Wicker: Senate Health Bill Raises Costs and Expands Government With No Real Reform

Statement

With the critical and consequential health care debate now before the Senate, my guiding principles have been simple. Any health care bill must enact the reforms that the people of Mississippi have asked for and deserve. It must lower health care costs, strengthen quality, expand coverage, and improve access, while allowing people to keep the plans and the physicians they know and trust.

Now that my colleagues and I have been given some time to examine the Democrats' 2,074-page health care "reform" bill, it is evident that this proposal does not meet those goals. If it is enacted, Americans will face higher taxes, higher premiums, Medicare cuts, and unprecedented bureaucratic interference.

Higher Taxes and Premiums

The legislation, which fails on all accounts, would cost a staggering $2.5 trillion over ten years once fully implemented. Despite the President's pledge to shield working families from tax hikes, all Americans would foot this bill through higher taxes. Analysis of the legislation shows that people would be taxed if they have insurance, if they don't have insurance, if they need medical devices or prescription drugs, or if they have high health expenses. Small businesses would also feel the heavy burdens of taxes and fees stemming from the proposal. The national unemployment rate is at 10 percent, and many employees would see their wages decrease or even face job loss as a result of the bill.

Americans would not only be hit with higher taxes. Premiums would also rise. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that 90 percent of Americans would see their premiums continue to increase under the bill the Senate is considering. New federal mandates would impose higher costs on the youngest 30 percent of the population. This group is already the least likely to purchase insurance coverage, and if their premiums go up, they are likely to forgo insurance altogether.

Ultimately, the bill would result in escalating health care costs for those who have insurance, as they absorb the costs of uncompensated care. Excise taxes on health plans, medical devices, and prescription drugs would drive up patient costs as well. The bill would also give the Health and Human Services Secretary authority to decide what benefits are or are not covered -- regardless of what individuals want or need -- and to create panels of unelected officials that could limit treatment options for patients.

Crippling Cuts to Medicare

We would see the quality of American seniors' health care go down as a consequence of the bill's nearly $500 billion in cuts to Medicare. Massive cuts to hospitals, nursing homes, hospices, and home health agencies would gravely impact nearly 45 million seniors nationwide, including more than 476,000 elderly Mississippians. The bill would also take $120 billion from the popular Medicare Advantage program, which has expanded options and services for nearly 11 million seniors. Even without these crippling cuts, Medicare is less than a decade from complete insolvency. The Democrats' bill neither addresses this looming reality, nor meets the needs of our older population today.

Excessive Expansion of Government

All of these provisions point to a critical mistake in the Democrats' approach to health care reform -- the excessive expansion of the federal government. This health care bill would allow the government to extend its power and exert unprecedented control on Americans' health care through mandates, rules, fines, and taxes -- without even fixing the problem.

I have received thousands of calls and letters from all over our state, and the vast majority of Mississippians are urging me to fight the health care bill in the coming weeks of debate. Their view is consistent with the national trend. The more Americans learn about what is in this bill and how it would impact the very personal decisions governing their health, the less they like it. A series of Gallup polls that have tracked Americans' attitudes on health care reform efforts in Congress have shown a steady decline in support. Clearly, Americans are hesitant to place our health care system, and with it one-sixth of our economy, under government control. They simply do not want Washington bureaucrats making decisions that should be made by patients and their doctors.

Americans have common sense, and they expect commonsense solutions from Congress. That is why, as the debate unfolds, my Republican colleagues and I will push for medical liability reform and an end to waste, fraud, and abuse in our health care system. We will propose measures to expand competition by allowing patients to cross state lines for insurance plans and help small businesses pool together to provide coverage for their workers. These are the kinds of reforms that will actually reduce costs and improve the quality of health care in America, and they are the reforms Americans want.

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