Murphy Calls For Real Healthcare Reform, Votes No On Pelosi Bill

Press Release

Speaker Nancy Pelosi today pushed through her healthcare plan paid for by taxes on families, small businesses and the sick, and cuts to Medicare by a narrow margin in the House of Representatives. Congressman Tim Murphy (PA-18) opposed the legislation on the grounds that the plan did not offer quality healthcare reforms or lower the cost of healthcare. Following the vote, Congressman Murphy released the following statement:

"Today's legislation does little to eliminate the $800 billion to $1 trillion in waste that currently plagues the healthcare system and drives up costs; it continues to finance it with more money from the taxpayers.

"For years I've been fighting for real healthcare reforms to lower costs and better quality -- from the time I took on insurance companies with the Patient Bill of Rights in the State Senate to mental health parity in Congress. There are several items in the bill that I support such as people with pre-existing conditions cannot be denied healthcare, a person cannot lose their healthcare if they get sick, and sliding-scale assistance for those who cannot afford coverage but do not qualify for Medicaid or Medicare. Unfortunately, even with these improvements, Speaker Pelosi's plan does not offer the needed quality reforms that will improve the delivery of healthcare at a lower cost.

"Real healthcare reform means innovation in medicine, preventative care, collaborative care, and disease management programs. It is not too late to reform Medicare and Medicaid by eliminating the waste and improving quality. Real insurance reform gives people the choice to purchase insurance across state lines, the choice to pool together and purchase insurance in groups, and adopt standards that make insurance personal, permanent, and portable.

"Instead, this legislation eliminates some of the very programs that have proven to improve healthcare and lower costs by cutting $500 billion from Medicare Advantage. Seniors, however, are not the only ones that will pay. Under Speaker Pelosi's plan, people with private insurance pay, people without insurance pay, employers pay and the people who pay the most are the sick. There will be a wheelchair tax, a hospital bed tax, a hip replacement tax, a hearing aid tax. People with heart disease will have to pay more for pacemakers, artificial hearts, and heart monitors.

"The legislation also creates another public plan when we still cannot afford or manage the current government-run healthcare programs. Medicare and Medicaid are plagued by barriers, burdens, and bureaucracy that require acts of Congress to fix one piece at a time. I have long advocated for a blue ribbon panel to reform Medicare and Medicaid and lower healthcare costs.

"Millions are asking to us fix health care, but they want us to do it right. Millions of Americans can't all be wrong. There is much that can be done to improve healthcare if we all work together. As the Senate moves forward with legislation and works on a compromise with the House of Representatives, it is my hope that the final product will include real reforms that make quality healthcare affordable for all."

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