“First, the House should introduce legislation to repeal ObamaCare, which almost certainly will pass. Yes, it is very unlikely the legislation would also make it through the Democratically controlled Senate—or even brought up for consideration in the relevant committees. But a repeal vote would throw down the gauntlet and demonstrate the current mood in the House, which reflects the country as a whole. Members could then proceed to introduce legislation that might find some bipartisan support.”
“While we applaud the Chairs’ initiative and efforts to reduce future federal outlays, we feel their proposals ultimately fail to provide an adequate plan for the fiscal future, especially for the unsustainable rise in federal health care costs. We believe that the proposals can contribute to the ongoing budget debate, but are not a roadmap. To help inform the healthcare budget discussion, we outline below the good, the bad, and the ugly policy prescriptions in the co-chairs proposal.”
“Survey after survey shows that Americans oppose Obamacare and want to see it repealed. In a new Gallup poll, for example, opponents of the law outnumber supporters more than 2 to 1: 42 percent said it went too far, while 20 percent said it was ‘just right.’ A recent Rasmussen poll found that 53 percent of likely voters favor repeal.”
CMS Administrator Don Berwick testified at his first and only Senate hearing for such a brief time, that he was unable to be thoroughly questioned. “Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) called the hearing ‘pathetic’ and said the time constraints made any real questioning difficult. ‘It’s like asking us to drain the Pacific Ocean with a thimble,’ he said. ‘We ought to have time to ask the most important man in healthcare sufficient questions.'”
“Dr. Donald M. Berwick, the new chief of Medicare and Medicaid, survived his first confrontation with Republican lawmakers on Wednesday, brushing aside criticism of the new health care law and denouncing efforts to repeal it.”