GOP health reform bill faces local opposition from both sides

March 16--U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan and Anderson Free Clinic Executive Director Barb Baptista have different reasons for opposing the recently proposed GOP health reform bill.

Duncan, a Laurens Republican, said the proposed bill stops short of repealing the Affordable Care Act and "instead nibbles around the edges in an attempt to make Obamacare less harmful."

"Is this the set of policies that the American people expected when Trump ran in 2016 on the repeal of Obamacare?" Duncan asked. "I believe they will feel betrayed. That is why the bill that the House Leadership has introduced, in its current form, is not one that I can support."

Duncan outlined his objections in an opinion piece published Wednesday by The Daily Signal, the conservative Heritage Foundation's digital publication. He represents a district that includes part of Greenville and all of Anderson, Oconee and Pickens counties.

Duncan wrote that he hopes ongoing negotiations can improve the legislation to reflect his belief that "government has no business being in health care or the health insurance business."

"This a defining moment in our rendezvous with destiny," he stated, "and we owe it to the American public to get it right."

Baptista said Wednesday that her main concern about the health reform bill is that it would leave more people without health insurance. A report earlier this week from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the legislation would cause the number of uninsured Americans to climb by 24 million during the next decade.

The Republican measure would replace existing insurance subsidies with tax credits. Baptista said this approach won't benefit people who lack the money to pay the "upfront" costs for insurance. She said these people "most likely will have no option other than opt not to have coverage."

A reduction in the number of people with health insurance would have numerous consequences, Baptista said.

"If you have health coverage, you are going seek health care before is becomes an emergency," she said.

Baptista also said the bill could result in more people seeking care at her clinic, which already serves more than 1,600 patients. The Free Clinic provide medical and dental care to the uninsured poor. It is located at 414 N. Fant St. in Anderson and 34 Main St. in Honea Path.

Follow Kirk Brown on Twitter @KirkBrown_AIM

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