Last local push to kill bill

Levittown - Opponents have labeled the proposed America's Affordable Health Care Act a government takeover of the nation's medical system. A vote on the historic bill is set for Saturday.

Bristol Township resident Patty DelPizzo lost her job six months ago. Recently, her husband's company was taken over and he could lose his job along with the family's health insurance.

Still, she doesn't support the latest House Democrats' health reform bill, which would extend insurance coverage to millions of Americans.

"I want to know why this has to be jammed down our throats. Why the hurry?" DelPizzo said. "We need reform. Why can't we do it in pieces? I don't want the government controlling my life."

Her sentiments were echoed by about three dozen protesters gathered Thursday afternoon outside Congressman Patrick Murphy's office in Bristol. Another three dozen protesters gathered outside Murphy's Doylestown office.

Murphy, D-8, wasn't at work. He was at a local hospital where his wife, Jennifer, gave birth Monday to their second child, John Martin "Jack" Murphy, spokeswoman Kate Hansen said. Murphy has been reading the latest 1,990-page bill this week, she added.

His Bristol office staff passed out clipboards with health care opinion forms so protesters could write their reform ideas or concerns for the congressman.

"Don't vote for it," one man yelled.

Thirty-one people submitted reform suggestions at the Bristol office.

At the nation's Capitol, at least 10,000 demonstrators, mainly conservative "Tea Party" supporters, rallied Thursday against the proposed Democrats' health care overhaul plan, which is scheduled for a House vote Saturday.

Opponents have labeled the proposed America's Affordable Health Care Act as a government takeover of the nation's medical system. The measure, estimated to cost $1.1 trillion over 10 years, is endorsed by the American Medical Association and AARP, the senior citizen lobby.

The Senate is waiting for the Congressional Budget Office analysis of its health reform bill. The timeline there appears likely to spill into next year.

The proposed House bill would be financed through a combination of a tax surcharge on wealthy Americans and spending constraints in Medicare and Medicaid. Individuals with annual incomes more than $500,000 and families earning more than $1 million would face a 5.4 percent income tax surcharge. Growth in Medicare expenditures would be cut by 1.3 percent annually.

The bill creates a national insurance exchange where individuals and small businesses can purchase coverage. All the plans sold through the exchange would have to follow basic consumer protection rules.

Seniors in traditional Medicare would get improved preventive benefits. Also, the prescription coverage gap known as the "doughnut hole" would be gradually closed.

Reduced payments

But seniors enrolled in private insurance plans through Medicare, including more than 30,000 in both Bucks and Montgomery counties, could lose some extra benefits, as the bill scales back extra payments that the plans have been getting.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said language on abortion and illegal immigrants is still being worked out, but predicted those issues could be solved in time for Saturday's debate and vote on the legislation that President Barack Obama has made his top domestic priority.

Hoyer predicts the House will pass the historic legislation, which would reduce the number of uninsured by an estimated 36 million, and include a government insurance plan that would compete with private insurers in a new insurance exchange, and ban insurance companies from turning away people for pre-existing medical conditions.

The latest House bill also includes two pieces of legislation that Murphy has pushed that would reduce the waiting period for the federal children's health insurance program and implement new Medicare fraud protections, Hansen said.

The protesters gathered outside Murphy's Bristol office Thursday think the government already interferes too much in their personal lives. They warned against adding to a mounting federal deficit, though House leaders say the proposed reforms are deficit-neutral.

Inside Murphy's office near a visitor's log book, someone left a stack of handbills.

"Ram it down our throats in 09, we'll shove it up your (icon of a Democratic donkey) in 10."

Outside, demonstrators lined the sidewalk carrying American and "Don't Tread on Me" flags and signs like, "I'm 4 years old and already in debt" and "Get the government off our backs and out of our health care."

Lower Makefield resident Kathy Sontano, 54, described herself as a former Democrat, now registered independent, who generally doesn't like either major political party. She wants health reform, but not what House Democrats propose.

She supports aggressive tort reform, price transparency, standardizing claim forms and allowing people to buy insurance across state lines. She opposes a public insurance option, saying the government can't run any business successfully.

Imposing higher taxes on medical device manufacturers and private insurance and businesses will only shift the costs to consumers, who'll end up paying more.

"All they're doing is shifting the costs," she said. "That sure is not deficit-neutral to me."

Richboro resident Barbara Weisser, a retired nurse, says the doctors she knows don't support the House health reforms. She supports eliminating pre-existing condition exclusions and medical care caps, but the government shouldn't dictate where people can get medical care.

"I don't want my government to know what is wrong with me," she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Murphy represents the residents of Bucks County, some districts of Abington, Upper Dublin and Upper Moreland in Montgomery County and two wards in Philadelphia.

Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at 215-949-4181 or jciavaglia@phillyBurbs.com.

Key features of the alternative House Republican health care plan (HR 3400)

The Congressional Budget Office says the GOP alternative health bill would cut federal deficit spending by $68 billion over the next decade, while reducing the number of non-elderly people without health insurance by about 3 million in 2019 and leaving about 52 million non-elderly residents uninsured. The share of legal non-elderly residents with insurance coverage in 2019 - 83 percent - would be roughly in line with the current share.

Key features of the GOP reform bill:

Expands "high-risk pools" to extend coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.

Limits non-economic damages in malpractice lawsuits to $250,000.

Helps small businesses band together to buy insurance by reducing regulations.

Gives incentives to states to reduce the number of uninsured and cut premium costs.

Allows insurers to sell their products across state lines. Insurers would have to follow the laws in their home state but not the consumer-protection laws in all states where they sell policies.

Gives employers more flexibility to offer discounts to workers who meet standards for a healthy lifestyle.

Allows young adults to stay on parents' policies through age 25.

Allows people to choose whether to buy insurance and let employers choose whether to offer it.

Source: Los Angeles Times

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