House Republicans Begin Effort to Replace Health-Care Overhaul

Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. House Republicans outlined their first steps toward crafting new health-care proposals a day after voting to repeal the overhaul President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats enacted last year.

“Today is day one of our efforts to replace Obamacare with something better,” Representative Fred Upton of Michigan, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said at a news conference in Washington.

The House passed a resolution today authorizing four committees to begin work on new legislation. Republicans said they will focus on lowering costs, as opposed to the Democratic law’s goal of increasing coverage for uninsured Americans.

“Obviously if we can get costs down the opportunity to afford health care goes up and you can get more coverage,” said Representative Dave Camp of Michigan, chairman of the House Ways and Means committee. “Our focus will be how can we make health care more affordable.”

The health-care law that cleared Congress in March 2010 with no Republican support was the top domestic priority for Obama and congressional Democrats, who then controlled the House and the Senate. It extends coverage to tens of millions of uninsured Americans, imposes new taxes on the highest wage- earners, calls for taxes on health-care companies and provides hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicare savings.

Republicans contend the law will raise taxes, destroy jobs and burden businesses with new requirements, such as the one that makes them report to the Internal Revenue Service any expenditure over $600.

Block in Senate

Democrats, who control the Senate, say the repeal effort will be blocked in that chamber -- and that, in any case, Obama would veto any such measure that reached his desk.

Representative John Kline, a Minnesota Republican and chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, said the committees will release a number of “smaller pieces of legislation” aimed at reducing health care costs. They have no timeline to complete their work.

Two committees have announced investigations into the law, one on its effect on jobs and a second on how the administration has granted waivers for some companies to avoid new rules.

The administration office has approved 222 waivers for companies, local governments and other organizations for part of the law requiring minimum coverage levels by employer insurance offerings, according to its Web site.

Representative Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican and chairman of the House Judiciary committee, told reporters he plans to hold hearings on the costs of medical malpractice insurance and the constitutionality of the 2010 law.

Writing Regulations

The House Energy and Commerce Committee wrote to the administration today in opening an investigation into the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, the office in the Health and Human Services Department that writes many of the regulations to implement the health law.

“Most troubling is that your office is currently responsible for deciding who does not have to comply with the massive new regulations imposed,” wrote Upton.

The House Ways and Means Committee announced a hearing next week looking into how the law will affect employers and the economy.

“Employers of all sizes are expressing concern that the new mandates and regulations will deter them from hiring new employees, threaten their ability to retain existing workers, and harm their ability to increase wages for existing employees,” committee Republicans said in a statement on their website announcing the hearing.

Republicans also plan to use the House Appropriations Committee, headed by Representative Hal Rogers of Kentucky, to financially starve Obama’s overhaul measure by denying money for implementing some of its provisions. Continue ►