The Public Option Remains a Non-Starter

Statement of former U.S. Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA) on the Reid Healthcare Legislation Released Last Night

Contact: Chris Barron
(202) 286-4533

(Washington, D.C.) – Last night, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), released the 2,000 plus page text of the Senate Democrats’ Healthcare legislation. In response, former U.S. Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), President of the Republican Main Street Partnership, issued the following statement:

“The bottom line in the almost $900 billion, 2,000 plus page healthcare bill released last night by Harry Reid is this – the public option remains a non-starter for centrists on both sides of the aisle.

“We believe we can make quality, affordable healthcare available for all Americans, and that we can do so without burdening our children and grandchildren with mountains of debt. To do so, however, we need our Congressional leaders to abandon efforts to push controversial and ineffective proposals like the so-called ‘public option,’ and instead focus on common-sense bipartisan solutions that will expand access, lower costs and improve the quality of care.”

Main Street has laid out 10 “Principles for Healthcare Reform,” which can be found below. While this list is not exhaustive, we believe it provides a solid framework around which we can forge a meaningful healthcare reform compromise.

PROPOSED PRINCIPLES FOR REFORM:

1) Preserve, protect and strengthen the private system of healthcare and the private system of health insurance. To do so, we must oppose any proposal that provides for a “government option.”

2) Shift our emphasis from the current “treatment paradigm” to one that focuses on the prevention of illness and disease.

3) Work to lower healthcare costs across the system. We should make lowering the cost of healthcare a priority.

4) Eliminate fraud and waste in both the public and private healthcare systems. Fraud in the Medicare and Medicaid systems alone costs taxpayers billions of dollars each year.

5) Enact meaningful tort reform that protects patients but at the same time ends the abuse of frivolous lawsuits brought by unscrupulous trial lawyers. The current system fails both patients and providers.

6) Harness 21st century technologies and innovation. Health information technology, for example, can save money and save lives.

7) Encourage cutting edge research and the development of new life-saving and life-extending treatments by updating the research and development tax credit and making it permanent.

8) Empower individuals to have more control over their healthcare decisions.

9) Encourage competition across the healthcare system to help lower costs and improve quality of care.

10) Prioritize federal healthcare dollars – eliminate wasteful, inefficient or unrelated spending in Healthcare Appropriations bills.

The Republican Main Street Partnership (RMSP) is dedicated to promoting and building a pragmatic, thoughtful, fiscally conservative, and inclusive “Governing Majority,” where political debate is encouraged to promote solutions to improve the lives of all Americans. Embracing the full spectrum of center-right ideologies and values in order to build coalitions, RMSP is the largest organization of elected leaders who are in the mold of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan. For more information on RMSP, visit our website at www.republicanmainstreet.org.