US Republicans Unanimously Oppose Health Bill - GOP Leader
By Martin Vaughan, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R., Va.) vowed that
Republicans would be unanimous in opposing health legislation on which the House
of Representatives will vote as early as Saturday.
"She'll get no help from us in passing this gargantuan, trillion-dollar
overhaul," Cantor said of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), in a Thursday
press conference.
Cantor said GOP unanimity was solidified by Republican's unveiling this week
of "a coherent counter-proposal."
The Republican bill would provide federal grant money to states who create
innovative programs to bring down insurance costs or cover more people; provide
subsidies for reinsurance in the small group market; and limit medical
malpractice claims.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the plan would spend a total of
$61 billion over 10 years, but have the net effect of reducing the deficit by $
68 billion over that time period, due to savings produced in federal health
spending.
Democrats have criticized the Republican alternative because it reduces the
number of uninsured by only three million by 2019, leaving 52 million non-
elderly Americans uninsured.
Cantor said it is important to first tackle the problem of rising health-care
costs, and further changes aimed at covering the uninsured could come later.
"We've got to go about trying to fix now what's broken, and then try and
continue the progress of reform."
CBO said the GOP bill would lower premiums in the large group market, which
represents about 80% of private health insurance, by 0 to 3%. Small group market
premiums would fall between 7% to 10%, and premiums in the individual market
would fall by 5% to 8%.
Part of the reason for the expected cost decrease, CBO said, is states might
weaken current mandates, leading consumers to purchase cheaper plans with more
modest benefits.
-By Martin Vaughan, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9244; martin.vaughan@
dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
11-05-091756ET
Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
|