March '10 Nevada Government—U.S. Senator John Ensign Column

Ensign Votes Against Reconciliation Healthcare Bill

March 25, 2010 – Washington, D.C. – Senator John Ensign today made the following statement after he voted against the Democrats’ Reconciliation Bill of 2010:

“Today, the Democrats approved legislation that will tax and spend our country even further into debt instead of instituting meaningful healthcare reform that addresses high costs and actually improves the system. This healthcare reform bill, that is now law, will deeply cut Medicare, raise insurance premiums, and raise taxes on hard-working American families to the tune of nearly $570 billion. This will increase the cost of health care in America, decrease the quality of medical services, and dramatically grow the size of the federal government to nearly unprecedented levels.

“This is why we need to repeal this bill and start over.

“We need to go back to the drawing board, take the best ideas from both sides of the aisle, and put together healthcare reform that will take us into the future, not the wrong direction.”

ENSIGN OFFERS AMENDMENT TO PROTECT CITIZENS FROM TAX ON INDIVIDUAL MANDATE
ENSIGN AMENDMENT WOULD PROTECT DOCTORS, HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS WHO OFFER PRO BONO SERVICES FROM LAWSUITS

ENSIGN VOTES TO REPEAL NEW HEALTH LAW

ENSIGN FIGHTS FOR INDIVIDUAL AND STATES RIGHTS, SENIORS, VETERANS IN HEALTHCARE RECONCILIATION DEBATE

ENSIGN VOTES TO KEEP MEDICARE SAVINGS IN MEDICARE

ENSIGN VOTES TO PROTECT NEVADANS FROM TAX INCREASES IN HEALTHCARE LAW

ENSIGN VOTES TO PROTECT NEVADA BUSINESSES FROM CATASTROPHIC CONSEQUENCES OF HEALTHCARE LAW

ENSIGN VOTES TO BLOCK MEDICARE ADVANTAGE CUTS FOR NEVADA SENIORS

Ensign Offers Amendment To Protect Citizens From Tax On Individual Mandate

Amendment would halt IRS expansion due to individual mandate tax

March 25, 2010 – Washington, D.C. – Senator John Ensign today offered an amendment to the Senate Reconciliation bill that would repeal the tax penalty for the new individual mandate. The healthcare law currently contains a mandate, which was challenged on constitutional grounds during the healthcare debate in December by Ensign, which requires every citizen to buy health insurance or face a tax enforced by the IRS. The amendment was defeated on procedural grounds.

“It is outrageous that the healthcare law imposes a tax on those who choose not to buy government-approved health insurance. These new powers given to the IRS will only add to the frustration of the American people over this massive power grab by the government,” Ensign said. “I am incredibly concerned that the Democrats’ proposed individual mandate provision takes away too much freedom and choice from Americans across the country.”

The Democrats’ healthcare reform bill, recently signed into law, requires Americans to buy health insurance “whether or not they ever visit a doctor, get a prescription or have an operation,” or face a penalty tax. The law places the Internal Revenue Service in charge of enforcing this penalty and gives the IRS new powers over the nation’s citizens, which will require the IRS to hire up to 16,500 new agents. If an American chooses not to buy health insurance coverage, or their insurance is not approved by the government, they would face IRS penalties and fines for not complying with the new law.

Ensign Amendment Would Protect Doctors, Healthcare Providers Who Offer Pro Bono Services From Lawsuits

March 25, 2010 – Washington, D.C. – Senator John Ensign today offered an amendment to the Reconciliation bill that would protect doctors and other healthcare providers who offer pro bono services to patients in need from the threat of frivolous lawsuits.

“There are many wonderful doctors and other healthcare providers across the state of Nevada and this country that offer their services free of charge to those individuals who are medically underserved or indigent,” said Ensign. “When these doctors and other healthcare providers offer free care out of the goodness of their hearts, they should not have to worry about facing a frivolous lawsuit and my amendment would protect them from this fear.”

Senator Ensign’s amendment would grant limited immunity from lawsuits to those who provide uncompensated care to individuals who are medically underserved or indigent; this excludes willful or criminal misconduct, gross negligence, reckless misconduct, or a conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of the patient.

The amendment has the support of the following organizations: the Alliance of Specialty Medicine; the Health Coalition on Liability and Access; the American Association of Neurological Surgeons; the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons; the American Gastroenterological Association; the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery; the American Urological Association; the Coalition of State Rheumatology Organizations; the Congress of Neurological Surgeons; the Heart Rhythm Society; the National Association of Spine Specialists; and the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions.

Ensign Votes To Repeal New Health Law

March 25, 2010 – Washington, D.C. – Senator John Ensign last night voted on an amendment to the Reconciliation bill that would repeal the healthcare reform bill that President Obama signed into law this week. The bill has been strongly opposed by most of the Nevadans that Senator Ensign has spoken with over the past year.

“The Democrats forced their partisan healthcare reform legislation through both chambers of Congress, ignoring the will of the American people,” said Ensign. “At a time when we are facing economic uncertainty, this job-killing, $2.6 trillion bill does little to enact the type of healthcare reform that America needs. I voted for this amendment because we need to take a step back and repeal this bad legislation and start over.”

The amendment was offered by Senator David Vitter (R-LA) and it would repeal “The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” and the amendments to that Act. Senator Ensign is also an original cosponsor of a similar standalone bill that was offered by Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC). The new health law imposes more than $500 billion in job-killing tax increases and reduces Medicare spending by another $500 billion in order to fund a new entitlement program. The bill does not reform health care and actually raises health costs and premiums for families wishing to purchase insurance in the individual market.

Ensign Votes To Block Medicare
Advantage Cuts For Nevada Seniors

March 25, 2010 – Washington, D.C. – Senator John Ensign voted last night to send the healthcare bill back to the Senate Finance Committee to block cuts to Medicare Advantage from taking effect under the healthcare reform bill that was just signed into law. Currently, over 100,000 Nevada seniors participate in Medicare Advantage.

“I have spoken with hundreds of thousands of Nevadans over the last year that we have been debating healthcare reform,” said Ensign. “Many of those seniors participating in Medicare Advantage are very fearful that they will lose their coverage under the Democrat healthcare bill. This motion would prevent the cuts that were passed into law by the Democrats from hurting these Nevada seniors.”

The motion was offered by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and would protect the 11 million Medicare beneficiaries, both seniors and the disabled, currently participating in the Medicare Advantage program. The amendment would block the cuts from Medicare Advantage from taking effect if more than one million seniors are projected to lose their health coverage as a result of those cuts.

Ensign Votes To Protect Nevada Businesses
From Catastrophic Consequences Of Healthcare Law

March 25, 2010 – Washington, D.C. – Senator John Ensign today voted to send the healthcare reform bill back to the Senate Finance Committee to strike the employer mandate and pay for it with an offset. The employer mandate will require employers to provide health care for all employees or be faced with a severe fine. The motion, authored by Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY), was defeated on procedural grounds.

“In these hard economic times for Nevada businesses, this new requirement will force many employers to layoff hardworking employees and lower wages in order to come into compliance,” Ensign said. “This job-destroying employer mandate will stall any economic recovery Nevada businesses may be seeing right now. We cannot allow this to happen.”

The healthcare bill requires that all employers with at least 50 full-time employees provide healthcare insurance. There is no hardship exception for firms that are barely scraping by or on the verge of bankruptcy. If an employer fails to offer such coverage, and at least one full-time employee of the employer receives a premium tax credit through the exchanges created by the bill, a tax is levied on the employer equal to $2,000 multiplied by the total number of employees employed by the employer (the first 30 employees are exempt from that count). This can essentially put a business into the red.

Ensign Votes To Protect Nevadans From
Tax Increases In Healthcare Law

March 24, 2010 – Washington, D.C. – Senator John Ensign today voted to send the healthcare bill back to the Senate Finance Committee to ensure that the bill will result in no tax increase for middle-class families earning under $250,000 or individuals earning under $200,000 a year. The motion, authored by Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID), was defeated on procedural grounds.

“Now is not the time to raise taxes on Nevada families who are struggling to pay their mortgages, put food on their tables and stay in their homes,” said Ensign. “As a result of the policies in the Democrats’ health care bill, taxes will go up on the Nevada families and business, those who can least afford it.”

According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, at least 73 million American households with income of less than $200,000 will face a tax increase under this bill, meaning if this bill is signed into law it would directly violate the President’s pledge on the campaign trail that he wouldn’t raise taxes on individuals earning less than $200,000 “one single dime.”

“I’m asking Senate Democrats to abide by not only their promise but also President Obama’s pledge to not raise taxes on middle-class families,” Ensign continued.

Ensign Fights For Individual And States Rights, Seniors, Veterans In Healthcare Reconciliation Debate

Files multiple amendments to Reconciliation Bill

March 24, 2010 – Washington, D.C. – Senator John Ensign today filed several amendments to the Senate Reconciliation Bill of 2010 that would protect health care for veterans and retired military, protect states from unfunded mandates, protect seniors from losing their Medicare coverage, and protect Nevadans from the individual mandate that is now law, among other amendments.

“Now that the healthcare reform bill is law we need to do all that we can to make changes to the most egregious parts of it,” Ensign said. “While I believe the best course of action is to repeal the law and start over, my amendments would fight for the groups that are hurt the most by this new law.”

Senator Ensign filed the following amendments to the Reconciliation Bill currently under Senate consideration:

An amendment to change the individual mandate penalty tax so that criminal and civil penalties and interest cannot be assessed against people who do not buy insurance

An amendment to protect health care for veterans and retired military

An amendment to improve access to pro bono care for medically underserved or indigent individuals by providing limited medical liability protections

An amendment to provide that high-deductible health plans shall be treated as qualified health plans

An amendment to apply the wellness program provisions to carriers of federal employee health benefits plans

An amendment to provide lower income American citizens with the same freedom and flexibility regarding their healthcare choices by guaranteeing that such citizens can opt out of Medicaid and receive the refundable tax credit in order to buy private insurance, in the same way that the health reform bill gives legal immigrants access to such credit to buy private insurance

An amendment to require a Social Security number from SSA for eligibility for exchange participation, premium tax credits and reduced cost-sharing, and individual responsibility exemptions

An amendment to strike the cap on flexible spending accounts

Ensign Votes To Keep Medicare Savings In Medicare

Supports amendment to healthcare reconciliation bill to protect Seniors

March 24, 2010 – Washington, D.C. – Senator John Ensign today voted for an amendment, authored by Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH), that would ensure that if there are any Medicare savings in the healthcare reform law or the reconciliation bill those savings will be kept within the Medicare program and not used for other programs. The amendment to the Senate healthcare reconciliation bill was defeated on procedural grounds.

“We need to protect and improve the Medicare program for the more than 45 million seniors across the country who depend on Medicare for their healthcare needs,” said Ensign. “This amendment would make sure we won’t use Medicare as a piggy bank for new entitlement spending.”

The healthcare law and reconciliation bill cut a combined $529 billion from Medicare. The Gregg amendment prohibits using these Medicare cuts to pay for new government spending in the underlying bill.

Ensign also won support for a similar amendment that he authored in the Senate Finance Committee during the healthcare reform bill markup last September. His amendment would have kept any Medicare savings within the Medicare program, which could be used to improve the current program for seniors. The savings could also be used to begin to reduce the tremendous unfunded liabilities that currently exist. His amendment was stripped from the Senate bill before it hit the floor.

Statement From Senator John Ensign On House Passage Of Healthcare Reform Bill

March 21, 2010 – Las Vegas, NV – Senator John Ensign made the following statement tonight on the House passage of the Senate healthcare reform bill:

“Tonight, the House passed legislation that will tax and spend our country even further into debt instead of instituting meaningful healthcare reform that addresses high costs and actually improves the system. With a true price tag of $2.6 trillion, Democrats have voted to deeply cut Medicare, raise insurance premiums, and raise taxes on hard-working American families to the tune of nearly $570 billion. This bill increases the cost of health care in America, decreases the quality of medical services, and dramatically grows the size of the federal government to nearly unprecedented levels. All of this was accomplished with little to no transparency of the process and by handing out special deals to Members in order to obtain their vote. Without question, this is not the kind of healthcare reform Nevadans and Americans were looking for.

“Moving ahead, I will continue to fight for real reform for our healthcare system by lowering costs, increasing access, and ensuring that we do all of this in a fiscally responsible way. We can no longer afford to explode the size of government at a time of trillion dollar deficits and expect our children to pay for it. We owe at least that to the citizens of our country.”