House Committee on Education and Labor
U.S. House of Representatives

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. John Kline (R-MN), the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee’s senior Republican member, today joined other members of the House GOP Health Care Solutions Group to examine the true cost of the recently enacted health care law for American taxpayers, job creators, and the doctor-patient relationship. 

“From the moment Democrats proposed a massive government takeover of health care, it was clear such a radical change would cost Americans far more than they bargained for,” said Kline. “Now that the ink is dry and the bureaucratic implementation has begun, the true costs and consequences are coming to light – and not surprisingly, Americans don’t like what they see.” 

The solutions group heard from experts and individuals affected by the new law, each of whom highlighted a different aspect of the law’s true costs. 

• Cost to taxpayers: “A more realistic assessment likely emerges if one strips out gimmicks and budgetary games and reworks the calculus: the Bill will more likely raise, not lower, federal deficits, by $554 billion in the first ten years and $1.4 trillion over the succeeding ten years,” explained Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the American Action Forum and former director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

• Cost to the doctor-patient relationship: “Government control of prices, heavy-handed payment reductions through the newly-created Independent Medicare Payment Advisory Board, short-term bonus payments for some, and increased reporting to the government for all will eventually lead to long-term cuts, loss of access to care, and the loss of professional autonomy for physicians,” said Dr. M. Todd Williamson, spokesman for the Coalition of State Medical/National Specialty Societies.

• Cost to job creators: “Unfortunately, the flawed legislation signed into law earlier this spring contains a framework that will encourage further shifting of health costs onto the backs of small franchised businesses—in the form of a mandate on employers—and impose new taxes and fees that will be passed along by health insurance providers to consumers,” said business owner Gail Johnson, president and CEO of Rainbow Station, Inc., which offers preschool and other childcare services. 

“Today’s forum underscored that many of the health care law’s costs – monetary and otherwise – have only begun to emerge,” said Kline. “In the coming months, Republicans will continue to highlight the harmful consequences of a government takeover of health care and work to avert those dangers by repealing the law and replacing it with commonsense reforms that bring down health care costs and expand access to quality coverage.” 

NOTE: Earlier today, Kline joined Rep. Wally Herger (R-CA), House Republican leaders, and other GOP members in introducing the Reform Americans Can Afford Act. The House Republican reform plan replaces the government takeover of health care with a series of sensible, deficit-reducing reforms that include: allowing individuals and small business to purchase health care across state lines; deterring junk lawsuits through meaningful medical malpractice reform; and helping individuals with preexisting conditions gain access to affordable coverage. 

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