Republicans Introduce Bill To Repeal, Replace Health Reform Law
On Thursday, House Republican leaders introduced legislation that would repeal and replace the new health reform law, The Hill reports.
Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said the bill would replace the overhaul with the alternative health reform plan proposed by Republicans in November 2009. Blunt said U.S. residents will want alternatives once they learn more about Democrats' reform initiatives.
The legislation has 20 Republican co-sponsors, including:
- House Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio);
- Minority Whip Eric Cantor (Va.);
- GOP conference Chair Mike Pence (Ind.); and
- Blunt.
GOP lawmakers said the bill would reduce costs, increase access to care, create transparency and inject more competition into the insurance market.
Blunt also said that the alternative legislation is "the only thing anybody offered that the Congressional Budget Office said would decrease the cost of insurance for everybody."
Rep. Wally Herger (R-Calif.), who formally submitted the bill, said that the legislation would entirely repeal the new health reform law but that it would provide protections for people with pre-existing conditions.
It is unlikely that the Republican measure will reach the floor because of the Democratic majorities in both chambers of Congress. Still, Republicans could campaign on the plan for upcoming elections, according to The Hill.
Doug Thornell, spokesperson for Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), said Republicans are "out of step with the majority of Americans who want to give the reform bill a chance to work." He called the alternative GOP plan "a health care bill only insurance companies would love" (Hooper, The Hill, 5/27).
Blunt Reconvenes GOP Health Care Solutions Group, Holds Forum Against Overhaul
Blunt on Wednesday also reconvened the House GOP Health Care Solutions Group -- of which he is the chair -- and held a forum that featured witnesses who said that the overhaul will have negative consequences for physicians, small business and taxpayers, the St. Louis Post Dispatch's "Political Fix" reports.
Blunt said he plans to hold additional forums on the negative consequences of the law. Blunt said he expects the reform law to be a "big issue" during the midterm elections in November and the presidential election in 2012 (Lambrecht, "Political Fix," St. Louis Post Dispatch, 5/27).
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