House GOP Votes to Repeal Health Reform; Sebelius, Brown Warn of Consequences
Business Journal Daily – YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Threats by Republican lawmakers to block funds for implementing provisions of the Affordable Care Act will have consequences beyond that particular law, warns Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
By a 245-189 vote, largely along party lines, the U.S. House of Representatives, with its new Republican majority, approved the Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act, which seeks to undo the health-care legislation approved last year when Democrats were the majority.
"We can't afford the $1.2 trillion price tag on the government-takeover of health care while our national debt stands at $14 trillion," U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-6 Ohio, said during the House floor debate Wednesday. "Today we can right a serious wrong and still achieve the goals we share, like ensuring access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans, real health-care reforms that control costs, and ensuring that Americans with pre-existing conditions get the care they need at a price they can afford." Repeal will provide the opportunity for the house to "start over and enact real patient-focused health-care reforms," Johnson said.
