Herseth Sandlin praises health care proposal

Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin on Thursday called the Senate Finance Committee chairman’s new $856 billion proposal to overhaul the nation’s health care system an important step in the process.

Herseth Sandlin, a Blue Dog Democrat from South Dakota, said the plan by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., is attractive to moderate Democrats because it’s deficit-neutral and takes real steps to bring down the long-term cost of health care.

She said costs will skyrocket if nothing’s done.

“If we don’t take a responsible approach to controlling costs over the long-term, we’re simply passing that burden on to future generations,” Herseth Sandlin said Thursday during a conference call with reporters.

The Baucus plan would cover about 95 percent of Americans, requiring that everyone get health insurance through an employer, on their own or through a government plan.

Funding would come from fees on insurance companies, other insurers, drug makers and medical device manufacturers, as well as a 35-percent tax on premiums paid on insurance plans costing more than $8,000 for individuals and $21,000 for families.

The National Republican Congressional Committee quickly jumped on Herseth Sandlin’s support, saying in a statement that the premiums tax “would hit the middle class where it hurts the most: in the checkbook.”

The state Republican Party also criticized Herseth Sandlin, saying the bill she’s supporting is being funded “by raising taxes on middle class families who receive great health care benefits.”

Congressional budget experts estimate the proposal would reduce the ranks of the uninsured by 29 million over a decade and trim federal deficits by $49 billion over the same period. Many of the bill’s major provisions would be delayed until 2013.

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., called the proposal “partisan” and said it would force a massive tax burden on families and small businesses.

He said the Baucus plan would cost $1.67 trillion over 10 years of full implementation based on preliminary estimates, and it would be paid for with $507 billion in cuts to government health programs and $349 billion in new taxes.

“Most of the new taxes will be passed on to consumers in the form of higher costs _ including higher health insurance premiums,” Thune said in a statement.

Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., said the proposal keeps up the momentum for reforming the nation’s health care system.

“We have made steady progress over the last few months, and the legislation is another step in the right direction,” Johnson said in a statement. “I find the notion of an insurance exchange to be an appealing idea, and I will be waiting to see the committee’s final bill when they complete their work in the next few days.”

Baucus’ legislation reflected nearly a year of preparation, a partially successful attempt to gain support from outside interest groups and months of painstaking negotiations with two other Democrats and three Republicans on the Finance Committee.

But Republicans withheld their support, claiming the measure was still too costly and intrusive. And liberals reacted bitterly, too, saying it didn’t go far enough to make health insurance affordable for lower-income people.

“In some respects when you draw criticism from everyone, that probably reflects the kind of compromise that’s going to be necessary,” Herseth Sandlin said.

 
Click here to read the full story.