[Every Democrat] Votes Against Measure Allowing Americans To Keep Their Current Health Care

nrsc.org ^ | September 24, 2009

[grundle]

WASHINGTON – In a vote that should send chills up the spine of those satisfied with their current health insurance, Democrats in the Senate Finance Committee today rejected a Republican amendment that would allow Americans to keep their current health care coverage.

Sponsored by U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), the amendment stated that the implementation of the final health care bill would not take place unless the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) was able to certify before Congress that the legislation would not cause more than 1,000,000 Americans to lose their current coverage.

The amendment was rejected 10-13, with all Republican Senators voting in favor and all Democrats voting against.

Notably, the defeat of the Hatch Amendment comes on the same week that the head of the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Douglas Elmendorf, testified before Congress that seniors would see reduced Medicare benefits under the bill currently in the Finance Committee.

It also came on the same day that various media accounts highlighted the Democrats’ defense of the proposed cuts in the popular Medicare Advantage program that so many senior citizens rely upon for their health care.

“It’s inexplicable that the same Democrats who continue to insist that Americans’ current health care coverage will not be affected by the Democrats’ government-run proposal would then turn around and vote against an amendment that would ensure just that,” National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Amber Wilkerson Marchand said today. “Blanche Lincoln needs to level with her constituents, especially the senior citizens in her state who the head of the CBO said will see deep Medicare cuts in the Democrat proposal: will they get to keep their current health care coverage, and if so, why did she vote against legislation that would ensure such a provision will be included in the final bill?”

[grundle]

Hatch doesn’t want anyone to lose their current insurance. Instead, he wanted to expose the fact that Obama’s plan would cause at least one million people to lose their current insurance.

[Halgr]

I can’t understand why FReepers are not making this viral even on their own site.

[Halgr]

BTTT

[The Comedian]

I'm running out of room for my particular choice of personal insurance...

[Thermalseeker]

Hatch doesn’t want anyone to lose their current insurance. Instead, he wanted to expose the fact that Obama’s plan would cause at least one million people to lose their current insurance.

Really? What if Hatch's amendment had passed? Maybe it's a legislative trick or some sort of an ill conceived parliamentary move, but your logic regarding this doesn't make sense at all.

If Hatch wanted to expose Obamalamadingdong's lies he should have offered an amendment that states that absolutely no one will lose their current coverage if the bill is passed. Offering an amendment to proposed legislation that caps insurance policy losses at 1 million people makes it appear that Hatch is going along with the Obama plan, not fighting it. Hatch is playing games with peoples lives and it's right there in his amendment for all to see....