Late last night the United States House of Representatives passed the Senate Health Care Bill that has been debated for nearly a year. Like the clear majority of Americans who oppose the bill, I think this was the wrong thing to do and will ultimately be a disaster. I realize there are 30 million Americans without health insurance, but they will remain without health insurance for the next 4 years, so it is hard to believe that anything will change for the better for the uninsured in the near term. The debate also seems to completely ignore the 270 million Americans who have health insurance. Yes, costs are rising and need to be reigned in, but creating another entitlement is the wrong thing to do, particularly when Social Security and Medicare alone are collectively going to already be in the red to the tune of $50 trillion in coming years. See Statement of Judd Gregg (R-NH). But at least BIO was able to get provisions into the bill that will truly spur biotech innovation.
Buying insurance across state lines, opening government funded clinics for the uninsured, elimination of third party payers and giving tax credits to individuals to purchase insurance and health care all would have worked to lower costs and drive market forces so people would demand quality for a fair price. It would also have assisted the uninsured. I fear we have put our foot on the accelerator and are heading for a cliff. This spending is simply not sustainable. A jobs plan and stimulating economic activity by lowering taxes would have created jobs, increased tax revenue and provided more health care. But elections have consequences.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Health Care Bill Good for BIO According to Greenwood | IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Patent Law
Author: Gene Quinn
