NRCA Supports Health Care Reform that Addresses Cost Issues
The National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) supports health care reform
that will lead to controlling health care costs and expanded access to affordable
coverage. NRCA supports the Small Business CHOICE Act (H.R. 859) by Reps. Velázquez
and Pitts, which would create new purchasing cooperatives and tax credits that would
enable small businesses to stabilize health insurance costs by pooling risks. NRCA
will support health care reform legislation based on the following principles:
Addresses Health Care Costs. NRCA supports legislation that addresses the
rising cost of health care through greater competition, expanded choices and increased
transparency in private health insurance markets. Testimony by the Congressional
Budget Office confirms that H.R. 3200, as approved by three House committees, and
S. 1679 as approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committees,
do not contain the "fundamental changes" necessary to control health care costs.
No Employer Mandate. NRCA opposes the "pay-or-play" mandate that forces employers
to provide a designated level of health insurance coverage to employees or face
a financial penalty for not doing so. Mandates stifle the flexibility and innovation
needed in health insurance markets to expand affordable options for coverage. One
recent study found that a national employer mandate would generate a net loss of
1.6 million jobs and real Gross Domestic Product would contract by about $200 billion
between 2009 and 2013.
No Government-Run Health Plan. More competition is needed in health insurance
markets to expand affordability and choice, but a health plan operated by the federal
government is not the answer. A government-run plan will destabilize the current
private system and shift costs in highly inefficient ways, thus hurting affordability
and quality. A recent study by the respected Lewin Group estimates that 120 million
people will move from private to government-operated insurance if a "public" option
is enacted.
No Mandated Minimum Coverage. NRCA opposes government-designed and mandated
benefit levels because this will drive up the cost of health care and reduce choices
for businesses and workers in the marketplace. Health reform should allow for greater
flexibility and innovation in health plan design rather than attempt to guarantee
expensive "Cadillac coverage" for all Americans.
Does Not Expand the Federal Deficit. The administration's official projection
of the federal deficit during the next decade is an unsustainable $9 trillion. By
2019, our debt-to-GDP ratio will rise to an alarming 76.5 percent from about 56
percent in 2009. NRCA is concerned that a new entitlement of subsidized health coverage
will further exacerbate this unsustainable level of debt. Congress must ensure that
health care reform truly addresses the rising cost of health care and does not increase
the federal deficit.
No Tax Increase on Small Businesses. NRCA opposes the income tax surcharge
included in H.R. 3200 because it will deplete the capital that struggling small
employers need to sustain or expand their businesses and create jobs. NRCA also
is concerned with the hundreds of billions of dollars in tax increases imposed on
companies in the health care sector by the Senate Finance Committee bill as these
new taxes inevitably will be passed on to employers and consumers in the form of
higher health insurance premiums.
Includes Medical Liability Reform. NRCA supports efforts to reduce health
care costs through meaningful medical liability reform that places caps on punitive
damages, creates specialized health courts, allows medical experts to dismiss frivolous
cases and caps excessive trial lawyer reimbursements. Medical liability is a significant
cost driver in our health care system—the Deptartment of Health and Human Services
estimates that medical liability reform and resulting reductions in defensive medicine
could save up to $500 billion during the next decade.
For more information about NRCA's position on health care reform, please contact
Duane Musser, NRCA's vice president of government relations, at (202) 546-7584 or
dmusser@nrca.net.
(November 2009)