Childers: Health bill in House no good
U.S. Rep. Travis Childers wants health care reform, but not the kind proposed in HR 3200, which was passed by the House Energy amp& Commerce Committee last week.
“I will not support it, as it’s constituted today,” he said Monday to the Daily Journal Editorial Board.
Childers, a Democrat from Booneville, said he’s looking for reform that will:
– Contain costs.
– Allow patients a choice of doctors and to keep their current insurance if they desire.
– Increase competition among insurance providers.
The former Prentiss County chancery clerk also said he’s not in any rush to pass the legislation.
“I’m more concerned that we do this right, not fast,” he said, pushing back against the Obama administration’s call for a bill by the August congressional recess and then by the end of 2009.
Childers is serving his second year in the House of Representatives after winning a special election in May 2008 and a two-year term in November.
Childers said he’s especially interested in finding ways to cut waste out of the health care system to hold down costs.
The Congressional Budget Office, he noted, identified more than 100 ways to save money in health care.
“If we don’t cut costs now, we are never going to cut them,” he added.
Childers said CBO hasn’t figured out how much HR 3200 will cost.
Protecting small businesses from government mandates to provide health insurance is crucial, Childers said.
“Why should we punish the only people who are creating jobs?” he said.
NEMS Daily Journal
8/4/9
Magnolia Tribune
