McCains view on the PPACA

Senators reply Letter | 10/8/13 | Senator McCain

[Don Corleone]

Thank you for contacting me with your views on the health reform legislation passed by Congress in 2010.

Three years after its passage, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) remains one of the most controversial bills ever considered in Congress. While I support improving our health care delivery system to bring down costs and increase access to affordable health insurance, and have put forth several detailed proposals, the PPACA is not the answer. As written, this legislation would lead to higher health care costs, increased taxes, trillions of dollars in new federal spending, $715 billion in cuts to Medicare, and more expensive health insurance.

Despite the President’s repeated claims to the contrary, the new unsustainable entitlement created by PPACA will add to the deficit, undermine America’s global leadership in health care innovation and quality of care, and put the federal government in charge of writing the health insurance policies that individuals and employers are mandated to purchase.

I believe we need to repeal the new health care law and replace it with common sense reforms that will drive down the cost of care while improving accessibility to affordable health insurance coverage.

This can be achieved by increasing choice and competition by allowing individuals to purchase insurance policies across state lines, enacting medical malpractice reform, focusing on prevention and incentivizing wellness programs, and establishing affordable coverage mechanisms for individuals with high-risk and preexisting conditions.

I oppose the PPACA. I always have and I always will. I have done, and will continue to do, everything I can to see that it is repealed and replaced. Which is why on September 27, 2013, I voted to invoke cloture and end debate on the House-passed H. J. Res. 59, the Continuing Resolution for Fiscal Year 2014 (C.R.), which would defund PPACA. On that same day, I voted against Reid Amendment #1974 that removed the PPACA provisions from the C.R. Because of the passage of this amendment, I voted against final passage of the C.R. Ultimately, H. J. Res. 59 passed in the Senate, 54-44. While I will continue to work to prevent the implementation of PPACA, I do not believe a government shutdown is the proper course of action because it risks disrupting key government functions on which millions of Americans rely.

The fact is that the votes do not exist in the Senate to defund the PPACA at this time, nor the 67 votes needed to overcome a Presidential veto, which is a certainty. The fight against the PPCA is one I’ve fought for years. I’ll take seat second to no one in my efforts to oppose that law but pursuing a tactic that would trigger a government shutdown is unacceptable.

I will continue my efforts to replace the unsustainable health reform law that was forced through Congress with reforms based on competition and freedom rather than the expansion of the federal bureaucracy.

Thank you again for writing to me. Please feel free to contact me if you have any other comments or questions.

[PoloSec]

That’s what SAYS today, standby for tomorrow when he says what he MEANS.

Congruency is not his strong suit...

[Sybeck1]

It does not take 67 votes as the McCainic is spouting over his pea soup. It is 51, because it is budget related. Mark Levin took this to task last night. Juan is a liar.

[billhilly]

Does anyone really care about McCain’s views?

[Servant of the Cross]

I oppose the PPACA. I always have and I always will. I have done, and will continue to do, everything I can to see that it is repealed and replaced.

Blah. Blah. Blah. gopE-speak. This miserable egotistical old coot is such a phony liar. EVERYTHING would have included voting AGAINST cloture you pitiful little man. Here's Ted Cruz describing McQueeg, McConnell, Graham and all the other pathetic gopE leaders who have all too happily allowed 0bama and Reid to kick their butts (and indirectly ours) around for decades.

I will tell you the single biggest surprise in arriving to the Senate is the defeatist attitude here. I mean, we don't even talk about how to win a fight. There's no discussion. We talk about, "Hey, let's get a show vote so we can go tell our constituents we're doing something." But I promise you, Rush, if you had to sit through one Senate lunch, you'd be in therapy for a month ... but they've been here a long time, and they're beaten down, and they don't believe we can win. They don't believe it can happen, and the answer they say on every issue is, "No, we can't do it. We can't do it."

[shego]

Sure, I’ll read McCain’s opinion as soon as I have nothing more worthwhile to do, like watching my toenails grow.

[USNBandit]

One of the things he suggested during the 2008 campaign was taxing health benefits as wages, which would be the opposite of employer based benefits being paid for with pretax dollars.

He must get pretty sore sitting on the fence day after day.

[Paladin2]

"He must get pretty sore sitting on the fence day after day. "

Trust me, I don't feel his pain.

[Still Thinking]

McQueeg is LYING through his teeth. How can I verify this for sure?

I don't know -- is his mouth open?

[Still Thinking]

He must get pretty sore sitting on the fence day after day.

I'm given to understand there are those who enjoy such things. Maybe he'll get the Ed II treatment someday.