U.S. Chamber Expresses Disappointment With Senate's Draft Health Care Plan

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Executive Vice President of Government Affairs Bruce Josten issued the following statement on the latest release of a draft health care plan from the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee:

"The Chamber is very disappointed to see that the committee's latest draft health care plan includes many provisions that are not consistent with our shared goals of reducing costs and increasing access to health care without negatively effecting small businesses.

"The business community strongly supports reform that addresses delivery system shortcomings and delivers lower cost and better quality health care. Employer mandates, including requirements to pay or play are not the answer to the nation's healthcare challenges. An employer mandate would undermine the ability to address the twin goals of health reform: coverage and affordability. Employer mandates, by their nature, limit flexibility and innovation; the foundation of voluntary employer provided health care.

"The creation of a government public plan option would inevitably result in a government-run health care system. We believe that market-driven health reforms are the best approach to reducing costs, promoting efficiency, wellness, and quality of care. Using convoluted subsidies, employer mandates, and legal structures to force people into a connector and then into a public government-run plan fails to tackle the underlying challenge of controlling costs, improving care, and expanding coverage.

"Congress should focus on reforming the insurance market for individuals and small groups – not locking payers into an unsustainable system. We agree with the President – new taxes and fees for those who cannot afford health insurance, whether an individual or a business, is the wrong way to increase coverage. The public and employers are buckling under the cost of the present system.

"The Chamber still believes that comprehensive health reform can be enacted this year. However, the draft proposals to date do not represent bipartisan, pragmatic, or reasonable legislation, and are in need of great repair before they are ready for prime time."

The U.S. Chamber is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

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