Louisiana Republicans Eager to Push Medical Malpractice Reform
Side note: Republican congressmen from Louisiana are eager for the new session of Congress to begin. The #1 item on their agenda…. the repeal of Obama’s historic health care overhaul. But there is one problem, they are uncertain of what they will propose in its place. Experts believe that the vote against health care reform will amount to little more that “political lip service” since the vote will follow party lines and the Republicans lack the numbers needed to pass a bill to overturn Obamacare. The Republicans have been against Obamacare from the beginning calling it a government take over. They have proposed alternative measures including medical malpractice tort reform as a way of lowering heath care costs.
By Bill Barrow
The Times-Picayune
As a new Congress takes office today, the Obama administration and Senate Democrats have launched an offensive against House Republicans’ promise to repeal the president’s new health-care overhaul. But the new majority, including members of the Louisiana delegation, isn’t blinking, even as it is yet unclear what specific policy path they want to take in the long run with Democrats still in control of the Senate and the White House.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius called it a “bad idea” to reverse many provisions that are already in place, particularly expanding Medicare drug coverage, tax credits for some businesses that provide employee coverage and new rules that make some insurance companies spend more on actual care, while making it harder for the firms to drop policy holders. The first major round of changes went into effect in September, almost six months after President Barack Obama signed the bill. More provisions were triggered at the start of the year.
“The new law is already helping Americans get the care they need and establishing a level of accountability for insurance companies,” Sebelius told reporters Tuesday in a national conference call. “Those are goals we’ve been talking about for years, and we’re just now making progress. That’s why it’s so surprising to hear members of Congress wanting to go back to the old status quo that was not working for so many Americans and small businesses.”
