I am represented in the House by Rodney Frelinghuysen, A republican who represents most of Northern / Central NJ. Here is an email sent out by his office - which I presume to be public information.
I won't comment on it other than these two points:
1. Clearly the Republicans have an axe to grind here. This is all about electoral politics - and they stand to benefit as this administration and the Congressional leadership become less popular. Read this with a grain of salt.
2. Obviously as a business-owner, this legislation (milder than the House bill - hard to believe) is onerous and would be a disaster for the private sector US economy. I feel I have to delineate with this administration in power - as I have posted several times - private sector jobs are worth more than public sector jobs from a macroeconomic perspective. Period. The frightening - most frightening part of this is the mention of "Fannie Med" - a new government agency to be created in the model of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - (and hey, haven't they worked well?).
Read on. This is government at work.
"In the days
since the State of the Union address, much has been made of the President's new
focus on the economy. However, while I
welcome this apparent "pivot" to job creation, I want you to know
that Washington's drive for an overhaul of health care is not over! It is
clearly on the President's agenda and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in particular, has
repeatedly proclaimed that she will pass a health care bill this year.
In fact, in its attempt to get a bill onto the
President's desk by any means possible, the Congressional Majority may actually
destroy the legislative process by resorting to a maneuver known as
"budget reconciliation" to deny the Minority in the Senate its
historic right to "filibuster" any bill. Or, one of the other most discussed scenarios
has Speaker Pelosi's House accepting Senator Reid's Senate-passed health
bill. However, for those of us who
oppose a government regulation of our health care, these courses of action are
completely unacceptable!
To refresh your memory, the Senate bill contains
disturbing provisions:
o Higher
Premiums: The Congressional Budget
Office (CBO) has confirmed that the legislation would raise health care
premiums for struggling middle-class families, resulting in non-group premium
increases of $300 per year for individuals and $2,100 for families.
o Higher Taxes:
The bill still contains more than $400 billion in tax increases, many of which
start in 2010, two years before any of the "reforms" in the package
take hold. This is exactly the wrong
solution for American families during a severe recession. The CBO previously
noted that mandates on employers to offer insurance will "reduce the
hiring of low-wage workers." In
addition, other taxes included in the bill?"such as those on medicine and
medical devices-would be passed on to individuals and families in the form of
higher premiums.
o Lost
Coverage: CBO has confirmed that as many
as 10 million people will lose their offer of employer-sponsored health
coverage under the Senate bill, to say nothing of the millions of seniors who
will lose access to Medicare Advantage plans.
Over 100,000 New Jersey seniors rely on Medicare Advantage. Contrary to
President Obama's repeated promises that "You will not have to change
[health insurance] plans," CBO also found that "relatively few
non-group policies would remain grandfathered by 2016"?"meaning
millions of individuals will lose their current individual health insurance
plans as a result of the Majority's government increased regulation of health
care.
o Higher Health
Costs: The Obama Administration's own
actuaries have confirmed that the Senate bill, like the House bill, would
raise, not lower, the growth of health care costs.
o Trillions in
New Spending: While Democrats allege the
Senate bill would spend "only" $848 billion, a more accurate picture
of the bill's spending provisions finds that in its first ten years of full
implementation, this "moderate" legislation would spend $2.5
trillion?"this at a time when the federal government is already straining
under the load of record deficits and debt.
o Government-Run
Insurance: The Senate bill maintains a
"Fannie Med" program of government-run "Exchanges" ?"
an approach that would probably result in additional taxpayer costs and
additional federal bailouts should this insurance program prove
unsustainable. Moreover, the bill places
new restrictions on insurance plans, causing millions to lose their current
coverage and funneling these individuals into government-run Exchanges.
The American people remain justifiably concerned about
uncontrolled federal spending and record-high unemployment, yet the
Senate-passed bill would aggravate both problems.
As I have said consistently in my meetings with local
government officials, seniors, doctors, nurses, health care providers, and at
all of my town hall meetings, this is the wrong approach for America. Instead, we should take our time, get it
right AND debate and discuss these issues in public, not in private at the
White House!
The Congressional Majority and Minority should be working
on passing stand-alone and discrete reform bills to include
"portability" of coverage, prohibiting insurance companies from not
covering people with pre-existing conditions, allowing the interstate sale of
health insurance, and enacting tort reform.
Our goal must be to reduce costs and improve access to health care for
all Americans without mandating that every person, small business and family
have Washington-based bureaucrats and lawmakers making decisions about their
health care and damaging the doctor-patient relationship."
Sincerely,
Rodney Frelinghuysen
Member of Congress
