http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/17/house.health.care/index.html?eref=rss_politics&iref=polticker

House GOP to unveil outline of health care bill

WASHINGTON (CNN) – House Republicans are planting their flag in the health care battle Wednesday, unveiling the outline of a GOP bill. Like Democrats, Republican leaders are not yet explaining how they would pay for their proposal.

The plan, co-authored by Rep. Dave Camp, the ranking Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, calls for refundable tax credits for lower-income Americans.

But Camp, a Michigan lawmaker, and Republicans have not determined key details, including the amount of those tax credits or who precisely could be eligible.

“We’re going to provide a dollar amount to people who want to buy insurance,” Camp told CNN Radio. “The numbers are going to depend on how [the ideas] are scored.”

“Scoring” is the process for determining how much a proposal could cost. Thus, Camp and Republicans are waiting to see the relative expense of different proposals before committing to specifics.

“That will come later,” Camp said, insisting the Republican legislation will be “much less costly than the Democratic bills.”

Neither party has presented a full bill, and final costs are unknown.

House Republicans on Wednesday plan to release a two-page summary of Camp’s proposal, which CNN Radio obtained.

Some highlights include:

• “Pools” of insurance. It would let states, small businesses and others group together to offer lower-cost, health care plans. Such pools would have to offer, at a minimum, any coverage that is provided in a majority of states.
• Medicaid transfer. It would allow Medicaid users to take the value of their Medicaid benefits and transfer/apply those to a private health care plan instead.
• Boosting of health care savings accounts. It would increase incentives for people, especially those in lower income brackets or over 55, to build up HSAs.
• Automatic insurance. It would encourage employers to sign up their workers for health insurance automatically, so that employees would have to “opt out” of coverage if they didn’t want it.

This Republican alternative bill also contains several health careideas that are increasingly championed by both parties.

• Longer coverage for youths. It would allow dependent children to stay on their parents’ policies until they are 25.
• Promotion of wellness at the workplace. It would encourage employers to reward employees for improved health.
• Expansion of community health centers.
• Mobile health care. It would allow Americans to maintain their specific health insurance policies when they lose or leave jobs.
• In-home care. It would provide financial help and encourage more in-home care over institutions.
• Limitations on malpractice lawsuits. There is general agreement over limiting such lawsuits, but a deep divide exists over exactly how much.

This House Republican plan comes a day after fellow Republican Rep. Mark Kirk of Illinois and other moderates in the so-called Tuesday Group released their proposal, which spelled out many of the same ideas as the Camp bill.

Kirk contends his plan is less partisan but said he supports Camp’s effort.

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