government
Repeal of health reform law doomed, key Republican says
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted May 16, 2011
The Republican effort to repeal and replace the health system reform law is dead, said Rep. Dave Camp (R, Mich.), chair of the House Ways and Means Committee.
Camp voted for a House GOP measure to repeal the law, and he supports his version of reform legislation to replace it. Given the current political situation, he said now is the time to put those efforts aside and build consensus with Democrats on ways to reform federal entitlement programs.
"I'm not really interested in just laying down more markers," Camp told reporters during a May 5 briefing sponsored by the journal Health Affairs. "I'd rather have the committee, working with the Senate and with the president, focused on savings and reforms that can be signed into law."
Camp was asked about the Republican campaign promise to repeal and replace the health reform law. The House passed a repeal bill on Jan. 19, but the bill has not moved forward in the upper chamber.
"Is the repeal dead?" he said. "I don't think the Senate is going to do it, so I guess yes."
The House may vote on legislation to repeal the individual mandate provision of the reform law during the 112th Congress, Camp added. But that issue probably will hinge on legal challenges to the law, he said.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/05/16/gvbf0516.htm.
