Enzi: Democrats' Proposal a Partisan Road to Government-Rationed Care

Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today said that he will workaggressively to achieve a bipartisan solution on health care reform, a final product he said willneed to look “very different” than the draft legislation released by HELP Committee Democratstoday.

“For health care reform to work and have broad support, it needs to be bipartisan,” Enzisaid. “Unfortunately, the draft bill that Democrats released today is a partisan wish-list that will put us on the road to government-rationed health care.

“We’ve been meeting with Democrats for months to discuss health care reform, but fromwhat I’ve seen in this proposal, it doesn’t look like they listened at all.”

Enzi reaffirmed his commitment to working in a bipartisan way to achieve health carereform, adding that including a government-run program is a wedge that will make a bipartisan solution impossible.

“This proposal leaves room for a government-run plan, which would cause millions ofAmericans to lose the health insurance they have now and force them onto a plan whereWashington bureaucrats ration their care.

Enzi also said that for health care reform to be sustainable it must bring down costs andCongress must find a way to pay for it. The Democrats’ proposal includes significant increasesin spending, does little to reduce costs, and is not paid for.

“We’ve said repeatedly – and President Obama agrees – that we must bring down healthcare costs in order to expand coverage in a responsible way. Yet the Democrats’ proposal doesvery little to address rising costs and make insurance more affordable.

“Our nation’s credit card is maxed out. We can’t afford to pay for health care reform byborrowing any more or going further into debt. The President talked today about paying forthings as we go – how about starting with healthcare?”

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