The search for agreement on health care may be short lived.
The flashpoint is a proposal that would give Americans the option of buying medical coverage through a government plan. President Barack Obama and many Democrats have endorsed it, as one part of a broader health overhaul. On Saturday, Republicans laid down a challenge.
By Ricardo Alonso-zaldivar, Associated Press Writer
“I’m concerned that if the government steps in, it will eventually push out the private health care plans millions of Americans enjoy today,” Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said in the Republican weekly radio address.
Blunt, who will play a leading role in the debate, warned: “This could cause your employer to simply stop offering coverage, hoping the government will pick up the slack.”
The proposal he referred to would, for the first time, offer government-sponsored coverage to middle-class families, as an alternative to private health plans. By some estimates, it could reduce premiums by 20 percent or more — making it much more affordable to cover the estimated 48 million people who don’t have health coverage.
It could also be a deal breaker for broad, bipartisan agreement on health care.
Insurers fear competition from a government plan could drive them out of business, and Republicans worry it would lead to a government takeover of health care. Liberals, meanwhile, are equally adamant that Americans deserve the choice of government-sponsored health care.
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President Barack Obama greets lawmakers at the White House Forum on Health Reform in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 5, 2009.(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
