Tenn. Reaction to House Health Care Vote

Reaction to House Health Care Vote; WDEF

U.S. Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., made the following statement Sunday evening after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Senate’s version of health reform legislation.

“Tonight’s vote is disappointing, and its cost will hit our state and future generations very hard,” said Corker. “On Friday, Governor Bredesen let me know this bill will cost Tennessee an estimated $1.1 billion in Medicaid expansion over five years – a huge unfunded mandate that creates a very difficult situation for our state.

“Beyond that, I think what bothers me most about the bill are its disingenuous accounting mechanisms. It’s insulting to the American people. First, the bill applies 10 years of new taxes to finance six years of spending, resulting in huge deficits over the next decades. Second, even President Obama’s own Medicare officials have determined that Medicare savings are counted TWICE in the bill, hiding the legislation’s true cost. This comes down to elementary school logic; you can’t spend the same dollar twice. And finally, almost as soon as the ink dries on this legislation, a new bill will come forth to deal with all or part of what is called the ‘doc fix’ to ensure that physicians who treat Medicare recipients do not receive a 21 percent cut. The cost of that over 10 years is more than $200 billion, proving that Americans have not been dealt with squarely on the true accounting associated with this bill.”

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U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement regarding passage of the health care bill in the U.S. House of Representatives:

“This is an historic mistake. And unlike Social Security, Medicare and civil rights legislation, the only thing bipartisan about it is the opposition to it.

“The mistake is to expand a health care delivery system that is already too expensive instead of reducing its cost so more Americans can afford health insurance.

“This taxes job creators in the middle of a recession. It means Medicare cuts and premium increases for millions of Americans. When you include the cost of paying doctors who serve Medicare patients, it will increase the national debt.

“It will force governors to cut higher education funding, and raise taxes and tuition to pay for new Medicaid costs. In Tennessee, the governor says the cost will be $1.1 billion or more over five years.

“And the last-minute Washington takeover of the student loan program will add a half trillion more to the debt and overcharge 19 million student loans to help pay for health care.”