Health Care For America Now

Washington, DC – With opening remarks winding down and the Senate Finance Committee set to tackle amendments to the Chairman’s Mark, Health Care for America Now (HCAN) points out some of the most absurd amendments offered up by Republican Senators determined to obstruct meaningful health care reform:

Hey, Chuck, didn’t you get Frank’s memo?

“For 10 years we were carrying the water of the private insurance companies because they were backing us on health care.  Well, they’re not anymore. They’ve sold out, so now you can go right back at them, because the American people blame the insurance companies more than almost anybody else for why health care is such a mess in this country right now. So you don’t have to nice to them at all.”

 - Frank Luntz in a closed door session with Republicans, describing his “Language of Healthcare 2009” memo, May 2009

Grassley C13: Senator Grassley aims to protect overpayments to Medicare Advantage plans.

Crisis? What crisis?

Kyl C4: Senator Kyl protects the ability of insurance companies to discriminate based on pre-existing conditions, health status, and gender and allows insurance companies to drop the policies of enrollees when they get sick.  Kyl also opposes: assistance to middle class families, health care for the poor, an exchange to help families find insurance, transparency of health plan policies, and Medicaid quality improvements.

Eliminating assistance for middle class families

Grassley C14: Senator Grassley proposes eliminating even moderate assistance for the middle class (removing the cap on premiums at 12% of income), forcing families to continue to pay exorbitant private insurance costs.

And while we’re at it. . .

Hatch  C11:  Senator Hatch would also eliminate access to care for the lowest-income Americans. Senator Hatch proposes striking the Medicaid expansion but provides no other avenue for health care for the poorest Americans, meaning those below the poverty level.   


No employer responsibility

Hatch C5: Senator Hatch would eliminate any shared responsibility payments by employers. Employers could continue to operate on an unlevel playing field, with some employers providing good benefits while their competitors shirk responsibility and many working families are left on their own for coverage.


Jim Bunning: Young and invincible!

BunningC1:  Anyone can be young and invincible! This amendment removes the age limits to young invincible (catastrophic) policies. And just for kicks, he also eliminates protections for middle income families.


It’s what they paid for

Kyl C10-11: Insurance companies can eliminate as many benefits as they want or pay for as little coverage as they can.  


Reduce, reuse, recycle

Senator Kyl is the reigning champ of recycling failed Republican ideas! Nearly all of his amendments – from protections and expansions of HSAs (C17-19, 21) to regulation-avoidance schemes (C16) to caps on malpractice victim damages (C23-25) – represent rejected ideas.


It’s about “skin in the game,” kid

Ensign C11: Senator Ensign’s “Skin in the Game” amendment proposes raising the cost-sharing for kids in families that can’t afford private health insurance coverage. Today, families with children eligible for CHIP (which Senator Ensign also opposed) have cost-sharing limits of 5% of family income.  Senator Ensign would quadruple it.