-political Republican group that secretly runs the country. All others are **** outta luck. For abortions, start saving up to go to Canada, ladies, because the Republicans will move to repeal Roe v. Wade with the help of a willing Supreme Court. (But once no one?s having sex, it shouldn?t be an issue in the first place.)

Also, prayer has a big place in the Republicans? health plan, as in: if you get sick, you better pray to Jesus that you get better. Because there won?t be any affordable doctors helping you, that?s for sure. (Non-Christians needn?t bother.) For elder and disabled care, no one will bother paying attention to their needs until it?s too late; when someone?s too far gone for any medical help to do any good (for example, brain death), you will be kept alive by feeding tubes? defibrillator? any means necessary for as long as possible. Terri Schiavo was just the beginning! The whole point is to start caring (and praying, of course) when it will no longer do any good. America needs more culture wars.

Besides those few points, there?s a provision to make sniper rifles and rocket-propelled grenades legal for sale in all 50 states, as well as doing away with the customer background check for any weapon. I?m not sure why that?s being put into their health plan, however.

There you go...something to be proud of...
You should read the D-Plan...it's aweful
Reply to this comment
by TheKriv January 5, 2010 8:50 AM EST
Hmm, weird. i just read the 4 pages and didn't see one thing about abortion, birth control, viagra or the quote of "GET WHAT U PAY 4"
help me out here
by tjtull July 22, 2009 3:36 PM EDT
This is in no way, shape, or form a plan for anything. This is simply a list of ideas...yeah, let's cut costs and make healthcare more available. Brilliant!! This plan is 3 1/3 pages long and has ZERO details.

This is simply the Republicans being able to say, "here's what we've come up with", so they can't be accused of doing exactly what they are doing, standing in the way of reform.
Reply to this comment
by TheKriv January 5, 2010 8:52 AM EST
It takes years to type up contracts. The Republicans could make it 2000 pages and just fill it with pork and bribes to get people to vote for it. oh wait, that was already done.
by Fathing July 20, 2009 8:01 PM EDT
What a bunch of silly comments.

The length of the proposal is the bad part? Yes, and Obama's bloated 400+ page bill is inherently "better" because it is longer. I'm sure congress will read every page before voting. Just as I'm sure that the Obama supporters here have actually read the thing. Silly.

Look. The simple problem is not the cost, but the steady inflation in prices above background inflation rates. What we need to do is stop trying to pay for the ever inflating costs, and get to the root of the inflation.

So what is the root?

1) Lawsuits. You need to cap fees and damages in all 50 states.

2) Competition. Currently health insurance is not portable, transportable, or available in all 50 states.

3) Government mandates that everyone must be treated at emergency rooms, even those without money or insurance. Why does an aspirin cost $10 at the emergency room? Simple, because of the 10 people who went in before you and didn't pay a dime.

4) Anything subsidized will always increase in price.

Here is a thought experiment, what if the government subsidized groceries? Let's say an 80/20 split, with you the consumer paying the 20%? What would happen to the sales of groceries? They'd increase, right? People could afford to buy more food. But not just more food, also more expensive food. After all, you are only paying 20 cents on the dollar, so everything is on an 80% off sale. Steak and lobster for dinner every night, right?

Okay, so the steak and lobster dinner costs $30 before government intervention. Now it costs you only $6! Genius!

But then what happens? Well, you have shortages, not enough lobster and steak to go around. So prices go up to compensate. But you don't really notice at first, because you're only paying 20% off each dollar the price increases, right? So for every dollar the price of steak increases, you only pay a measly 20 cents.

Steak and lobster cost $60, but you only pay $12. Hey! You are still better off than when you started, even though prices doubled!

Producers realize soon there are no cost limits and step on the gas.

Steak and lobster now cost $150, but you pay only $30. Costs have increased five fold, but you are only paying what you payed originally.

Unfortunately now, inflation has been "baked in the cake" so to speak. It is expected. You are also used to eating steak and lobster every night, so even though costs have increased, demand stays high. So you keep going. Next it is $180, but you pay only $36. That is only 20% more for you, but 750% more for the government.

Now things get really interesting. Because costs have increased so much for the consumer, more and more people can't afford the 20%. So the government mandates that if hungry people go to the grocery store, even if they have no money, they must be given free food. We don't want anyone to starve, do we?

What happens to the price then? Now you have a bunch of people in the system paying nothing. So the grocery store raises prices again to compensate. Now a bowl of oatmeal cost $250, and you are wondering what the hell happened.

Obama says, well, let's just get the government more involved. Say, have the government pay 100% of the cost, but people reimburse the government some percentage directly via taxes. Then the government will some how reduce costs. How do you ask? One easy way would be to ration food to everyone....The other way would be to mandate prices - but a whole industry has grown up around supplying steak and lobster at $180 a pop. So a lot of them go out of business and you have shortages of everything. So rationing or shortages are the inevitable result.

This problem has been solely created by government subsidies. More subsidies are the wrong answer.
Reply to this comment
by Keptins August 5, 2009 5:03 PM EDT
Nice ideas
by sonyacade June 26, 2009 2:59 AM EDT
If you are uninsured and does not have insurance, you should check out the website http://UninsuredAmerica.blogspot.com - sonya cade , California
Reply to this comment
by mattcat25 June 17, 2009 2:45 PM EDT
The inept Republicans always set out to prove that Government does not work. This latest testament to the GOP wrangling against everyone else in this country on this issue is unclear and would seem to be in actuality an attack against the SCHIP and Medicaid Programs and would eventually fail. Thus, the GOP could claim once again that Government (by Republicans) does not work. Why do Republicans hate Americans?
Reply to this comment
by truthnow1 June 17, 2009 2:03 PM EDT
President Obama's plan will bankrupt the United States. There is absolutely no way to fund his plan. In order to attempt to pay for his outrageous plan he is going to tax the amount of money we use to pay for are health insurance. That means less take home money for everyone who now has health insurance. Those of you who have jobs were your employer provides a health insurance plan. As soon as there is a Federal Funded Plan the company's you work for will drop your health insurance. So do not be fooled into thinking you can keep your currant insurance plan.
Reply to this comment
by jxknowles June 17, 2009 1:55 PM EDT
The price of health care is the issue. Large, small, medium businesses AND individuals cannot keep up with the rising cost. That's one reason we are losing manufacturing jobs to Canada and Mexico.

The GOP is obviously coveting lobbying money from the Health Care Industry. Why else would they offer up such a miserable plan?
Reply to this comment
by parrots7 June 17, 2009 2:08 PM EDT
That's also only just FOUR pages. What a Joke !
by DIPSET99CB September 21, 2009 1:28 PM EDT
It is a hell of a lot better then a 1070 page front for tax raises. Medicare is the biggest reason why premiums are so high for private insurance; the doctors have to charge the private sector more in order to cover the costs that the gov does not pay (thank you LBJ).

47 million are "uninsured": 17m of them are illegal and 20m of them are between 18-35 with a household income of $50k or more so its their choice/freedom not to buy insurance.
If Americans would eat healthier and stay fit, then health insurance wouldn't be such a problem. (and it is true that a doctor visit is cheaper if paid for with cash and not using insurance forms.)
by TomMariner June 17, 2009 1:42 PM EDT
I lean Republican. Here's what I like about the bill: It does address the costs that draconian legal settlements burden the system, but calls it "over zealous" attorneys. I would call it "very competent" -- they live in a system where the best and brightest earn stupendous money and then get promoted to either the bench or the Legislature where they can perpetuate the system.

What I don't like: No emphasis on health care technology -- that alone could get us better medicine at far less costs. "Encourage states" to act on pre-existing conditions. Unless harsh, clear rules have the force of law, no insurance executive can keep his or her job unless they "cherry pick" those covered. If you're not a non-smoking, non driving 26 year old athlete you are going to have a tough time getting covered unless you pay three times your annual salary and if, god forbid, you really have something wrong with you, you could pay the entire stimulus trillions and not get coverage.

In any case, since the electorate gave enough of a mandate to the Administration and Congress that they can pretty much do what they want, any plan will die on the blogs 'cause it ain't getting in front of even a committee to be voted down. If Republicans want to have a voice in the Healthcare "reform" debate -- get elected.

I am not happy with the omnibus nature of the "Obama Plan", but find it pointless to yack because I can't do anything about it. And find parts that make sense. Healthcare IT and Techology -- that I CAN do something about. And if we succeed, you're going to be shocked how good it can be.
Reply to this comment
by TimNorthrup June 17, 2009 1:33 PM EDT
Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said "we believe we can come up with a plan where every person in the uninsured has access to insurance."
--

Doesn't everyone have "access to insurance" now, if they're able/willing to pay for it? What many do NOT have is "access to AFFORDABLE insurance".
Reply to this comment
by parrots7 June 17, 2009 2:07 PM EDT
Most Repugs already fell for that argument and you now came and messed it up for everyone. Cheers!
by briannorwood June 17, 2009 1:27 PM EDT
Great! A four page health insurance proposal! No wonder it is so short. When you have no new ideas, it doesn't take very long to jot them down.

Unbelievable!
Reply to this comment
by parrots7 June 17, 2009 2:05 PM EDT
This is a Joke right ?? Repugs only excuse is in defending Private Insurers and not about covering the most of Us. Dumb Repugs !
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