House OKs health care reform bill McCaul votes no

Democrats took a huge step forward in their quest to reform health care last weekend, when the House of Representatives approved the biggest medical coverage expansion in the past four decades.

Passage of the bill - a longtime Democratic goal to provide universal heath care coverage - came down to five votes, with 220 members voting in favor and 215 members voting against the plan projected to cost $1.1 trillion over the next 10 years.

House Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, voted against the measure, saying all can agree health care reform is urgently needed, but the bill "destroys the American health care system as opposed to improving it."

"Despite it’s monstrous size, this health care takeover has come down to a few clear, evident points: it raises taxes, raises premiums, increases health care costs, and dumps trillions of dollars of debt on our children and grandchildren," McCaul said from the House floor during the heated debate. "Small businesses and families will bear the weight of this bill for generations."

Rep. Anh Cao of Louisiana was the lone Republican to vote for the bill; 39 Democrats opposed the measure.

While President Obama stands closer to the possibility of universal health care, Democrats on Capitol Hill know it’s far too early to celebrate. The Senate - far more conservative than the House - has yet to pass its version of the bill, a feat some question will be accomplished this year.

If and when the Senate does pass its health care bill, members from each chamber then have to combine the bills, hammer out the details, and agree on one version that requires approval from each the Senate and House before traveling to Obama’s desk for approval.

The Senate’s version comes with a lesser price tag - at $829 billion - and would cover 94 percent of Americans.

Under the House bill, companies with a payroll of more than $500,000 are required to provide insurance, or pay a penalty of up to 8 percent of their payroll. Companies with more than 50 employees would be required to pay a fee of up to $750 per worker, under the Senate version, if its employees rely on government subsidies to purchase heath care coverage.

McCaul, who has voiced his distaste over the health care bill passed by the House, said that instead of incentivizing the private market to offer more affordable health care coverage options, the House-approved bill punishes small businesses and their employees, threatening jail time for individuals who do not purchase insurance.

"The over 2,000 page spending plan imposes nearly $800 billion in new taxes on individuals, families and small businesses," McCaul said. "It places mandates on both individuals and employers which, according to the president’s economic advisor, will result in the loss of up to 5.5 million jobs."

"These mandates will also discourage the hiring of low-wage and minority workers," the congressman continued. "In the face of both a recession and a 10.2 percent unemployment rate, Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi’s unprecedented tax-and-spend approach will come at the expense of American citizens."

The House measure - also getting funding from more than $170 billion cut from Medicare Advantage plans - would extend coverage to some 36 million Americans currently without insurance, all while creating a government health insurance program. However, McCaul said an estimated 114 million Americans will lose their insurance under the plan.

The bill would also end the practice of insurance companies not covering pre-existing conditions, or dropping customers once they become ill.

"The bill puts the government in the middle of Americans’ personal health care decisions, as opposed to reform based on improving the quality and affordability of health care," McCaul said. "Furthermore, the bill also abolishes the private health insurance market, forcing all individuals to purchase coverage through a government-controlled exchange and eliminating choices from the health care system. While this bill takes care of members of Congress, it eliminates the freedom of choice for the American public."

McCaul said the Republican alternative, which incorporates his previously submitted alternative, provides a "common-sense" approach to what he called the main problems in the current health care system. The alternative, he noted, would lower premiums, decrease health care costs, reign in federal spending, and allow for more options, choice and innovation in the overall system.

"We are not listening to Americans, and we are missing the opportunity to use insight from the experts in the field to enact meaningful reform," McCaul said. "This bill is not what Americans have asked for."