Congressional Democrats Continue to Push Untested Government Takeover with ‘Medicare for None’
‘But instead of a serious plan to shore up Medicare or address costs for middle-class families, Democrats are focused on raising taxes massively, trading consumer choice for Washington control, destabilizing the current system in the process. Senate Republicans will stay focused on middle-class families’ priorities. We’ll leave the destructive daydreams to our friends across the aisle.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) made the following remarks on the Senate floor regarding bills from Washington Democrats that would force all Americans into a government-run healthcare system:
“Unfortunately, while the Senate may be writing a new chapter of bipartisan productivity, the same cannot be said for the House under Democratic leadership. On this side of the Capitol, we’ve passed timely legislation to address real, urgent policy priorities. S. 1, for example, helps fight back against anti-Semitism and attends to several other pressing matters with respect to American foreign policy in the Middle East.
“The Senate debated the bill and passed it by a wide bipartisan majority. We sent it over to the House. And now it’s just sitting there, gathering dust. Gathering dust because Democrat leadership is more interested in making flashy political points and picking fights with the President than in making meaningful bipartisan progress. So House Democrats are uninterested in our important foreign policy legislation. Here’s what has captured their energy and attention instead: This week, they’re giving prime billing to a scheme that would snatch away the private health insurance plans that more than 180 million Americans rely on and jeopardize the Medicare coverage counted on by tens of millions more.
“The House Rules Committee -- and by extension the Democratic leadership -- have officially granted a platform to this proposal, best described as ‘Medicare for None.’ That’s not just some cute phrase. It’s literally what the plan would usher in. An end to the Medicare program as American seniors have known it for generations. Democrats want to take the program that seniors have paid into -- which we ought to be shoring up and stabilizing -- and instead pile every other American into it, one size fits all.
“That’s what this is. End Medicare as we know it; reuse its name for a new, built-from-scratch government-administered plan; and make sure the resulting Washington D.C. nightmare is the only game in town by outlawing choice and competition from the private sector. To the 60 million seniors on Medicare, most of whom like things the way they are, Democrats say, too bad. To the 180 million-plus other Americans who rely on private health coverage from their employers, many of whom like their own plans, Democrats say, too bad.
“All these things that American families count on -- I guess my Democratic colleagues want to wipe them all away in favor this untested government takeover. In Congresses past, this kind of a far-left proposal would have been unlikely to receive a hearing. Democrats would have taken one look at this socialist steamroller and run away from it like the plague. Jeopardize current health coverage for nearly all Americans -- one way or another -- for the sake of left-wing ideology? Who would go for that?
“Needless to say, times have changed. Now, across the aisle, this level of radical intrusion is the proud rallying cry -- both here in Congress and on the presidential campaign trail. One of the major ironies is that Medicare is not even safely on autopilot as things stand, let alone herding every other American into the system. As I’ve noted, the Administrator of CMS, herself, recently explained ‘the program’s main trust fund for hospital services can only pay full benefits for seven more years.’
“But instead of a serious plan to shore up Medicare or address costs for middle-class families, Democrats are focused on raising taxes massively, trading consumer choice for Washington control, destabilizing the current system in the process. Senate Republicans will stay focused on middle-class families’ priorities. We’ll leave the destructive daydreams to our friends across the aisle.”
Related Issues: Health Care
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