Labor & Employment Law

Report: Republican Repeal of Health Care Reform ?Dangerous?

By Mike Hall

House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee chairman Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) has issued a new report that outlines 24 consequences of repealing health care reform–which Republicans say is among their top agenda items next year.

In Dangerous to America?s Health: The Republican Plan to Dismantle America?s Health Care, Stark writes that although the new law prohibits insurance companies from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions and provides them other protections:

Republicans want to repeal these vital consumer protections, and reinstate the power health insurers had to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, charge higher premiums and exclude benefits.

The health care reform law also provides tax credits and other cost-sharing devices that will make health coverage more affordable for as many as 28.6 million low- and moderate-income workers. But, says Stark:

If Republicans repeal health reform, they will eliminate these new tax credits and the cost-sharing assistance, leaving tens of millions of people unable to afford coverage.

Despite all their pronouncements about the need to bring the federal deficit under control, if Republicans were successful in repealing health care reform, Stark says it ?would cause the deficit to skyrocket.? The Congressional Budget Office estimates the health reform law reduces the deficit by $143 billion in the first 10 years and by more than $1 trillion dollars in the following decade.

Stark writes that repeal would also:

• Raise drug costs for seniors.
• Increase cost to small business that provide health insurance to workers.
• Repeal free preventive medical care.
• Increase the number of uninsured Americans by 29 million.
• Allow insurance companies to spend less on health care and devote more to CEO perks and profits.
• Permit insurers to levy unjustified premium increases.

Click here for the full report.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on December 21, 2010 (boomark / email).