Labor & Employment Law

Senate?s McConnell Puts Health Care Repeal Before Jobs Bill

By Mike Hall

Today, the U.S. Senate has the opportunity to tackle job creation head on when it takes up the reauthorization bill for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The bill includes $8 billion for airport construction and repair and some 280,000 jobs are at stake.

But like their House counterparts, Senate Republicans aren?t putting jobs first, no matter what voters said in November. Instead, they want to repeal health care reform and they will use the FAA bill as the tool.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will introduce an amendment to the bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act. The repeal amendment, which is likely to be voted on this evening, comes just days after a new study shows the law will save working families thousands of dollars in health insurance premium savings and out-of-pocket health care costs and small businesses billions, thanks to the law?s tax credits.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) says the nation cannot afford to roll back:

protections for sick children, seniors and middle-class families. We need to get down to business and focus on keeping the economy moving in the right direction. The FAA bill does just that by creating and protecting 280,000 jobs.

It?s beyond me why Republicans are obsessed with fighting past battles when Americans say they want Congress focused on creating jobs. Instead they are focused on protecting big insurance companies.

Repeal of health care reform would cost 1.2 million young adults their coverage through their parents? health plan. It would mean higher drug prices for 2.7 million seniors, eliminating free preventive services for 44 million seniors and discarding measures to help control our health care costs. And it would allow insurance companies to resume denying coverage, limiting care and spending premiums on larger CEO salaries and profits.

Repeal also would end the subsidies that small business owners now are using to provide employees with health coverage and add $230 billion to the federal deficit, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

BTW, just like their House colleagues, Senate Republicans who want to repeal health care reform enjoy some pretty darn good health care coverage, thanks to the nation?s taxpayers.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the most popular plan for lawmakers is a Blue Cross/Blue Shield plan with no coverage limit, $20 doctor visits, $10 generic drugs and free immunizations, among other benefits. Taxpayers foot $700 a month of the $1,030-a-month premium for a family of four.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on February 02, 2011 (boomark / email).