Russ Feingold: “today I am introducing legislation to repeal unwarranted and inappropriate ``sweeteners'' that were added to the Patient…”

“today I am introducing legislation to repeal unwarranted and inappropriate ``sweeteners'' that were added to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in the days before final passage of the bill. These ``sweeteners'' are unjustifiable and only detract from our collective goal of putting America's health care system on a better and more sustainable path. They also undermine public confidence in the legislative process and in elected representatives in Congress. In some cases, there are valid policy or fairness reasons why certain states or interests may receive seemingly different treatment. But several provisions were included in the health reform bill that create, rather than diminish, inequity. This legislation would repeal four provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. These provisions are not supported by policy rationales and do not address any inequity in current policy. Simply put, they are intended to provide an undeserved windfall to specific states. This legislation also amends one provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act providing increased Medicaid assistance to States recovering from natural disaster.”