Markets
U.S. open in 9 hrs, 28 mins
BUSINESS NEWS
- Market News
- Earnings
- Recalls
- Recession Watch
- Tech News
- Financial Crisis
- Madoff Scandal
- BloggingStocks
- Luxist
- Money Videos
INVESTING
- Stock Quotes
- Stock Charts
- Stock Ticker
- Currencies
- Portfolio
- Stock Screener
- Broker Center
- Mutual Fund Center
- ETF Center
- Money
- 24/7 Wall St.
- Financial Glossary
PERSONAL FINANCE AT WALLETPOP
- Bargains
- Banking
- Budget
- Calculators
- College Finance
- Community
- Credit
- Deals
- Debt
- Economizer
- Food
- Home
- Fraud
- Insurance
- Interest Rates
- Loans
- Mortgages
- Real Estate
- Recalls
- Recession
- Retirement
- Saving
- Simplification
- Specials
- Taxes
SMALL BUSINESS
Health care issues: What are GOP's reform ideas?
By The Associated Press
, AP
-A look at key issues in the health care debate:
THE ISSUE: Republicans are the minority party in both houses of Congress. What health care proposals have they advanced, and are they going anywhere?
THE POLITICS: The most viable Republican proposal on health care has come from Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe, to use the threat of government insurance to force private insurers to lower prices. President Barack Obama and many Democrats saw some political value in including Snowe's "trigger" plan, but ultimately rejected it for one that would permit states to opt out of government insurance.
Other GOP plans have next to no chance of becoming law. House Republicans have released a bill draft that focuses on bringing down costs and limiting malpractice lawsuits. The bill leaves out many provisions of the Democrats' 1,990-page legislation, such as new requirements for employers to insure their employees. It also doesn't block insurers from denying coverage to people with pre-existing health conditions.
Democrats immediately dismissed the Republican plan as insubstantial.
WHAT IT MEANS: A rewrite of health care policy is the Democrats' signature issue — a plus for the president's party if it meets their goals of covering nearly every American without adding to the deficit. But if it underwhelms, Republicans will blame the Democrats and ask the voters to turn them out of Congress. The GOP's top targets: Democratic freshmen from districts Republican presidential contender John McCain won in 2008.
— Laurie Kellman
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
2009-11-23 14:08:20
COMMENTS ( 1 )
Page 1 of
1
1
SeanLean
10:25AM Oct 18 2009
Everyone seems to be missing the point: Where are we going to find the hospitals, clinics, doctors, and nurses for TENS of MILLIONS of people that currently do not have medical insurance or coverage? That's right, it ***cannot*** be done without RATIONING current health care. We cannot flood the system with millions and millions of more people because it cannot physically handle such massive numbers WITHOUT RATIONING!!! When we start RATIONING health care, we will have people (as in Canada and Europe) that frequently die while waiting for treatment. Wake up, America. Your Constitution is on fire. This is just a political power play to dismantle and wreck our medical systems to illegally purchase votes with your tax dollars and health.
REPLY
RATING
(0 RATINGS)
Page 1 of
1
1