 |
NEWS RELEASE
July 15, 2009
Bipartisan effort needed to craft balanced, enduring health care system reform legislation
WASHINGTON, D.C. — “The most successful and enduring public policies, are those that share broad bipartisan support. But the proposal released yesterday in the House of Representatives and the bill approved today by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, confirm that all hopes now rest with the Senate Finance Committee to produce a health reform measure that can be supported by everyone with a stake in a reformed health care system,” said American Benefits Council President, James A. Klein. “The HELP Committee bill was approved on a party-line vote and the House bill is unlikely to receive much, if any, Republican support. We urge Congress to follow the example of the bi-partisan leadership of the Finance Committee which is working to find common ground on the most controversial elements of legislation such as the ‘public plan’ and the requirements for employers,” said Klein. “The myriad requirements that would inevitably accompany an employer ‘pay’ or ‘play’ mandate — as called for in both measures — would ultimately, if unintentionally, destabilize the employer-based system by leading many companies to simply ‘pay’ rather than ‘play,’ And a government-run health plan paying Medicare-type rates to providers would be an unfair competitor in the insurance marketplace, resulting in a massive shift of costs to private payors,” Klein said. The Council also has concerns about certain elements of these measures individually. “The House tri-committee proposal would impose costly, often unlimited state law remedies for employers obtaining coverage within the insurance exchanges. And the Senate HELP bill, with its inclusion of long-term care requirements, raises serious concerns about its future cost and viability,” Klein added. “Completion of work on the HELP bill represents a noteworthy achievement by those dedicated Senators. We also respect the commitment of the many representatives who contributed to the ‘tri-committee’ House bill. In particular, we commend the efforts to encourage greater quality health care outcomes and hope that those provisions will be expanded upon. As the process continues, we urge lawmakers to ensure that final legislation preserves the highly valued employer-sponsored health coverage enjoyed by so many Americans,” Klein said. For more information, or to arrange an interview with Council staff, please contact Jason Hammersla, Council director of communications, at jhammersla@abcstaff.org or by phone at 202-289-6700 (office) or (202) 253-5458 (cell).
The American Benefits Council is the national trade association for companies concerned about federal legislation and regulations affecting all aspects of the employee benefits system. The Council’s members represent the entire spectrum of the private employee benefits community and either sponsor directly or administer retirement and health plans covering more than 100 million Americans.
|
