Pitts: “Not a lot we can get through the House or Senate”
By Darwyyn Deyo | PA Independent
Pennsylvania congressmen identified “piecemeal” repeals of the federal health care law Wednesday, but predicted that full repeal would be impossible without Republican control of the U.S. Senate and, possibly, the White House.
U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts, R-District 16, and Glenn Thompson, R-District 15, on Wednesday answered questions about efforts to repeal the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act with Gov. Tom Corbett after Pitts held the first hearing by the U.S. House Health Subcommittee.
“There’s not a lot, probably, we can get through the Senate or House,” said Pitts. “We’re under no delusion that this will pass but we will develop the piecemeal repeals under this massive edifice that we call ‘Obamacare’ and combine them with oversight hearings … so we have the vehicles, in case, after 2012, we get more votes in the House and Senate, and perhaps the presidency.”
Proposals include a move to repeal the requirement for businesses to file 1099 forms for every vendor activity, though this could also create a $17 billion revenue hole in the federal health care act, and a provision to allow individuals to purchase health insurance across state lines.
The federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law a year ago Wednesday.
Pitts also spoke about the lack of flexibility in the Medicaid program, and Corbett said Pennsylvania should be able to manage the federal-state program’s money as it sees fit. The governor pointed to the creation of the state Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) as an example of state government’s apparent ingenuity with taxpayer dollars.
“The states can come up with their ideas of what is applicable to their state,” said Corbett. “There’s nothing that says we can’t determine how that money could best be used in our states, better than the federal government in Washington saying we’re going to use the same system in every state. If we have this one-size-fits-all formula, it makes it very difficult to work with.”
Kevin Shivers, executive director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, testified at the subcommittee hearing Wednesday, saying the federal health care act is costing small businesses.
“There’s a whole series of mandates that are included in this and as a result many small businesses find their (health care) plans don’t conform to federal law,” said Shivers, “so their policies are being terminated.”
Shivers also said that grandfathering, where small businesses’ health insurance plans could be rolled over into the federal health care act, is not occurring because changes, such as increases in the co-payments, were made at the end of last year.
“Sixty percent of small businesses last year made some type of change or adjustment to their plan in order to deal with rising costs,” said Shivers. “All of those businesses who tweaked those plans are no longer eligible for those grandfathering so they’re now subject to all the regulations (that are) part of the federal health care law.”
Not everyone agrees the federal health care bill is bad for the country.
“Congressman Pitts’ dog-and-pony show is just another example of corporate-backed politicians’ war on working families,” said Diane Topakian of the Service Employees International Union Pennsylvania State Council. “We need to move America towards more affordable, secure health care and not backwards to skyrocketing premiums, insurance denials and unchecked insurance company profits.”
The SEIU was joined by the Pennsylvania Health Access Network and Health Care for America Now at a rally Wednesday morning at the state Capitol Rotunda. PHAN and Health Care for America Now are organizations working to expand “affordable health care” for Americans, according to their respective websites.
Twelve people spoke at the rally about how they have benefited from the federal health care law, including a woman who was able to put her 24-year old son back on the family health insurance plan.
“The Affordable Care Act has given me and my husband great peace of mind in knowing that our son has health insurance until he becomes a high school physics and math teacher,” said Theresa BrownGold of Bucks County. “We’re also comforted in knowing he won’t be saddled with medical debt as he starts his adult life if an accident ever happened.”
The rally also protested the end of the state government subsidized adultBasic health insurance program and the transfer of what remains of the Tobacco Settlement Fund to business loans.
“Instead of moving forward and working towards implementing the new health care law, our governor has made it clear he is not on the side of consumers,” said Antoinette Kraus, project manager at PHAN. “The governor has made it clear he would rather add 41,000 people to the already 1.6 million uninsured instead of moving forward to find a viable solution.”
In the meantime, Pennsylvania’s state legislators are working on their own strategy to nullify the federal health care law, including state Rep. Matt Baker, R-Bradford, who has introduced H.B. 42, the Health Care Freedom Act. The bill would exclude Pennsylvanians from the requirement for individuals to purchase health insurance.
Baker said while the bill has passed out of the House Health Committee and into House Appropriations, the priority right now is the budget.
“It’s now up to our leadership to have the green light to move it out of Appropriations onto the floor of the House,” he said. “It’s the prerogative of the leadership … when that bill is moved.”
Baker said he has received positive feedback from Corbett on H.B. 42 and three other related health care bills Baker has introduced, including H.B. 43 to regulate affordable health care and H.B. 46 to allow individuals to purchase health insurance across state lines.
“There are so many ways this health care law has failed small business,” said Shivers. “We’re grateful that Congressman Pitts held this hearing and we’re also grateful that Gov. Corbett joined with the other states in filing a lawsuit against it.”
