API Commends Rep. Cam Ward for Resolution Seeking Transparency in Health Care Negotiations

Published: January 20, 2010 - Printer Friendly Update -  Send This Article To A Friend

Alabama State Rep. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, introduced a House Joint Resolution Tuesday calling on the U.S. Congress to broadcast the final negotiations of healthcare reform on C-SPAN so that every state leader and every taxpayer can view how this will impact their fiscal future.

The U.S. Senate-passed version of health care reform imposes a number of unfunded mandates and cost burdens on the states. By some estimates, Alabama will have to come up with additional $23 million in fiscal year 2011 and up to $107 million extra by fiscal year 2015.  The U.S. Senate bill will increase Medicaid eligibility for all citizens up to 133 percent of the Federal Poverty Level while the U.S. House version goes up to 150 percent of the FPL, thus making it an expensive entitlement.

"Many, many states are going to be profoundly devastated by congressional so-called health care reform.  Every Alabama citizen has an explicit right to know what is going on behind closed doors during the last hours of health care negotiations," said Michael Ciamarra, vice president of API.

The resolution is similar to others that are being introduced in state legislatures. Rep. Ward's resolutions asks the U.S. House and Senate to broadcast live on C-SPAN, or another network, the final negotiations of health care reform.

"With Alabama facing these mandates that could send our General Fund spiraling out of control and weigh heavily on limited state resources, state leaders need to know how to plan and exactly what it is going to cost," said Ciamarra. "Rep. Ward's resolution precisely states that state lawmakers and General Fund agencies, as well as every citizen, have a right to know what is going on behind those infamous closed doors in Washington."

As a 2008 presidential candidate, then Sen. Obama repeatedly pledged to broadcast health care negotiations on C-SPAN.

Below is the text of the resolution:

HJR URGING CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS TO ALLOW ALABAMIANS TO VIEW THE FINAL DISCUSSIONS ON HEALTH CARE REFORM ON C-SPAN AND OTHER ELECTRONIC MEDIA OUTLETS.

WHEREAS, national health care reform now being considered by the U.S. Congress has a significant impact on the quality of life of every Alabamian and every American; and

WHEREAS, national health care reform has a serious fiscal impact on the budget of every state government, including Alabama, which will require additional state funding; and

WHEREAS, state-based programs such as Medicaid and SCHIP in a national initiative of legislation on health care reform have a direct impact on the operations of state governments, including Alabama, and thereby creates a compelling state interest in the process and specific provisions of any successful health care reform legislation adopted by Congress; and

WHEREAS, several governors including Alabama Governor Bob Riley, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue, and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger have expressed serious concerns about the implications of national health care reform for states; and

WHEREAS, the National Governor's Association (NGA) has expressed concerns that "any reforms approved at the federal level must allow states flexibility to adapt to local conditions and retain the primary state roles of administration, regulation, and consumer protection. It is also important that this framework support the role that states play in innovations around delivery system reform and value-based purchasing"; and

WHEREAS, the NGA further expressed concerns about unfunded federal mandates by stating, "sufficient financing mechanisms" must "ensure that coverage and delivery system reform goals can be met. On their own, states are not well-positioned to sustain increases in their health care budgets"; and

WHEREAS, the current versions of health care reform on the national level do not provide the appropriate federal levels of funding necessary for states, except for Nebraska; and

WHEREAS, the citizens of Alabama and the entire country have a personal and vested interest in the details of any successful health care reform initiative adopted by Congress; and

WHEREAS, as a presidential candidate, Barack Obama repeatedly promised that all negotiations on national health care reform would be open to the public and aired on C-SPAN so that the public could have input as to the contents of any national health care reform legislation; and

WHEREAS, C-SPAN President Brian Lamb issued a letter to Congressional leaders on December 30, 2009, requesting that Congress allow C-SPAN and other electronic media to broadcast the final phases of the health care reform debate, which request mirrors closely the campaign promises for transparency in this debate by President Obama; now therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA, BOTH HOUSES THEREOF CONCURRING, That we hereby urge Congressional leaders to allow Alabamians to view the final discussions on health care reform on C-SPAN and other electronic media outlets.