Please Urge U.S. Senators Lautenberg and Menendez to Oppose Senate Health Care Reform Proposal

Tomorrow night, the U.S. Senate will begin considering one of the most significant pieces of legislation in decades. The health care debate will start with a procedural vote called “cloture,” which would move the U.S. Senate closer to a final vote on health care reform legislation.

While the U.S. Senate health care overhaul legislation does include reform elements the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce supports, overall the bill has many proposals that will hurt the employer community and the economy.

The Chamber is pleased the Senate version includes provisions that offer more choice and competition by allowing interstate compacts to purchase insurance, national plans that provide relief from some state barriers, and the ability for more small businesses to use pre-tax dollars to purchase health plans.

However, the Chamber is very concerned that this bill contains a government-run health plan and an onerous employer mandate, it taxes working Americans, slashes Medicare, spends over a trillion dollars, and – after all this – the Congressional Budget Office predicts 24 million Americans will still not have health insurance.

The Chamber continues to oppose the creation of a new government-run health plan, regardless of provisions that postpone its creation or allow a state to opt-out, because the state’s residents will still be taxed to fund the plan for residents of other states. In addition, the Chamber has criticized forcing employers, who may not be able to afford it, to offer employees government-approved health insurance. The Chamber believes the path to a healthier economy is to cut taxes, not to raise them by $500 billion.

Many parts of this legislation are a step in the wrong direction. The bill now contains two AMT-like taxes that will eventually explode and hurt the middle class – the so-called "Cadillac" plan tax, and the Medicare payroll tax. And there still is no meaningful medical liability reform.

The Chamber has called for health reform that controls skyrocketing health care costs, ends pre-existing condition exclusions and allows everyone to purchase health plans at a fair price. Reform needs to create a real, vibrant market where the nation’s more than 1,000 insurance companies will compete for business.

Please click here to send a message to U.S. Senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez urging them to oppose the current Senate health care reform bill.