Congressman Geoff Davis : Serving Kentucky's Fourth District

Congressman Davis issued the following statement tonight after the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962) passed the House by a vote of 220 to 215:

“Americans asked Congress to give them real health care reform that would increase access to affordable health care without piling additional debt on future generations, costing more jobs, or putting the government between patients and their doctors.

“Instead of listening to the people, Democrats pushed forward a tyrannical bill that cuts senior benefits by half a trillion dollars; creates 118 new agencies, boards and programs; kills jobs; and raises taxes by over $730 billion.  My Republican colleagues and I know we can craft fiscally responsible health care legislation, and that is exactly what we did in H.R. 4038, the Common Sense Health Care Reform and Affordability Act, our alternative legislation.

“Our bill heeds the pleas of the people without spending $1.3 trillion, killing jobs, or hurting seniors. We had a real chance to make a difference and fulfill our duties to this great country today.  Instead, the Majority in Congress turned its back on true reform and on the American people.” 

Earlier today, Congressman Davis spoke on the House floor to urge his colleagues to vote down H.R. 3962.  Video of Congressman Davis’ floor remarks can be viewed here.

The expansive provisions included in H.R. 3962 will affect the entire American health care system, which comprises one-sixth of our nation’s economy.  The 1,990 page bill creates an enormous new health care bureaucracy that will drastically expand the government’s role in health care decision-making by families and doctors.  The bill also creates a government-run “public option” that could eventually force private insurers out of business, putting the U.S. on a path to a single-payer, government-run health care system. 

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that H.R. 3962 will cost $1.3 trillion.  To pay for its overwhelming cost, H.R. 3962 includes $732.5 billion in job-killing tax increases.  These tax increases will affect every American, including families making $250,000 or less, small businesses, people who are unable to afford insurance, and businesses that want to hire new workers.  Americans who do not obtain “acceptable health insurance coverage” must pay a 2.5% tax.  The non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation has confirmed that failure to pay this tax could result in criminal fines of up to $250,000 and imprisonment of up to five years.

At a time when unemployment rates have reached generational highs, H.R. 3962 deals another blow to small business and job creation with a new $135 billion employer mandate tax ("pay or play") and a new $150 billion small business surtax.  These tax increases could cause more than 5.5 million Americans to lose their jobs, according to a model developed by President Barack Obama’s own economic advisor, Dr. Christina Romer.  

H.R. 3962 also cuts Medicare by more than one-half trillion dollars over the next ten years, including over $150 billion from the Medicare Advantage program.  CBO estimates that six million seniors will be denied access to Medicare Advantage because of this bill.  The bill will also cause premiums for seniors in the Medicare prescription drug program (Part D) to increase by at least twenty percent. 

In addition, H.R. 3962 fails to include adequate verification of citizenship status.  CBO estimates that 2.5 million more illegal immigrants will receive taxpayer-subsidized health insurance under H.R. 3962 (as opposed to Speaker Pelosi’s previous health care reform legislation, H.R. 3200).

House Republicans introduced an alternative health care reform bill, the Common Sense Health Care Reform and Affordability Act (H.R. 4038).  Congressman Davis is an original co-sponsor.  H.R. 4038 was offered as a substitute amendment to H.R. 3962 by Republican Leader John Boehner [OH-08].  It failed by a vote of 176 to 258.

H.R. 4038 includes smart, fiscally responsible reforms focused on reducing premium costs for all Americans to make health insurance more affordable and accessible.  Under the Republican plan, insurance premiums will be about $5,000 less expensive than the cheapest health insurance plan available under the Democrat bill.

Our 219-page bill costs $61 billion and reduces the deficit by $68 billion over ten years, for a net savings of $7 billion.  Unlike H.R. 3962, the Republican bill does not make any cuts to Medicare and does not raise taxes.

H.R. 4038 represents a comprehensive approach to eliminating inefficiencies and waste, instead of a government takeover that will only create more.  CBO has estimated that H.R. 4038 will reduce health care insurance premiums for all purchases by as much as ten percent. 

In addition, H.R. 4038 would:

• Establish Universal Access Programs to guarantee access to affordable health care for those with pre-existing conditions;
• Reward State innovation by providing incentive payments to States that reduce premiums and the number of uninsured;
• Encourage pooling through Small Business Health Plans;
• Allow Americans to buy insurance across State lines; 
• Institute real medical liability reform to end junk lawsuits and reduce the practice of defensive medicine;
• Prohibit insurance companies from unjustly cancelling coverage or instituting lifetime spending caps;
• Allow dependents to remain on their parents’ policies through age 25; and
• Promote healthier lifestyles by giving employers greater flexibility to financially reward employees who adopt healthier lifestyles.

You can read a complete summary of H.R. 4038 by clicking here.

To read more of Congressman Davis’ thoughts on health care, visit his Health Care Issue Page.  On Tuesday, November 10th, Congressman Davis will release his weekly column which will discuss H.R. 3962 and the Republican alternative health care legislation in more detail.