Congressman Patrick McHenry (NC-10) released the following statement in response to the unveiling of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s expanded healthcare legislation.

“Meet the new plan for a government takeover of healthcare, same as the old one.  The American people have already rejected the approach to healthcare reform that says government knows best.  The results are the same regardless of how many more pages the Democrats add to this bill: hundreds of millions of Americans will be forced out of their current healthcare plan, Medicare cuts will mean fewer benefits for seniors, bureaucrats will have the authority to restrict healthcare services, taxpayers will fund abortions, federal and state taxes will increase, and the cost of healthcare will rise.

“Nowhere in this 1,990-page bill are the common sense reforms that everyone agrees on.  Insurance companies are not forced to compete with one another across state lines.  Small businesses are not permitted to join together to purchase affordable coverage for their employees.  Lawsuit abuse will continue to thrive so the real victims are denied justice and the cost of healthcare can continue to escalate.

“We can insure the uninsured, which this bill actually fails to do, without degrading the quality and increasing the cost of healthcare for everyone else.  It’s no wonder the Democrats preserved the loophole that ensures Members of Congress never have to enroll in the program.”

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