[StBernard] BREAKING NEWS: Rep. Melancon Votes Against Health Bill in Committee, Citing Concerns with Current Version

[Westley Annis]

Dear Westley,

Tonight, after several weeks of listening to the opinions of my
constituents in south Louisiana and working with my colleagues on the Energy
and Commerce Committee to try to improve this a bill, I decided to vote
against the  America's Affordable Health Choices Act (H.R. 3200) in the
Energy and Commerce Committee.  While I have concerns about this bill in its
current form, I am committed to working for healthcare reform that will
bring more choice, access, and cost-savings to health care in Louisiana.

I support health care reform that will lower costs for Louisiana families
and businesses, increase the quality of care provided, and improve access to
coverage and care for every American.   However, I am still concerned about
how the bill, in its current form, will affect individuals and small
businesses in south Louisiana. 

Patient choice comes from competition in the marketplace, and I am concerned
that the public option, as designed, would unfairly undercut anything the
private sector could offer.  

As someone who is personally pro-life and represents a deeply pro-life
constituency, I am also concerned that this bill does not do enough to
ensure taxpayer dollars do not fund abortion. 

Further, I am concerned about the creation of a presidentially-appointed
health czar.  I believe the government that is closest to the people governs
best, and I am hesitant to give such powerful authority over our health care
system to an unelected agent of the federal government.

In addition, this bill does not do enough to address the urgent need for
more providers in rural communities.  My hometown of Napoleonville only has
one doctor still practicing. When he retires, I don't know that we will find
anyone to take his place.  For rural America to survive and stay healthy, we
must reverse this trend through incentives for health care providers to
serve these communities.

As a fiscally conservative Blue Dog, I am also concerned about the tax
increases included in this bill.  I believe any new spending should be paid
for with cuts in other areas of the budget, and taxes should be raised only
as a last resort. 

While I don't support the tax increases in this bill, I do believe that we
must be fiscally responsible and find a way to pay for any new spending
health care reform requires.  We can't repeat the mistake that was made
before I was in Congress with the Medicare prescription drug plan, where
lawmakers avoided making the hard decisions to pay for it and instead heaped
hundreds of billions of dollars on to the national debt for our children and
grandchildren to pay.  For their sake, we must pass health care reform that
doesn't add to the deficit, and we must create more efficiencies and savings
within the current system.

There are many provisions in this bill that will help south Louisiana
families and seniors, and they have my support.  I am pleased this
legislation would cap out-of-pocket medical expenses, so a major illness
doesn't send you and your family into bankruptcy.  If enacted, the House
bill would soon ban insurance companies from using pre-existing conditions
to deny you coverage. 

It would eliminate the coverage gap in the Medicare prescription drug plan,
so seniors have the peace of mind that they will be able to afford the
medicine they need to stay healthy.  And it would provide assistance to
small businesses to help them offer health care to their employees.  These
are all reforms I support and will work to preserve as the bill moves
forward.

We have a great opportunity to enact meaningful health care reform, and we
must work to make sure it is done right.  We need reform that lasts not just
for the next five or ten years, but for generations to come.

We are still in the beginning of what will be a lengthy discussion on how
best to reform health care in our country.  I will continue listening to my
constituents and working with my colleagues in Congress for health care
reform that will bring more choice, access, stability and cost-savings to
the people of south Louisiana.

As your representative in Congress, I am proud to be working on behalf of
the people of south Louisiana and see great things in our future. As always,
I would like to hear from you so please feel free to write, email
<http://melancon.congressnewsletter.net/mail/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&g
piv=2100044491.42489.90&gen=1&mailing_linkid=7371>  or call my offices and
share your opinion on the many issues we are considering in Congress.

Sincerely,

Charlie Melancon