I support renewing SCHIP to aid children in low-income families, but the bill that Democratic leadership plans to bring to the floor this week is an absolute train wreck that will lead to government-run health care.

The proposed bill has a litany of problems, among them:

• 3.2 million seniors in 22 states will lose their Medicare Advantage benefits, including 14,183 in the Seventh District, resulting in higher co-pays, a loss in specific health care benefits, less quality and choice of programs and fewer choice among doctors.

• Taxes on every private health insurance plan will be raised, resulting in a money drain from the Medicare trust fund.

• Health care providers who offer home health care services, nursing facilities and inpatient rehabilitation services will see reduced reimbursements.

• Beneficiaries would have limited access to wheelchairs, requiring patients who are prescribed a wheelchair to wait one month.

• Illegal immigrants would be allowed and encouraged to apply for SCHIP and Medicaid benefits by the elimination of a requirement that persons applying for such services show proof of citizenship or nationality.

• Valuable fiscal responsibility measures designed to keep Medicare spending in check would be gutted, further jeopardizing the long-term financial stability of the program.

• Senior citizens would have significantly reduced access to prescribed oxygen equipment.

In summation, this bill takes a program designed to aid children of low income families and instead expands our welfare state and sides with bureaucracy instead of needy children and seniors, and I strongly oppose it in its current form.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 1st, 2007 at 11:25 am and is filed under Healthcare, Politics .