Will Tom White Join Sen. Nelson and Fellow Democrats in Opposing a Government Healthcare Takeover?

Washington- Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) this week joined a growing list of his fellow party members in expressing opposition to the Democrats’ government-run plan to control the healthcare industry. The question now is – does Nelson’s fellow Nebraskan and the Democrats’ hand-picked challenger against Rep. Lee Terry agree with his state’s senior senator about the escalating costs of the plan, or will he cave to party leaders and support this government-run takeover?

“We have to find a way to reduce the cost. Shifting the cost from one tax pocket to the other tax pocket isn’t going to get true healthcare reform. One of the main things that we need to accomplish is to establish incentives for healthier lifestyles as well as improve the level of care. I think 45% of the procedures that are applied to patients today are inappropriate. Not malpractice, but inappropriate. So we’ve got waste in the system that we’ve got to find a way to take out or this spiraling cost will continue no matter what else we try to do.”  (Sen. Ben Nelson, “American Morning,” CNN, 7/17/09)

Even the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office director Doug Elmendorf said Thursday, “the legislation has been reported, [the CBO] do[es] not see the sort of fundamental changes that would be necessary to reduce the trajectory of federal health spending by a significant amount.” In fact, the CBO also reported that the plans currently making their way through Congress “would actually expand federal responsibility for health care costs.” (“American Morning,” CNN, 7/17/09)

White claims he’s committed to “increase[ing] access to affordable healthcare and pass[ing] legislation that will create jobs and strengthen our economy.” He also says Nebraska “needs a congressman who puts partisanship aside to get things done.” (Tom White, “Tom White’s diary: NE-02: The Next Step,” DailyKos, 6/06/09)

Will Tom White support Sen. Nelson and the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office who agree that the Democrats’ current healthcare plan will have devastating consequences?

Background:

Even White’s fellow Democrats recognize the job-killing consequences of a government healthcare takeover: “The estimated cost of restructuring the $2.5 trillion healthcare system has raised alarms among Republicans and some Democrats, who have argued that the proposed reforms are unaffordable for a country mired in a deep recession. The Blue Dog Democrats complained that the proposed House bill failed to reform payments to doctors, hospitals and insurers and lacked provisions to shield small businesses from excessive costs.” (Kim Dixon, “Democratic faction uneasy about healthcare bill,” Reuters, 7/13/09)

Small business groups immediately registered opposition, saying Democrats’ plan ‘threatens’ growth and job creation: “As our nation’s economy struggles to stabilize, policymakers agree that economic recovery, growth and job creation demand our focus and attention,” [National Association of Manufacturers] Executive Vice President Jay Timmons wrote in a letter to House Members. “However, some legislative proposals not only threaten sustainable growth and job creation, but also our economy’s ability to recover at all.”

“[National Federation of Independent Business] opposes the bill, it said, because “it threatens the viability of our nation’s job creators, fails to increase access and choice to all small businesses, destroys choice and competition for private insurance and fails to address the core challenge facing small business — cost.” (Murray, “NAM, NFIB Criticize House Health Care Proposal,” Roll Call, 7/15/09)