Claiming that the new health care reform law regulations will burden businesses and increase the nation's deficit despite the Congressional Budget Office's report to the contrary, members of the House of Representatives wasted no time making good on their promise to roll it back. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) and 161 House co-sponsors on January 5 submitted "Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act" (H.R.2).
   The Obama Administration issued a statement of administration policy January 6 opposing the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, stating "it would explode the deficit, raise costs for the American people and businesses, deny an estimated 32 million people health insurance, and take us back to the days when insurers could deny, limit or drop coverage for any American." The President has said if presented with H.R. 2 he would veto it.
   A few examples of what repeal would do: It would eliminate free cancer screenings, and reinstate co-pays and deductibles for annual physicals and all associated lab test fees. Adult children (under the age of 26) would lose insurance coverage under their parents' plan. Insurance companies could drop coverage if an insured gets sick. Additionally, repeal of the bill would rescind the cost savings, anti-fraud provisions and other requirements that will keep Medicare financially solvent, and more than 4,000 employer-based health plans that have been approved for aid to offset health care costs of retired workers would lose those funds. (Information about Affordable Care Act benefits can be found at healthcare.gov.)
   It would seem that instead of engaging in such an obvious example of partisan politics, Congress should be concentrating on fully implementing the new law so that the maximum number of Americans can enjoy the benefits of health insurance coverage, prevent insurance companies from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions, charging women higher rates, and imposing absurdly high premiums on older Americans.