Health Care Reform Group Visits WinonaWINONA LAKE - Local business and government leaders learned Wednesday what they can do to voice their concerns regarding the proposed health care legislation.
The Indiana Campaign for Responsible Health Reform met with approximately 50 local business leaders and government officials Wednesday afternoon at the Boathouse Restaurant, Winona Lake, to discuss the legislation.The national campaign is organized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and began when the health care legislation moved through the House. The chamber has been active on health care reform all year, and in recent months has launched the additional grassroots campaign.
Attendees who participated in the two-hour meeting also had the opportunity to sign a letter to Sen. Evan Bayh that expressed concerns with the legislation that is currently being debated.
The organization is visiting Indiana cities this week asking business and government leaders to call Bayh and voice their concerns about the proposed health care legislation.
The campaign's purpose is to educate and inform citizens about the health care bill that the U.S. Senate is discussing, and to educate the public about concerns with the provisions that exist in the bill.
The second purpose of the campaign is to give people a chance to give them the tools to reach out and contact Congress on the issues.
The campaign is encouraging others to use laptops and telephones to contact Congress to express their concern for the health care legislation.
Besides giving concerned citizens tools to contact Congress, the campaign also have been listening to business owners about how the legislation will affect their businesses.
Scott Jennings, campaign spokesman, addressed those who attended Wednesday about the Senate's version of the health care bill that is currently being debated.
According to the organization, the health care bill includes nearly $500 billion in new health care taxes that will raise health care costs for middle-class families, and make it more difficult to afford health insurance.
The bill includes $28 billion in new taxes and penalties on business, and 5 million people with employer-provided care would lose their health care coverage.
The bill also calls for seniors to face $464 billion in Medicare cuts, leaving them to pay more for less coverage. The country will spend $160 billion more on health care over the next 10 years and the cost of health care reform is $2.5 trillion over 10 years of implementation.
"What we have found is that there are a lot of people out there who are very uncomfortable with the health care legislation, but they have never been a part of a public policy campaign and never called a senate office or signed a petition," Jennings said.
Jennings said the campaign is attempting to educate as many people as possible about the legislation.
Currently, there are two versions of the legislation. The House bill that already has passed by the House contains a $40 billion tax on the medical device industry. The Senate bill currently contains a $20 billion tax on the industry.
"These two pieces of legislation will need to be reconciled if it passes the Senate, and it's not clear what will happen," Jennings said. "What we do know is both pieces of legislation contain a massive tax increase on an industry that provides thousands of jobs right here in this part of Indiana."
Jennings said one of the campaign's complaints with the legislation is that it raises taxes on all kinds of businesses including payroll tax fees and taxes on medical device makers.
"We are in the middle of an economic recession. It is very difficult right now for companies to preserve the jobs they have, let alone create new jobs," Jennings said.
He said the campaign is hearing from business owners that if their taxes are raised they are not sure if they can preserve jobs or find ways to stay in business.
"Small businesses create the vast majority of jobs in this country, and if we take away their ability to do that, it's going to be very difficult for our country to have a full economic recovery," Jennings said.
For more information on the campaign, visit campaignforreform.com
