Chamber of Commerce Aims To Shape Health Care Reform Regulations
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will attempt to steer health reformâs effect on businesses by forming a team of staff members to "participate in the years-long process of writing thousands of pages of federal regulations that will implement many provisions of this legislation," chamber President and CEO Thomas Donohue said in a letter to board members Monday, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Although the reform legislation is more than 2,000 pages long, it lacks specific details that must be added by the HHS secretary. Chamber members intend to lobby for certain language and technical corrections aimed to "minimize the potentially harmful impacts of this bill on" chamber members and the rest of the nation, Donohue's letter states.
Donohue also warns that the chamber will pursue legal action if regulators "exceed legislative mandates or try for end-runs around the lawful rule-making process."
According to the Journal, the chamber was among the groups that argued most forcefully against the legislation during congressional negotiations. Donohue contends that the law would impose $569 billion in new and higher taxes that would cut jobs, raise insurance premiums and cause millions of employees to leave employer-provided plans in favor of government-subsidized insurance.
Donohue also announced that the chamber would spend $50 million this summer and fall to "ensure that voters in pivotal House and Senate races know where lawmakers stand" on health reform, according to the Journal (Adamy, Wall Street Journal, 3/31).
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