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Disappointed Enzi

Mike Enzi, one of the Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee who has been a part of bipartisan negotiations with Max Baucus, just released the following statement:

"Unfortunately, there are fundamental issues that we were not able to resolve by the deadline that was set for us. I am deeply disappointed that we could not take the time to find ways to resolve these issues. The proposal released today still spends too much, and it does too little to cut health care costs for those with health insurance. At a time when our nation faces a $9 trillion deficit, we should target assistance to those in the greatest need without creating unsustainable new entitlement programs.

"President Obama said that health reform must improve competition in the insurance marketplace and lower health care costs for those who currently have insurance. I agree, but this bill does not go far enough toward achieving those goals. I also believe that health care reform should not be built on expanding the unsustainable Medicaid program, which 40 percent of doctors will not accept. Coverage is worthless if you can't see a doctor. If you have Medicare Advantage this bill could reduce your coverage.

"I have other concerns. This is the most complicated bill any of us have ever worked on. It affects about 16 percent of the economy and 100 percent of the people. Those of us who have spent months working on the hundreds of different areas can appreciate the multiple moving parts and the effect getting it wrong would have. Although there is a sense of urgency, getting it done fast is not as important as getting it done correctly.

"While I cannot support the current proposal, I remain committed to working on health care reform proposals that will have broad bipartisan support. The best way to reform our health care system is to do it step by step. That is how you gain the trust of the American people. Let's start by focusing on the issues where we already have broad, bipartisan agreement."

View all comments (7) | Leave a comment

Missy| 9.16.09 @ 1:53PM

Yeah, I'm so disappointed that I'm crying buckets here.

Buckets and buckets.

Louise| 9.16.09 @ 2:15PM

"It affects about 16 percent of the economy and 100 percent of the people."

And to help 3% of the population it will degrade the services of the other 97%.

gailflaherty| 9.16.09 @ 3:32PM

real reformed healthcare is abolishing old medical technologies like: chemo-therapy, radiation that kills off the immune system; replace with umbilical cord stem cell/adult stemcell therapy clinical trials; bring back crptology, a freezing medical device that cures cancers of the worst kind; abolish laboratory man-made drugs; replace with rainforest drugs/herbs to cure millions of illnesses; test the vaccine right away to see if it really has this dangerous substance animal cancerous cells in it; have the best & brightest medical scientist (pro-life conservative, of course) test this vaccine to make sure it is safe & effective toward the swine flu; if not safe have the best & brightest medical scientist create an effective one that is SAFE; abolish these federal agencies,that mess with our healthcare in any way by ratifying amendments in declaration by wethepeople conservative grassroots. PLEASE EMAIL ME AS SOON AS YOU READ THIS:

Dai Alanye| 9.16.09 @ 3:59PM

gailflaherty's heart is in the right place, but I'd never want her to be (or even advise) my doctor.

"abolish laboratory man-made drugs; replace with rainforest drugs/herbs…" This is simply Gaia-inspired foolishness and ignorance.

ExZonie| 9.16.09 @ 5:00PM

Gail, your email does not show up here.

I beat cancer last year with prayer, supplements and a raw foods diet. I agree with you but the FDA is planning to quash all supplements and helpful substances. You can message me at FreeRepublic.com - my handle is TenthAmendmentChampion.

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More Blog Posts by Philip Klein

http://spectator.org/blog/2009/09/16/disappointed-enzi
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