LAKEVILLE — Rep. Chris Murphy (D-5) spoke with The Lakeville Journal Tuesday morning, Aug. 4, about the health-care bill that passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee last month.
Murphy sits on the committee, which has been at the center of the health-care and energy bills that have dominated discussion in Washington.
In an informal process, The Journal asked Northwest Corner residents what questions they had about the proposed health-care legislation.
Question: What’s the rush?
Murphy said the original notion of getting a bill through the House before the August recess was “too fast.�
“We wanted time to talk to constituents and review the legislation. Then we can get down to work in the fall. Setting a target to pass legislation by the end of the year is reasonable.�
Question: How are we going to pay for this?
“We already have the most expensive health care in the world. We’re about twice as expensive as other industrialized nations,� Murphy responded.
He said the bill “cuts fat from the existing health-care system� and will reduce costs by $600 billion, “by essentially paying not for volume, but for quality.
“The bill will also trim federal subsidies for insurance and pharmaceutical companies.�
Murphy said the status quo is “bankrupting our economy,� citing a Waterbury business that is facing a 30-percent hike in health insurance premiums. “We have to address the cost of health care to businesses.�
Murphy’s remarks anticipated the next question, which was “Why not write a bill targeting the uninsured first?�
“By closing our eyes to the uninsured [estimates range from 46 to 50 million], we’re spending money. The uninsured get health care — but they get it at the emergency room.�
Question: Does all this mean a tax increase on the middle class?
“The worst thing we could do right now is raise taxes on the middle class,� replied Murphy, with some heat. “We cannot pass a bill that either passes the cost of health care along to the middle class or adds to the deficit. I have no interest in passing a bill that adds to the cost of living.�
Q: Is the health-care bill the first step toward a single-payer, national health insurance plan? Is it the beginning of the end of private insurance?
“This debate has a long way to go,� said Murphy. “I’m here [in Connecticut, during the recess] to listen to people about what they want in their health care.�
All the proposals being discussed in Congress “envision employer-based insurance as the basis of the health-care system. We’ll pass rules to hold insurance companies accountable, but it’s not just a line Obama uses in his speeches. People will keep their private insurance and pay less for it.�
Pay Bill for Robin Starr’s service in the Continental Army.Courtesy the Alex Breanne Corporation
John Mills speaking at Quinnipiac University.Courtesy the Alex Breanne Corporation
Stephanie Saetta,with her rescue dog George and Blue (left), a shepherd mix awaiting his forever home.Madi Long
Blue, a 7 year-old Shepard mix, is waiting for his forever home. Madi Long
