Wednesday
Jul082009
Sen. Cornyn Criticizes Democrats' “Power Grab” In Health Care Debate
Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at 2:02PM
By Learned Foote- Talk Radio News Service
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) harshly criticized the health care reform proposals put forward by the administration and Democratic congressmen.
“[There is a] continued power grab out of Washington, starting with the financial institutions, leading to car companies, and now to health care,” said Cornyn during a conference call with reporters Wednesday. He warned that the American government might take up policies practiced in England, the United Kingdom, and Canada, where “government ultimately makes a calculation on the value of individual lives" in rationing health care.
Cornyn, who serves on the Senate Finance Committee’s subcommittee on Health Care, said that reform should lower the costs of health care and make coverage accessible to more people, but argued that the proposals will not sufficiently address these needs. Instead, the Senator argued, they will “create a huge command-and-control infrastructure.”
Cornyn said that the government will undercut private insurance providers, and cited statistics from The Lewin Group, a health-care policy research firm. The groups’ report estimates that 119 million individuals, two-thirds of those currently privately-insured, will end up on a public plan.
Cornyn also criticized a proposal floated by some Democrats to tax health benefits, a practice he said Obama “derided” during the Presidential campaign.
Cornyn praised Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.), the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, for attempting to work in a bipartisan fashion, but said that Baucus is “being dictated to” by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who favors a public option.
“My hope is that common sense will prevail and that we will listen to the stake-holders, including the millions of Americans whose health care will be forever changed should some of these proposals pass without an opportunity for bipartisan input,” said Cornyn.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) harshly criticized the health care reform proposals put forward by the administration and Democratic congressmen.
“[There is a] continued power grab out of Washington, starting with the financial institutions, leading to car companies, and now to health care,” said Cornyn during a conference call with reporters Wednesday. He warned that the American government might take up policies practiced in England, the United Kingdom, and Canada, where “government ultimately makes a calculation on the value of individual lives" in rationing health care.
Cornyn, who serves on the Senate Finance Committee’s subcommittee on Health Care, said that reform should lower the costs of health care and make coverage accessible to more people, but argued that the proposals will not sufficiently address these needs. Instead, the Senator argued, they will “create a huge command-and-control infrastructure.”
Cornyn said that the government will undercut private insurance providers, and cited statistics from The Lewin Group, a health-care policy research firm. The groups’ report estimates that 119 million individuals, two-thirds of those currently privately-insured, will end up on a public plan.
Cornyn also criticized a proposal floated by some Democrats to tax health benefits, a practice he said Obama “derided” during the Presidential campaign.
Cornyn praised Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.), the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, for attempting to work in a bipartisan fashion, but said that Baucus is “being dictated to” by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who favors a public option.
“My hope is that common sense will prevail and that we will listen to the stake-holders, including the millions of Americans whose health care will be forever changed should some of these proposals pass without an opportunity for bipartisan input,” said Cornyn.
Reader Comments (2)
Sen. John Cornyn and Republican legislators are trying to beat back Obama's attempts to get the government to help pay for health care for every American....just like they do in every developed country in the world ....what Senator Cornyn and his Republican colleagues fail to reveal is that THEIR OWN health care plan is funded by ....you guessed it...the American taxpayers. In fact, their publicly funded health care plan is so sweet that a typical PPO family plan which would cost $1227 in monthly premiums ponly costs the Senator Cornyn $356.
http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/rates/nonpostalffs2009.pdf
For every $1 the Senator pays in premiums, the taxpayer picks up the rest ...$3.40.
Plus his deductible is just $300.
http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/planinfo/2009/brochures/71-005.pdf
My wife and I are in our 60's and self employed. My wife has some medical conditions. So What are we paying in premiums? $900!
What is our deductible? $8000!!
It's no wonder why Senator Cornyn and his Republican cohorts love the American Health care system. They're feeding off the taxpayer supplied gravy train.
Senator Cornyn should swap his taxpayer subsidized heath care plan with me. Only then will he realize that it's not so rosy for people stuck in the private market.
Senator Cornyn is correct - this is all about freedom; we have 50% of the peolpe in this nation who work for a living and 50% who vote for a living since only 50% of working people pay 98% of the tax burden. We need less govenment and not more. When will the American people open their eyes and minds and decide whether they want to remain citizens or become subjects!