GOP leader: "We must stop a major expansion in government run health care"

We must stop a major expansion in government run health care
When Congress returns to Washington in September, the stage has been set for a struggle over an effort to greatly expand a government entitlement program. Besides being a major expansion in government-run health care, the plan pits seniors against children and raises taxes. Here’s what happened: Ten years ago, Congress created the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). This is a well-intentioned program to provide medical insurance coverage to children of low-income families. That’s a worthy goal that a majority of both political parties support.

Although a bipartisan majority in the House would have supported reauthorizing the existing program, the new Democratic leadership decided this was an opportunity for a $50 billion expansion of the program into a permanent government entitlement. The measure they passed redefines “low income" in such a way that it can mean as high as 400 percent above the poverty level – for a family of four that’s an income of $82,600. To illustrate how absurd that would be, one study concludes that under this plan 70,000 families would simultaneously be poor enough to be eligible for SCHIP while also being wealthy enough to pay the Alternative Minimum Tax. Making matters worse, a New York Times analysis discovered hundreds of millions of dollars in secret earmark spending hidden in this plan.

To pay for this expansion, the plan would raise taxes on private insurance policies to the tune of $375 million in the first year alone, and cut $194 billion in Medicare spending. Among those hardest hit by the Medicare cuts would be seniors who are participating in the Medicare Advantage program. In the 12th District these cuts could adversely affect 33,468 seniors.

When Congress reconvenes in September, I will be working to continue to provide needy children with the coverage they require, but I will also work to stop this dramatic expansion of a wasteful, government-run health insurance scheme.