House votes to defund key part of health care legislation

[cali]

(Reuters) - In a renewed attack against President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul program, House Republicans voted on Tuesday to deny funding for a central element of the law that sets up marketplaces for people to shop for health insurance coverage.

The bill passed by the House of Representatives would rescind some $1.9 billion in grants that are being made available under the healthcare law to help states establish insurance exchanges where individuals and small businesses can shop for medical coverage plans.

The exchange idea is central to the law that has faced a number of challenges in Congress and the courts since it was enacted more than a year ago. Tuesday's bill, which passed on a largely party-line vote of 283-183, likely will be blocked by the Democratic-led Senate, just as an earlier effort by House Republicans to repeal the entire healthcare law was defeated.

Even though the bill targets insurance exchanges, the exchange idea is in fact a major element of a House Republican budget plan that would eventually end the traditional government-run Medicare health plan and instead provide subsidies to private insurers to provide medical coverage for the elderly.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/04/us-republicans-repeal-healthcare-idUSTRE7435BW20110504

[Proud Liberal Dem]

1. DOA in the Senate

They are just spinning their wheels (and the big teabagger push to repeal ACA is losing steam in the polls as well).

[Tarheel_Dem]

2. ACA? (nt)

[Proud Liberal Dem]

3. ACA=Affordable Care Act (health care reform law)

n/t

[Tarheel_Dem]

4. Thank You. Hard for old folks to keep up with all the acronyms.

:hi:

[Proud Liberal Dem]

5. No problemo

:hi:

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

6. Republicans don't want insurance exchanges?

A place where people can compare offerings from various companies?

Compare prices? Make purchase decisions?

A competitive marketplace?

Republicans can't support that sort of radical thinking.

Are we in bizarro-land?

[JDPriestly]

7. These guys are not going to be in the House very long.

Let's get out there now and find liberal candidates who can communicate with ordinary people and who know right from wrong, people who have empathy and a moral compass.

[LiberalAndProud]

8. So they're trying to kill the only provision that might help to control costs.

Yay team.