Fact: President's Health Care Proposal Does Not Include GOP Reforms

This should not be a shock to anyone that Obama/Pelosi/Reid made sure that this 'new' Obamacare proposal contained no Republican support. What is shocking is that the Washington Post and New York Times admit the Democrats have frozen out Republican input.

The Obama Healthcare Infomercial which will kick off tomorrow may turn out to be one of the biggest political blunders we have seen from the White House to date. Inviting Republicans and already having the bill complete is not going over well. Now we learn that the White House is counting on Obama's personality to sway Republicans. Guess they haven't taken a look at what the American people think of Obamacare in polling.

Two days before the Infomercial Summit on Healthcare we have this article from the #2 person in the House, Steny Hoyer: Comprehensive healthcare bill may be no go

"We may not be able to do all. I hope we can do all, a comprehensive piece of legislation that will provide affordable, accessible, quality health care to all Americans," Hoyer said at his weekly media briefing. "But having said that, if we can't, then you know me — if you can't do a whole, doing part is also good. I mean there are a number of things I think we can agree on."

Should be an interesting day tomorrow as Obama lectures Republicans on what they need to do to get on board with 'his' healthcare bill. Republican Leader Boehner and the House Republicans seem to be in no mood to be lectured on healthcare by Obama and the Democrats when they refuse to listen to Republicans. Stay tuned for for details on what happens with the Obama Healthcare Infomercial which takes place tomorrow.

Fact: President's Health Care Proposal Does Not Include GOP Reforms

Wash Post: "Obama's Health Plan Does Not Include Those Republican Proposals," NYT: "No Big New Concessions to Republicans"

Washington, Feb 23 - President Obama has crippled the credibility of this week’s health care summit by proposing a massive government takeover based on the 2,733-page Senate bill the American people have already rejected. Don’t take our word for it. Nancy-Ann DeParle, director of the White House Office of Health Reform, described the President’s proposal as “the Senate bill with targeted” changes. One initial review of the President’s proposal says it “largely embraces the approach already taken by the U.S. Senate,” another states it “follows the bill passed by Senate Democrats on Christmas Eve, with changes intended to make it acceptable to their House counterparts,” while another labeled it a “a legislative blueprint … that seeks to unify House and Senate Democrats but makes no big new concessions to Republicans.”

So when the White House claims it has incorporated Republican ideas into a proposal designed to unify Congressional Democrats, count us at a loss.

Despite White House rhetoric to the contrary, the President’s costly, job-killing health care proposal does not implement a single major GOP reform that would lower costs for families and small businesses. It just takes solid Republican ideas to lower costs, waters them down, and fails to deliver reform that can actually be effective. For instance, the President’s proposal to address junk lawsuits is little more than a grant program that would have a limited impact at best. The President’s proposal also prevents states from implementing proven reforms recognized by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and other independent analysts as effective in reducing junk lawsuits.

Make no mistake, out-of-touch Washington Democrats remain very much in the pockets of their trial lawyer allies. The President’s costly, job-killing health care proposal also fails to implement these common-sense GOP reforms that would lower costs for families and small businesses:

Universal Access Programs so all patients with preexisting conditions will have access to affordable health care coverage – without waiting lists;

Allowing Americans to shop for coverage across state lines without a new federal bureaucracy;

Allowing small businesses to pool together and offer health care at lower prices, just as big corporations and unions do now;

Empowering states to implement innovative reforms that make coverage more affordable.

The CBO has confirmed that the Republican health care bill would lower premiums for families and small businesses by up to 10 percent. That’s the relief Americans need based on the step-by-step approach they want.

The Washington Post reports that the President’s proposal “rejects repeated calls from Republicans to scrap Democratic efforts from last year and start over”:

"By offering his own proposal, Obama is betting that Americans watching the health-care summit will provide his efforts new momentum after a nearly year-long process that ground to a halt while negotiators cut deals in back rooms and Republicans intensified their criticisms. "Instead, the GOP has been pushing a series of modest changes they say could bring down costs and improve coverage, including tort reform and new freedoms for insurance companies to sell their policies across state lines. "Obama's health plan does not include those Republican proposals…”

The President and Congressional Democrats apparently believe that every health care bill must begin with tax increases, Medicare cuts, job-killing mandates, and higher premiums. Americans want us to scrap this massive bill and start over with a step-by-step approach focused on lowering costs.

Source: Republicanleader.house.gov