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-- Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D. IL);
-- Barney Frank (D. MA); and
-- Barbara Lee (D. CA).
Dennis Kucinich (D. OH) explained "Why I Voted No," saying:
The current "for-profit insurance system....makes money (by denying) health care." HR 3962 strengthens the source of the problem. "Clearly, the insurance companies are the problem, not the solution. They are driving up the cost of health care." They're the reason why "31 cents of every health care dollar goes to administrative costs, not toward providing care. Even those with insurance are at risk. The single biggest cause of bankruptcies in the US is health policies that do not cover you when you get sick."
Instead of fixing the problem, HR 3962 "accelerate(s) the privatization of health care. (It) inevitably will lead to even more costs, more subsidies, and higher profits for insurance companies - a bailout under a blue cross. (The bill) continues the redistribution of wealth to Wall Street at the expense of" Americans getting the kind of health care they deserve and badly need.
Former president of Physicians for a National Health Program, Dr. John Geyman, cited HR 3962 saying "No Bill is Better Than a Bad Bill" in enumerating its negatives, including:
-- enriching providers "on the backs of patients and their families;"
-- having "no effective cost containment mechanisms;"
-- a public option available only to about six million people or 2% of the population, and in 2013 will cost more than private programs for sicker people because insurers are unrestricted on what they can charge;
-- health care will be more, not less expensive; and
-- will still leave millions uninsured and millions more underinsured.
"In sum, this (monster won't) fix the major problems of cost and affordable access. (It) will add new layers of bureaucracy and complexity, is not fiscally responsible, and is not sustainable."
Debate now shifts to the Senate where the best outcome will be killing Obamacare because "no bill is better than a bad" one.
The California Nurses Association (NSA) said the following:
"This Bill Fails to Control Costs." While providing "limited assistance for some, the inconvenient truth is (it falls) far short in effective controls on skyrocketing insurance, pharmaceutical and hospital costs, (does) little to stop insurance companies from denying needed medical care recommended by doctors, and (provides) little relief for Americans with employer-sponsored insurance worried about health security for themselves and their families." And the Senate legislation is even worse.
