As bill passes, health care debate intensifies

About 50 protestors picketed outside Congressman Kurt Schrader's office

By Matthew Graham

The Oregon City News, Nov 10, 2009 (5 Reader comments)

matthew graham / oregon city news

Protestors stand outside of Congressman Kurt Scharder's Oregon City office to protest health care reform last week.

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About 50 people gathered outside of U.S. Congressman Kurt Schrader’s office in Oregon City last Thursday to oppose health care reforms that were subsequently passed by Congress on Saturday.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Affordable Health Care Reform Act by a vote of 220 to 215; Oregon Representatives Schrader, Earl Blumenauer, Peter DeFazio and David Wu voted in favor of the Bill. The Bill still must pass the Senate before President Barrack Obama can sign it into law.

The attendees of last week’s protest, many from the Clackamas chapter of Americans for Prosperity, generally said the current proposals are too far-reaching and don’t address simpler means of improving the health care system.

J.R. Hill, of Oregon City, said he understands the need to cover the uninsured, but he said the country is in a “crisis” with $12 trillion in debt and is concerned the reform proposed would add to that.

“I understand the need, but we just can’t afford government health care right now,” he said. While the Congressional Budget Office estimates it would cost $850 billion to implement the new plan, Democrats, Schrader said the bill passed by Congress would actually reduce the deficit in the long term.

“Without dealing with healthcare our deficit and our debt gets worse, that’s very clear,” he said. “It’s growing as a faster and faster part of our (Gross Domestic Product) and our national expenditures. Second, the house bill actually reduces our debt in the long run.

The new expenditures coupled with savings through increased efficiencies “balance to save us $104 billion over the next 10 years,” Schrader said. “The savings are largely a result of efficiencies in Medicare and Medicaid … that’s where we get our $426 billion worth of savings and it’s not by cutting benefits. We change how we provide services to prevent Medicare from going bankrupt.”

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