David Price: “This bill lays bare what this new Republican majority is all about. They would repeal benefits and protections that have…”

“This bill lays bare what this new Republican majority is all about. They would repeal benefits and protections that have already dramatically improved health care for families and small businesses, with no credible assurance they would put anything in their place. A "yes" vote would take away tax credits available to up to 17,000 small businesses in my district alone--credits that will let them offer their employees insurance coverage just like their larger competitors do. A "yes" vote on repeal would increase the average cost of prescription drugs for seniors in the "doughnut hole" coverage gap by more than $500 this year and more than $3,000 by 2020. What seniors on fixed incomes can afford this kind of price hike? A "yes" vote on repeal would say to parents, who now for the first time can get affordable coverage for their children with preexisting conditions: Once again, you can be denied coverage altogether. This legislation is flying under disgracefully false colors. Fiscally sound? The Congressional Budget Office says it will increase deficits by $230 billion over the next 10 years. Republicans like to call health insurance reform "job killing." But their repeal bill would cost as many as 4 million jobs over the next decade. Our Republican colleagues have put their tea party base above everything else, including the health care needs of the American people. We must recognize their cynical political gesture for what it is.”