July 31, 2009 | House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) | Permalink
According to new polls this week from WSJ/NBC News, National Public Radio, and Pew,
more Americans now oppose the Democrats’ government takeover of health
care than support it. Why? Because it will raise costs, destroy jobs
through a small business tax and onerous employer mandates, and put
bureaucrats in charge of decisions that only patients and doctors
should make.
But if you take a closer look, the opposition
to the House Democrats’ bill is even more pronounced among key
stakeholders around the country. Veterans, seniors, doctors, and small
businesses are all voicing their opposition to the House Democrats’
government takeover of health care. Consider this:
- Veterans Groups Oppose House Democrats’ Bill.
A group of six veterans organizations, including Amvets, Blinded
Veterans Association, Disabled American Veterans, Military Order of the
Purple Heart, Jewish War Veterans of the USAA, and Vietnam Veterans of
American, wrote to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) that they have “grave concerns” about the bill and that they “would
oppose this legislation because it could limit health care choices for
veterans, increase the cost of health care for veterans, deny coverage
to dependents family members of veterans, and threaten the quality of
health care offered to veterans through the VA system.” And the American Legion wrote a letter to Chairman Waxman that it “is deeply concerned with veterans’ related issues” in the Democrats’ proposal.
- Seniors Concerned About Medicare Cuts, Believe Dem Bill Will Worsen Health Care. A new Gallup
poll this morning says: “By a margin of three to one, 36% to 12%,
adults 65 and older are more likely to believe healthcare reform will
reduce rather than expand their access to healthcare. And by 39% to
20%, they are more likely to say their own medical care will worsen
rather than improve.” Who can blame them? Among the chief concerns
many Americans – particularly seniors – have about the Democrats’
government takeover is its Medicare cuts. The Associated Press reported yesterday that “Democrats
are pushing for Medicare cuts on a scale not seen in years to
underwrite health care for all. Many seniors now covered under the
program don’t like that one bit.” An independent analysis
of the House Democrats’ government-run plan shows the legislation
slashes Medicare to the tune of $361.9 billion. That means fewer
choices and lower health care quality for our nation’s seniors.
- Doctors & Medical Societies Oppose Government Plan, New Mandates. In a letter
to House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Waxman, seven state
medical societies, three specialty medical associations, and two former
President’s of the American Medical Association representing 43,000
doctors wrote that they were adamantly opposed to the Democrats’ bill,
especially to the government-run system that will crowd out the private
market and the employer and individual mandates as well.
- Small Business Groups Say Dem Bill Would Destroy Jobs, Reduce Access to Care.
A broad coalition of job-creating groups – representing small
businesses to homebuilders and manufacturers – has come together to
oppose the Democrats’ government takeover of health. In a letter
to Congress, this coalition wrote: “We are specifically concerned with
a proposal to mandate that employers either provide health insurance or
pay a new eight percent payroll tax. The House ‘pay or play’ proposal
is even more troublesome because employers are also mandated to pay the
majority of employee premiums. Exempting some micro-businesses will not
prevent this provision from killing many jobs.” And the National Federation of Independent Business (NFI
 ,
representing small businesses across the country, also weighed in
saying it would destroy jobs and reduce access to affordable health
care: “NFIB opposes the [Democrats’ bill] because it threatens the
viability of our nation’s job creators, fails to increase access and
choice to all small businesses, destroys choice and competition for
private insurance and fails to address the core challenge facing small
businesses – cost.”
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