Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH), Budget Committee Ranking Member, has consistently maintained that there is no quick fix for health care. He recently told CNN that a public option was a “slippery slope to single-payer” health insurance:
On July 9 Gregg spoke out on MSNBHO against the public option with government as the “single-payer” — thereby “nationalizing the system” and “putting a bureaucrat between you and your doctor”:
Speaking June 25 about current health care legislation at the Senate Health Committee meeting, Gregg said, “You don’t control spending by RADICALLY INCREASING spending.” Gregg also pointed out Medicare and Medicaid currently have $60 TRILLION unfunded liabilities and this bill would tack on another $2 TRILLION in unfunded liabilities!
Puffery and Blue Smoke
A week earlier Gregg admitted on Fox News that there was not even a “whole bill” to mark up. Not only had the CBO only reviewed 1/6 of the bill but cost is also a major issue, as big holes remain in the health care reform bill. Sen. Edward Kennedy’s staff and Democrats on the Health Committee had a “presentation” but that it was “missing big components. It’s got big blanks.” Blanks include the government plan and employer mandate. His Committee is marking up a bill that’s “incomplete” and “unscored” by CBO. The bill has “some very serious problems”, one of which is cost. Plus, CBO says when all is said and done, there’ll still be 39 million people without health insurance. The health care system is broken.
Most importantly, Gregg said that the debate isn’t over coverage; the debate is whether you want the Federal Government to step in and essentially you’ll have a Washington bureaucrat between you and your doctor and have a system that leads to rationing under a single-payer system.
Watch the full segment. Gregg sums up all the real issues.
