Oct 13, 2009

Congressman Ted Poe (TX-02) issued the following statement today based on the "conceptual language" of the Senate health care bill:

"The American people are not fooled by all the political spin given to the Senate health care bill expected to be voted on today," said Poe. "The fact is this bill turns health care over to the government at the expense of the taxpayers. I do not support this plan, or any other disguised effort, that raises taxes, cuts Medicare, eliminates choice and jeopardizes the quality of care we receive in our country."

"The majority of Americans have health care coverage and some are happy with their current plans. This bill will levy a significant tax on individuals, health insurers, prescription drugs and medical devices in order to pay for coverage of the uninsured. As a result, those costs will be passed on to the consumer and the cost of care will only increase."

"I support a bill that addresses specific reform, not a 'one-size-government-fix-everything' bill. Experts say, when this bill is fully implemented, the ten year cost is actually $1.8 trillion while the cuts to Medicare/Medicaid add up to $1 trillion from FY2014-2023. No tweaking from the Congressional Budget Office can make this affordable."

Other items of note regarding the "America's Healthy Future Act":

• Leaves 25 million people uninsured
• $404 billion in overall cuts to Medicare/Medicaid
• $133 billion in cuts to Medicare Advantage
• $22 billion in cuts determined by unaccountable, unelected Medicare Commission
• $349.2 billion in new taxes on employers, individuals, medical devices and drug manufacturers and insurers.
• Fails to fix SGR (Medicare payment formula for participating doctors) - instead the bill uses a budget gimmick so that CBO assumes Congress will let a 25% cut in physician reimbursements occur after 2010. This is politically unrealistic. The real cost of addressing SGR would tack on another $200 billion in costs.
• Cuts $45 billion from hospitals that now serve low-income Americans.