Health care bill's passage was most disappointing day of career
By: Health Insurance
Submitted: 2009-11-19 15:28:12 | Word Count: 533
U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith says he's a "glass half-full" kind of guy. But as a $1.1 trillion health care reform plan passed the House of Representatives late Saturday night, he found it difficult to muster much optimism.
"Saturday was probably, in my 15 years in public office, my most discouraging day," Smith said in an interview with The Independent's editorial board on Friday. "I didn't feel good about the direction of America, and that this huge bureaucratic monstrosity was likely to prevail that evening."
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Now, as the Senate considers its own version of the reform bill and the House prepares to receive a modified version back for final approval, Smith and his fellow House Republicans are expressing their concern with the bill and pushing for changes to be made.
Smith, who represents Nebraska's 3rd District, said he's most worried about the bill's total cost and the 118 new bureaucracies it would create. One primary way he'd like to see costs reduced for customers would be to allow health insurance plans to be opened up to competition across state lines.
A federal program currently allows large employers to set up health insurance plans apart from the strictures of state mandates, and Smith said he wants those benefits to be opened to small businesses and the self-employed as well.
"The cost of anything goes up when consumers don't compare and don't shop," Smith said. "Intentionally or not, we have this system that discourages consumers from shopping around for their health insurance."
House Republicans succeeded Saturday in passing an amendment that would ban federal funding to pay for abortions under the plan, but Smith said it was little consolation in relation to the bill as a whole.
"It made a bad bill better, but it certainly didn't take away from concerns that I've had about the bureaucratic monstrosity that it is," he said.
At least 40 House Democrats who voted for the bill have responded to that amendment by saying they won't vote for it again if the final version contains those restrictions.
Smith said he's surprised that opposition to the amendment has been so strong, given that a significant percentage of Americans want abortion to be legal but not paid for with government funds.
Ultimately, though, Smith's opposition to the bill comes back to its costs, he said. Even after moving on to talk about the nation's economy, Smith came back to the health reform bill, saying it will counteract the country's current efforts to create jobs and stimulate businesses' growth.
"There must be the understanding with this health care bill that if it passes, employers will be paying more for their employees' health care than before," Smith said, "and chances are there will be less hiring as a result."
