Hillarysworld

I have been petitioning my Congressman to vote no on the health care bill for awhile, so I was pleased to get this email from him explaining his vote.  I was somewhat surprised to read the part about the unsavory backhanded deals, but glad he was on the ball.


HTTP://www.house.gov/boucher/

April 2, 2010

Dear Friend:

        Thank you for contacting me to express your concerns regarding health care reform legislation. I am writing to inform you of my vote against passage of the health care reform measure which was recently considered by the House of Representatives. I opposed the legislation because of my strong concerns about the effects of the measure on the quality of health care for the residents of Southwest Virginia. 

        I voted against the health care reform legislation when it was considered by the House Energy and Commerce Committee last July and by the full House of Representatives last November and expressed my strong concerns at those times. 

        My opposition to the legislation largely centers on the dramatic reductions in Medicare funding it imposes. Over the next 10 years, the bill requires that Medicare funding be reduced by $450 billion. In fact, in April of this year, doctors in our region and across the nation will have their Medicare payments reduced by 21 percent. Over the next several years, additional reductions in payments to doctors will occur. (emphasis mine) Because of these reductions, many doctors may decide to stop treating Medicare patients. Other health care providers will also experience substantial reductions in their Medicare reimbursements.

        The population of the Ninth Congressional District is more elderly than in the typical congressional district. Most senior citizens in our region depend on Medicare to pay their medical bills. Therefore, these Medicare funding cuts will be far more harmful to the population of our region than to the population of the typical congressional district. These dramatic cuts in Medicare funding will adversely affect the quality of health care for senior citizens and other Medicare recipients.

        Because Medicare is paying less, doctors, hospitals and other health care providers will increase charges to patients who have health insurance to make up for what they are not receiving from Medicare. This cost shifting of some substantial portion of the Medicare cuts will raise health insurance premiums for those who have insurance.

        Health care reform cannot occur at the expense of Medicare beneficiaries and people who are currently insured. Having concluded that these dramatic Medicare cuts would both decrease the quality of health care that is delivered to our region's senior citizens and result in increases in health insurance premiums for the currently insured, I cast my vote in opposition.

        I am also concerned about the unsavory deal making that occurred in the United States Senate when the health care bill was considered in December. Some states received special benefits at the expense of other states. While the measure that passed the House removes several of the special benefits, others remain and were not removed by the legislation. For example, the states of Louisiana, Tennessee, Connecticut and Montana have each received special benefits in the health care reform legislation not made available to other states. I simply cannot countenance this kind of deal making which goes well beyond the bounds of normal legislative negotiations.                                                       

        The bill fails to achieve the tort reform which is necessary to control health care costs. Virginia's tort reform law, which was adopted when I was a member of the Virginia General Assembly, has worked well, and I have urged that it be a model for national application. Unfortunately, the reform bill fails to include this needed provision.

        I deeply regret that the legislation does not have a bipartisan foundation. On a matter of this scope, affecting every American citizen, the best ideas of both Republicans and Democrats should be drawn upon in crafting balanced legislation that well serves the public interest. That did not happen as the reform bill was constructed.

        Health care reform is needed, but reform legislation must also ensure that Southwest Virginia residents continue to have access to the high quality healthcare services that are now delivered locally. The measure debated in the House falls short.

        Thank you again for contacting me.  I hope you find this information useful, and please give me a call if you have questions or comments. With kind regards and best wishes, I remain

                                                            Sincerely,

                                                            Rick Boucher

                                                            Member of Congress