Healthcare reform:
Miller: The healthcare bill needs to be repealed. It was horrible with the backroom deals. It was more of a trophy, and states are questioning its Constitutionality. The 32 D’s who voted against it. 2000 pages of stuff very difficult to understand requiring numerous tax attorneys to interpret. [wind, rain, and hail blocked out a lot].
Shuler: Reform was needed, but the process was not something I could support. It took out half a trillion dollars in Medicare. Our seniors cannot afford that. It should have lowered the overall cost of healthcare, but it didn’t. Waste, fraud, and abuse must be identified and cut. People need to be better informed about their health. The Asheville Project has been successful. The bill is not going to be repealed. Children with pre-existing coverage cannot be denied treatment now. It would be immoral to take that away from our children. We need to remove the bad and keep the good.
Costs are too high. They must be reduced. We can all agree children need assistance. Strong leadership is needed to lower costs and do what is right for seniors and children.
Miller said some things must be defunded. NC already had something in place for kids. South Carolina has decided they cannot afford to do this. Parents don’t insure children until the child gets sick and then insurance is canceled when the treatments are over. NC’s legislation did nothing to make healthcare affordable. Medicare Advantage payments will increase under the existing bill. Repeal does appear unlikely. If it was moral to care for children, why didn’t Shuler vote for it. Healthcare costs went up 24% at my company. There was no tort reform, no addressing of fraud. D’s and R’s should have sat down and agreed on the good stuff. The Blue Dogs could have controlled that vote.
Shuler voted against it because the Blue Dogs had their plan. We considered all the issues Miller mentioned. We requested an up and down vote on each issue, but we were denied. Leadership had to ram the whole thing through because they knew we were doing the right thing. Commonsense, moderates are desperately needed in Congress, who are willing to come together regardless of party.
Miller said that 2000-page thing is too much of a mess to clean up. Shuler said too many people didn’t read the legislation. The Blue Dogs went over and over and over it. They talked to all sectors to be affected. The key issues were missing. It is wrong that most people rely on the emergency room for treatment. As new programs are phased in, we should vote item by item.
