Health care is a deeply personal issue, one that congressional plans hope we will buy, but many in the Inland Empire as with the rest of the country see many problems with the current bill that would change the landscape of healthcare in the Inland Empire and the country.

Lewis sees the coming break as a time to get a better look at the legislation. Lewis stated in a recent communication “ There is no question that we face difficulties and inequities within our overall health care system, and we must find a way to make affordable health insurance available to as many Americans as possible. However, I strongly oppose the current drafts of the House and Senate majority proposals. I believe that the bills, as written, will lead to an eventual government takeover of health care.”  

“The President and Congressional leaders have promised that if you like your health insurance, you can keep it. But independent and non-partisan studies of both the House and Senate proposals have estimated that tens of millions of people could lose their current health insurance. I cannot support a bill that would force people who are happy with their employer-based coverage into government-run health insurance” Lewis stated.

Representative Lewis is also concerned about major job losses that could be caused by the proposed taxes and mandates on small businesses. According to independent analysts, the House plan would impose $208 billion in taxes on businesses who cannot afford to finance their workers’ health coverage. This is especially dangerous during our rough economic situation, when the Inland Empire already faces unemployment of over 13 percent. Lewis stated “I will not vote for a plan that will cost more jobs.”

To pay for this new trillion-dollar government takeover of portions of health care, the bills propose further Medicare cuts of up to $400 billion. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has estimated the House plan would lead to $162.2 billion in cuts being taken from Medicare Advantage plans. These plans provide a choice of health care options to over 50,000 seniors in Lewis’ Inland Empire based district. It would be irresponsible to approve legislation that cuts benefits and raises premiums for seniors, while doing nothing to fix the long-term solvency of the Medicare trust fund that will go bankrupt in 2017.

Lewis outlined that kind of bill he would support:

• Americans who like their employer-based coverage would keep it and keep the tax exclusion on health benefits. 


• Individuals and families who don’t like their coverage or don’t have employer-based insurance should be able to buy their own plan on the same tax-advantaged basis as businesses. Americans who pay taxes should get a dollar-for-dollar reduction on their taxes of up to $2,500 an individual and $5,000 per family, and low-income individuals who don’t pay taxes should get the same subsidy from the government to buy a policy of their choice.


• A national health-insurance market would be created, allowing small businesses, associations, churches, and other civic groups to set up new insurance pools and offer more affordable and portable health packages to their members.


• Out-of-control health care costs would be contained by fighting the waste, fraud and abuse that is costing our health care system billions of dollars. We must also have liability reforms to end frivolous and expensive lawsuits, which could save billions that doctors currently spend by practicing defensive medicine.

Lewis hopes to talk to many of his constituents during the break to expose the issues and gather ideas to take back to Washington and create a true bi-partisan bill.