A Health Reform Bill Destined to Be Partisan
With the health reform debate in recent weeks focused largely on GOP opposition to a government-sponsored insurance plan, the implication has been that eliminating the public option would attract Republicans to the proposal.
Hardly.
Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) told reporters today that Republicans also won’t support the Democrats’ proposal because (1) the costs are too high, (2) the strategies to cover those costs will likely include a tax on someone, and (3) the strategy to create private co-ops is “a Trojan Horse” representing “a step toward government-run health care.” By Kyl’s telling, Republicans won’t support the Democrats’ health reform proposal unless it suddenly morphs into the Republicans’ health reform proposal. From The Hill:
“„Kyl said Republicans prefer a narrower approach that targets costs and the factors behind the costs, but that Democrats voted down those proposals in committee debates. The GOP would prefer to see ideas such as medical malpractice lawsuit limits, an expansion of private health care tax breaks and the abandonment of employer-mandated healthcare. The Democrat-led approach to health care also doesn’t include enough allowances for states to experiment with their own health care ideas, Kyl said.
Looks like this is destined to be a partisan bill after all.
