Kone Takes Aim at Nadler Healthcare Record

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, October 27, 2010

CONTACT: Josh Hills 518-421-6116 josh@jdhills.com hills_jd@yahoo.com

NEW YORK – Congressional candidate Susan Kone (R-8th District) today took aim at Congressman Nadler’s record on healthcare, saying he is ducking debates because he does not want his record to be exposed.

“He’s afraid that his abysmal record on healthcare – among many other things – will be exposed so he’s running from debates,” said Kone. “His policies have led to reduced access, lower quality, and higher costs – and they have dealt a crushing blow to American freedom and medical excellence.”

Among the faults with Congressman Nadler’s extreme healthcare plan are:

Less Choice

Many are rightfully concerned that under a government-run program thousands of new bureaucrats will make medical decisions instead of their doctors and will limit their choice of health plans and reduce treatment options. Under the plan, the secretary of Health and Human Services will have the power to define benefits for all private plans and to redefine benefits. This legislation gives the government more power over our lives and ignores the fact that millions of Americans are happy with the health plans they currently have.

Higher Costs

Doctors agree that the new legislation will increase the cost of healthcare. Some estimates say that the reforms will increase government spending by $2 trillion when fully implemented. But even more alarming is that the reforms will impose an unprecedented federal mandate for coverage backed by the enforcement authority of the Internal Revenue Service.

The Nadler plan also imposes new fees and taxes that will be pushed directly onto the consumer. These fees and taxes will cause premium increases even before most reforms take effect. After forcing premiums to go up, the legislation makes it mandatory to buy health insurance.

Bad for Seniors

The Nadler plan also makes problematic changes in Medicare. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the reforms will impose higher premiums for prescription-drug coverage on seniors and the disabled. It forces deep cuts in Medicare spending at the expense of seniors, who have paid into the system their entire lives.

Bad for Business

A government-run plan would eventually drive private insurers out of business and lead to a full government takeover of the health care system. Additionally, at a time of rising unemployment, the Nadler plan would require employers to provide health insurance to their workers or pay another tax to subsidize government coverage.

Access to Care

Emergency rooms, the only choice for patients who can't find care elsewhere, will grow even more crowded with longer wait times under the Nadler plan. There is already a shortage of front-line physicians in many places and experts think the situation will grow even worse under this plan. By far the biggest users of emergency rooms are those on Medicaid and the new law will increase their ranks by about 16 million. Already many family doctors limit the number of Medicaid patients they take because of low government reimbursements.

Bad for Doctors

Under the Nadler plan, government payments to Medicare would be cut by 20%, and greatly impacting those in private practice.
Full Impact not yet Known

Many of our neighbors are frustrated about the unsavory and insensitive manner in which this monumental piece of legislation was "rammed down the throats" of the American people without giving them sufficient time to review the bill and express their views. The 2000 plus page government takeover of our healthcare system was posted on the internet for a mere 3 days. Mr. Nadler voted for this legislation without reading or fully understanding it. Particularly disturbing was Speaker Pelosi's comment that “you have to pass the bill before you know what is in it.”

INACTION ON RESTORING NEEDED SERVICES INTERRUPTED BY THE CLOSURE OF ST. VINCENT’S HOSPITAL

When St. Vincent’s Hospital was closed, 440,000 residents, more than 815,000 workers, and millions of tourists were left without a hospital. St. Vincent’s was the primary medical center for the West Side of Manhattan from 58th Street South to Battery Park, but now the closest emergency rooms are on the East Side. In spite of repeated protests and widespread recognition that closing the facility endangered lives – even the Berger Commission already determined that St. Vincent’s provides crucial and necessary services to the community – Congressman Nadler insists that a ‘needs assessment’ needs to be conducted before any action can be taken.

“I find it curious that Mr. Nadler hyped increased accessibility to quality care as a major virtue of the new healthcare legislation when two-thirds of his constituents don’t have a hospital,” said Kone.

“Congressman Nadler is pushing his extremist healthcare reforms at the expense of our health and our tax dollars. His plan will affect every American, at every employment level, with every type of health situation. I believe that real healthcare reform should reduce premiums, increase access to care and, and improve the quality of care. We need more accountability, transparency and competition; not more bureaucracy.”