Valley lawmakers, politicians divided on health care bill

May 05--Nowhere is the divide between Pennsylvania Republicans and Democrats more evident than in their instant reactions to Thursday's U.S. House vote on the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

The Valley's two congressmen, Rep. Tom Marino, R-10, of Cogan Station, and Rep. Lou Barletta, R-11, of Hazleton, have long opposed the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Barletta, who announced support for the bill last month, said an 11th-hour change giving states an additional $8 billion over five years to lower premiums for the sick who could not afford higher premiums allowed some moderates to vote for it.

Still, he said, now that the issue moves to the Senate, "It's going to be a struggle all the way to the finish line."

Pennsylvania's two senators differed markedly over the House bill.

Republicans in the House of Representatives delivered an economic punch to the gut of middle-class families in Pennsylvania, said Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat, in a prepared statement.

"What passed isn't a health care bill," he said, "but a scheme to cut taxes for millionaires and big corporations, a giveaway for special interests, and forces middle-class families in Pennsylvania to pay more for their health care. This will throw Pennsylvanians with pre-existing conditions into a high-risk pool, forcing them to pay thousands of dollars more for coverage, impose an age tax on older Americans and leave individuals with disabilities out in the cold -- possibly without even the security of Medicaid coverage."

It is outrageous, Casey said, to think that anyone would support legislation that decimates Medicaid, a program designed to help the most vulnerable family members and neighbors. He said it is equally disturbing that the bill opens the door to turning Medicare into a voucher program.

"President Trump promised not to touch Medicaid or Medicare and has betrayed those promises by supporting this bill," Casey said. "Now that this legislation is coming to the Senate, I am redoubling my effort to fight like hell on behalf of families, seniors and individuals with disabilities who will be immeasurably harmed by it."

Casey's colleague, Sen. Pat Toomey, a Republican, disagreed.

He said: "Given the massive spikes in premiums and deductibles so many Pennsylvania families are enduring, the loss of choices, and the collapse of individual markets, we have begun the process of repealing and replacing Obamacare. At the same time, the administration has begun a series of important regulatory reforms and actions to stabilize the health care market. The House bill is merely the first legislative step, and I look forward to being a part of this process as the Senate writes its own version to repeal and replace Obamacare so that Pennsylvanians can have access to quality health care at a price they can afford."

Marino, along with Barletta, voted "yes" on the bill Thursday.

"For six years," he said in an email, "Obamacare has failed the American people. The American Health Care Act is a vast improvement over Obamacare, and it will give the American people the freedom to choose their own health care."

"As a three-time cancer survivor and the father of someone living with cystic fibrosis," Marino said, "I was proud to vote for a bill that continues to protect the most vulnerable Americans. The AHCA ensures no one can be denied coverage based on pre-existing conditions and prohibits lifetime limits on coverage. Additionally, the AHCA provides states with $100 billion to design programs that meet the unique needs of their patient populations and provides an additional $15 billion for mental health and substance abuse disorders."

Union County's two political party committee chairs also differed on the subject.

Carolyn Conner, Republican chairwoman, called it "a good first step to restoring consumer-controlled health care and fiscal sanity while providing hope that future bills will dismantle the entirety of Obamacare."

But Union County Democratic Chairman Rick Thomas called the bill "purely a partisan political display, proof that the 'swamp' has just gotten deeper."

Rep. Paul Ryan complained in 2009 that they shouldn't be forced to vote on a bill that no one had the time to read or understand, Thomas said, "and yet pulled the same stunt on Thursday with legislation that the Budget Office has not had time to review. The vote was an attempt to make '45' look like he was doing something and that the Republicans in the House were fulfilling a promise they made to the American public."

Rather than work with Democrats to develop a piece of jointly supported legislation, Thomas said, "They instead opted to go to the radical right and give them what they wanted and not what the American public really needs."

"Hopefully," he said, "by this time next year, the American voters will finally wise up and throw the clowns off the bus. And this bill faces certain major alterations if not outright rejection once it gets to the Senate."

CNHI Washington reporter Kery Murakami contributed to this report. Email comments to [email protected]. Follow Dandes on Twitter @rdandes.

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