November 20, 2009
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) on Wednesday released the text of health care legislation he intends to bring to the Senate floor. For manufacturers hoping to see a constructive proposal to move the health care debate forward, the bill is a disappointment.
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) has worked diligently on health care issues in Congress this year, seeking ways to improve the quality of care while bringing costs under control. Manufacturers are already doing the right thing when it comes to health care, with 97 percent of the NAM’s members providing coverage for their employees. We want to build on those successes.
Unfortunately, like the House-passed bill before it, this new Senate bill goes in the entirely wrong direction. The 2,074-page Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will raise costs for business, starting with the hundreds of billions of dollars in new taxes.
Small businesses organized as “S” corporations would be hit by the new surtax on wage income, an excise tax would be imposed on health insurance plans, and specific industries would be with additional fees. Further, the Medicaid provisions included in the bill would mean that states will be forced to make drastic budget cuts or increase taxes on businesses and individuals. In total, the legislation raises taxes by $493 billion.
The Senate bill also limits the use of flexible spending accounts (FSAs), undermining the kind of consumer-oriented health care reforms that many NAM members have put into effective use. In addition, the legislation includes a government-run “public option” that will further shift costs onto private insurance, raising costs for employers.
Another failure is the bill’s lack of any meaningful limits on medical liability.
Supporters of first the House bill and now the Senate bill claim they achieve the most important goal of covering millions of the uninsured. The NAM supports expanding coverage, but not in a way that threatens the high-quality coverage manufacturers already offer to their employees. It’s not “reform” to impose higher costs, billions of dollars in new taxes and more government control of employer-provided private insurance.
We will continue to work with Congress, seeking ways to improve the legislation and reinforce manufacturing’s many positive contributions to the U.S. health care system. But the Senate bill would do real damage to employer-provided health care, coming at a time when manufacturers are already suffering from a severe economic downturn. For these reasons, we find ourselves forced to oppose the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act while continuing to support a balanced approach that lowers costs.
John Engler
President & CEO
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) on Wednesday released the text of health care legislation he intends to bring to the Senate floor. For manufacturers hoping to see a constructive proposal to move the health care debate forward, the bill is a disappointment.
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) has worked diligently on health care issues in Congress this year, seeking ways to improve the quality of care while bringing costs under control. Manufacturers are already doing the right thing when it comes to health care, with 97 percent of the NAM’s members providing coverage for their employees. We want to build on those successes.
Unfortunately, like the House-passed bill before it, this new Senate bill goes in the entirely wrong direction. The 2,074-page Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will raise costs for business, starting with the hundreds of billions of dollars in new taxes.
Small businesses organized as “S” corporations would be hit by the new surtax on wage income, an excise tax would be imposed on health insurance plans, and specific industries would be with additional fees. Further, the Medicaid provisions included in the bill would mean that states will be forced to make drastic budget cuts or increase taxes on businesses and individuals. In total, the legislation raises taxes by $493 billion.
The Senate bill also limits the use of flexible spending accounts (FSAs), undermining the kind of consumer-oriented health care reforms that many NAM members have put into effective use. In addition, the legislation includes a government-run “public option” that will further shift costs onto private insurance, raising costs for employers.
Another failure is the bill’s lack of any meaningful limits on medical liability.
Supporters of first the House bill and now the Senate bill claim they achieve the most important goal of covering millions of the uninsured. The NAM supports expanding coverage, but not in a way that threatens the high-quality coverage manufacturers already offer to their employees. It’s not “reform” to impose higher costs, billions of dollars in new taxes and more government control of employer-provided private insurance.
We will continue to work with Congress, seeking ways to improve the legislation and reinforce manufacturing’s many positive contributions to the U.S. health care system. But the Senate bill would do real damage to employer-provided health care, coming at a time when manufacturers are already suffering from a severe economic downturn. For these reasons, we find ourselves forced to oppose the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act while continuing to support a balanced approach that lowers costs.
John Engler
President & CEO
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