[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 42 (Saturday, March 20, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H1803-H1805]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TEXAS SAYS ``NO'' TO HEALTH REFORM
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 6, 2009, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess) is recognized
for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
Mr. BURGESS. I came to the floor of the House tonight because I want
to share with the House a letter I received from the Texas Medical
Association.
The letter says, ``On behalf of the nearly 45,000 physician and
medical student members of the Texas Medical Association--and on behalf
of our 25 million patients--we are writing to express our opposition to
the health reform bill (H.R. 3590) that will be before
[[Page H1804]]
the U.S. House of Representatives this weekend. Please vote `NO.'
``Unlike the American Medical Association, we do not believe that
passage of H.R. 3590 and the accompanying reconciliation bill are steps
in the right direction. Our position on health reform remains
steadfast: Keep what's good in the health care system and fix only
what's broken.
``To repeat what we said in December when the U.S. Senate passed this
bill, the bill is bad medicine for our patients, and TMA cannot support
it. The legislation:
``Does nothing to correct the flawed Medicare payment formula that
Congress created in 1997.''
The legislation ``would increase the cost of health insurance for our
patients and deliver even less in return.''
It ``would dramatically enhance Federal Government interference.''
It ``would create incentives for patients to pay a fine for not
having insurance rather than to pay an unrealistic amount for insurance
coverage.''
It ``would not protect Texas' liability reforms and does even less to
expand those protections to patients and physicians in other States.''
It ``would impose untested and arbitrary treatment standards that do
not improve the quality of patient care.
``In addition, this bill could be a budget buster for Texas.
According to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, the
current proposal would cost the State of Texas up to an additional $24
billion in increased Medicaid spending over the first 10 years of its
implementation.
``Please note that our position is not based solely on the personal
opinions of the TMA leadership. In a recent survey of nearly 3,300 TMA
members, almost 70 percent said if a new health care bill becomes law,
it will make the U.S. health care system worse than it is now in the
long run. Six out of 10 said the quality of patient care will get
worse, patients' cost for care will go up, and patients' health care
coverage will go down if a new bill becomes law.
``Please work with your Texas colleagues on both sides of the aisle
to develop and pass a rational Medicare physician payment system that
automatically keeps up with the cost of running a practice and is
backed by a fair, stable funding formula. No more Band-Aids. It's time
for a permanent Medicare fix.
``Thank you for your consideration of our requests.''
And I will insert the letter from the Texas Medical Association into
the Record.
Texas Medical Association,
March 19, 2010.
Dear Member of Texas' Congressional Delegation: On behalf
of the nearly 45,000 physician and medical student members of
the Texas Medical Association--and on behalf of our 25
million patients--we are writing to express our opposition to
the health reform bill (HR 3590) that will be before the U.S.
House of Representatives this weekend. Please vote ``NO.''
Unlike the American Medical Association, we do not believe
that passage of HR 3590 and the accompanying reconciliation
bill are steps in the right direction. Our position on health
reform remains steadfast: Keep what's good in the health care
system and fix only what's broken.
To repeat what we said in December when the U.S. Senate
passed HR 3590, this bill is bad medicine for our patients,
and TMA cannot support it. The legislation:
Does nothing to correct the flawed Medicare payment formula
that Congress created in 1997. That formula is directly
responsible for the slow erosion of access to care for
seniors and the poor.
Would increase the cost of health insurance for our
patients and deliver even less in return.
Would dramatically enhance federal government interference,
bureaucracy, and red tape for patients and physicians.
Would create incentives for patients to pay a fine for not
having insurance rather than pay an unrealistic amount for
insurance coverage.
Would not protect Texas' liability reforms and does even
less to expand those protections to patients and physicians
in other states.
Would impose untested and arbitrary treatment standards
that do not improve the quality of patient care.
In addition, this bill could be a budget buster for Texas.
According to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission,
the current proposal could cost the State of Texas up to an
additional $24 billion in increased Medicaid spending over
the first 10 years of its implementation.
Please note that our position is not based solely on the
personal opinions of the TMA leadership. In a recent survey
of nearly 3,300 TMA members, almost 70 percent said if a new
health care bill becomes law, it will make the U.S. health
care system worse than it is now in the long run. Six out of
10 said quality of patient care will get worse, patients'
cost for care will go up, and patients' health care coverage
will go down if a new health care bill becomes law.
Finally, regardless of whether HR 3590 becomes law, we
strongly urge you to take swift action to stop the implosion
of our Medicare system. Since its inception, the Sustainable
Growth Rate Formula (SGR) has not worked. Annually, it has
forced physicians to limit access for our patients, pushing
patients into higher-cost areas like emergency rooms. Every
year for a decade, we have faced steep cuts that jeopardize
our ability to care for patients. You and your colleagues
have recognized this glaring problem--this gaping wound in
our health care system--but have been willing to address it
only with Band-Aids. We need more than Band-Aids. We need
more than sutures. We need a complete transplant. Congress
created this disease, and only you, as a current member of
Congress, can cure it.
We note that HR 3590 creates a physician payment board--
independent of and not answerable to Congress--with the
authority to unilaterally determine physicians' Medicare
payments. Even if Congress were to fix the flawed SGR
formula, your action could be, and likely would be, ignored
by this board.
Please work with your Texas colleagues on both sides of the
aisle to develop and pass a rational Medicare physician
payment system that automatically keeps up with the cost of
running a practice and is backed by a fair, stable funding
formula. No more Band-Aids. It's time for a permanent
Medicare fix.
Thank you for your consideration of our requests. Please
feel free to contact us at any time if we can be of any
assistance in this process.
Sincerely,
William H. Fleming III, MD,
President, Texas Medical Asociation.
Susan Rudd Bailey, MD,
President-Elect, Texas Medical Association, Chair, Texas
Delegation to the AMA.
I also want to share a letter I received from the American College of
Surgeons. Again, this is similar language.
``On behalf of the more than 75,000 members of the American College
of Surgeons, I write to restate that the College shares your commitment
to make quality health care more accessible to all Americans. Over the
past year and a half, the College has consistently sought to serve as a
constructive voice of reform, guided by the College's principles of
providing quality and safety, improving patient access to surgical
care, while enacting meaningful liability reform, and reducing health
care costs.''
``The College's principles underscore our commitment to health care
reform that will extend coverage and improve access to quality health
care for more Americans. Without addressing these fundamental concerns,
the College believes that H.R. 3590 will undermine quality and threaten
patient access to surgical care. Therefore, the College opposes the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009.'' But we do
``remain steadfast in our role as champions for meaningful health care
reform that is in the best interest of patients.''
I also have a letter from the Texas Association of Home Care &
Hospice. They conclude by saying, ``The Texas Association for Home Care
& Hospice again respectfully requests that Congress reject the notion
that reductions in Medicare home health and hospice reimbursement rates
equates to health care reform and long-term cost containment and ask
that you vote no on the current health care proposal.''
I also wanted to share some insights from the Texas Attorney General
regarding the constitutionality of the individual mandate.
According to Greg Abbott, ``The individual mandate is
constitutionally suspect because it does not fall within any'' of the
normal categories. ``The mandate provision of H.R. 3590 attempts to
regulate a nonactivity. The legislation actually imposes a financial
penalty upon Americans who choose not to engage in interstate
commerce--because they choose not to enter into a contract for health
insurance.
``In other words, the proposed mandate would compel nearly every
American to engage in commerce by forcing them to purchase insurance,
and then use that coerced transaction as the basis for claiming
authority under the commerce clause.''
Seems a little tortuous to get to that point.
[[Page H1805]]
Finally, a letter from the Governor of the State of Texas, Rick
Perry, who also delineates concerns about the cost of the program. He
ends up, ``While Washington argues, Texans wait for real reform that
results in everyone to have the opportunity to live a healthier life
without adding trillions of dollars of debt that we and our children
will'' end up having to pay.
Thank you for the consideration.
____________________