GOP health reform bill takes shape as draft circulates on Capitol Hill

Nov 4 2009

The Associated Press: "After months spent criticizing Democrats' health overhaul plans, House Republicans have produced a draft proposal of their own. It's much shorter and focuses on bringing down costs rather than extending coverage to nearly all Americans." The 230-page draft document "leaves out a number of the key features of the Democrats' 1,990-page legislation, such as new requirements for employers to insure their employees and for nearly all Americans to purchase insurance. It also doesn't block insurers from denying coverage to people with pre-existing health conditions, as Democrats would do." The Republican measure, however, includes "incentives for people to use health savings accounts, caps non-economic jury awards in medical malpractice cases at $250,000, provides various incentives to states with the aim of driving down premium costs and allows health insurance to be sold across state lines." Democrats immediately dismissed the plan as "insubstantial." Meanwhile, aides to Minority Leader John Boehner cautioned that it not final but that it would be ready to offer as an alternative when Democrats begin floor debate on their health overhaul measure, possibly at the end of the week  (Werner, 11/3).

Kaiser Health News has posted the text of the draft bill. The GOP plan "will be offered as an amendment to the Democratic bill" and Republicans say it "is a far less costly and intrusive approach to helping the uninsured than the Democratic proposals in the House and Senate" (11/3).