When Congress returns from its August break next week, health care reform will once again be at the top of its agenda, said Rep. Nathan Deal, R-Gainesville.
A Democratic health care bill passed three different House of Representatives committees before Congress recessed in July. Deal, who is running for governor next year, told a town hall meeting on Wednesday at the Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center that the next step would normally be for the House Rules Committee to reconcile any differences among the three versions of the bill, then send it to the floor for a full vote. But Deal says that likely won’t happen.
“The landscape on this issue has changed radically (since Congress left Washington),” he said.
There were no fireworks Wednesday from the crowd of about 300, but Deal said raucous town hall meetings across the country have shown his colleagues that many people are concerned, frightened and angry about many of the health care proposals being talked about in Washington.
“Senior citizens are concerned about whether Medicare will still be available,” he said.
Deal noted that the House Democratic plan would be funded by about $500 billion in cuts to Medicare, the federal health plan for senior citizens, and $800 billion in new taxes.
“The anger has been engendered because of the rush with which the bill has been presented,” he said.
Deal said that during one hearing on the bill held by the House Energy and Commerce Committee neither Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the sole witness at the hearing, nor any of the committee members questioning her had actually read the bill they were talking about.
Deal said the original bill was 1,017 pages, but he said that after numerous amendments and revisions he isn’t sure how long it is now.
“Some members of Congress when they went home in July probably thought they could comfortably explain this legislation to their constituents, and when they got home they discovered they could not. I don’t think anybody can explain this with any degree of accuracy,” Deal said.
Deal took questions from several audience members, and all expressed concern about the bill.
“I personally view this health care reform package as one giant leap towards socialism,” said Frank Brooker. “Why don’t we let the free enterprise system take over in this country?”
Deal said he agreed.
“It is an effort to move this country to a single-payer, government-run health care system,” he said.
Deal said there are some people who want and need affordable health insurance but cannot get it because of pre-existing illnesses or other problems. And he said there is a role for government in helping them get access to health insurance. But he said the bill being discussed in the House goes far beyond that.
Deal said there were some good parts in the House bill, such as provisions to better reward primary care physicians. He said there were things that are not in the bill that would help contain health care costs such as tort reform. He said Republicans would like to make it easier for insurance companies to sell health insurance across state lines.
State Sen. Don Thomas, R-Dalton, said Deal’s proposals make sense.
“He is on the right side of this issue,” said Thomas, who is also a physician.
The forum was hosted by the Dalton-Whitfield Chamber of Commerce and the Carpet and Rug Institute.
Local News
September 2, 2009
Deal: Congress must deal with new "landscape" in health care debate
- Local News
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