ANDERSON, Ind. — On the verge of a pivotal moment in Congress’ months-long health care debate, Rep. Mike Pence, R-6th District, said Monday that reform is needed — but not this reform.
“My sense is that we are reaching a climax in this debate,” Pence told a town hall meeting on Monday at Community Hospital. “My hope is that we scrap this bill and start over,” he said to applause from the 80 people in attendance.
The five-term congressman and No. 3 Republican in the House said he favors reforms that lower the cost of health care. He said he believes the legislation that could be voted on by the House this week would not do that.
“It mandates every person buy insurance coverage,” Pence said. “I think it’s a government takeover of health care. ... It does very little to lower the cost of health care.”
Pence said it appears doubtful that Democrats in the House have the needed votes to approve the bill, and that Hoosier Democrats “may literally be the deciding factor” and passage remains possible.
“This is not about shirts and skins and winning and losing,” he said.
Pence took issue with President Barack Obama’s characterization that passage of the health care bill reflects what we want to be as a country.
“It’s not what we want to be as a country, it’s what we are as a country,” Pence said, noting that those characteristics include limited government and fiscal conservatism.
Several audience members described the legislative process to get the health care bill passed as corrupt and unconstitutional. Pence said several provisions of the bill, if passed, would be certain to be challenged on constitutional grounds.
Bill Carpenter, former chief financial officer at Community, said the bill represented what he saw as a “move toward a socialist nation.” He said it could push the federal debt to $20 trillion.
“There is a chance it will pass through a corrupt Congress,” Carpenter said.
Pence said the bill would give employers who provide insurance to workers an incentive to cancel coverage. “Millions of people will be moved from private insurance to government-run exchanges,” he said.
Scott Richards of Anderson told Pence that he needed to carry a message back to Congress: “Do your colleagues understand the steely-eyed resolve that’s still just under the surface of the American people?
“We do not trust, I don’t trust, their motives, their plans,” Richards said. “Just because we’re not loud doesn’t mean we’re not angry.”
Alana Wampler, who works in a medical support position at Community, asked about record profits for insurers. “Do we just continue to allow them to raise rates and live in mansions?”
Pence said “big insurance companies do not want our proposal to allow people to buy insurance across state lines.” Pence also said a key to lowering health care cost is putting limits on medical malpractice awards.
Contact Dave Stafford: 648-4250, dave.stafford@heraldbulletin.com
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