Salazar supporting House health bill

Will include government-run plan

Herald Staff and Wire Reports

Article Last Updated; Tuesday, November 03, 2009 12:04AM

Salazar

Udall

Rep. John Salazar, D-Manassa, said Monday he intends to vote in favor of the proposed House version of the Affordable Health Care for America Act released earlier in the day.

"It has become clear that the current system is in need of significant reform," Salazar said in a statement. "I am pleased with the House version of the bill and I intend to vote for it." The bill will end discrimination for pre-existing conditions, eliminate co-pays for preventive care, place yearly limits on individual payments and do away with waste, fraud and overpayments to insurance companies, Salazar said.

The bill includes an option for a government-run health plan.

The House leadership can afford more than two dozen defections and still be assured of the votes to prevail on the bill, one of the most sweeping measures in recent years.

Republicans put the cost of the bill at nearly $1.3 trillion.

The health-care bill headed for a vote in the House this week costs $1.2 trillion or more over a decade, according to numerous Democratic officials and figures contained in an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office, far higher than the $900 billion cited by President Barack Obama as a price tag for his reform plan.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has referred repeatedly to the bill's net cost of $894 billion over a decade for coverage.

"At my request, the Speaker and the White House included negotiated rates that benefit rural America and districts like the (3rd District) that are disadvantaged by the current system. I asked, and it was included that (Secretary of Health) be allowed to negotiate prescription drug prices with the manufacturer, a move that will save us billions of dollars," Salazar said.

Under the House bill, patients will be able to keep their doctor and health plan, the uninsured will be able to buy insurance, and for seniors the bill strengthens Medicare, Salazar said.

"The house is set to pass this landmark health-care reform legislation, and I will support it," Salazar said.

The Affordable Health Care Act would be funded largely from a 5.4 percent tax on individuals making more than $500,000 a year or couples making more than $1 million a year, starting in 2011. The increase would apply to 0.3 percent of tax filers and raise $460.5 billion over 10 years. But unlike other income tax rates, the new tax would not be indexed for inflation so as incomes rise because of inflation, more families and small business owners would be hit by the tax.

The new taxes for the wealthy would come on top of other taxes Obama proposed for the rich. Obama wants to increase the top income tax from 35 to 39.6 percent on income above $372,950 in 2011 by allowing tax cuts enacted under President Bush to expire.

There appears to be little support in the Senate for added taxes on the wealthy to pay for health care. Some senators want to eventually use tax increases on the wealthy to reduce the federal deficit, and others don't like the idea of taxing the rich for services used by everyone.

Senate action on a health-care reform package is further away.

Sen. Mark Udal, D-Colo., has introduced an amendment that would double the number of physicians practicing in rural areas in Southwest Colorado. Under a pilot program, students at the University of Colorado Medical School would do their internships in rural areas with the aim of enticing them to return to practice.

Udall also wants employees to be able to take health-care coverage with them if they change jobs. Also, he said, small businesses currently are in the unfortunate position of raising health-care costs, slashing benefits, laying off employees, or going out of business in the face of rising health-care costs.

Udall's spokeswoman Tara Trujillo said Monday that "Sen. Udall supports a 'level playing field' public option not tied to Medicare rates. He believes it would bring down health-care costs for Coloradans."