Washington – House Passes Repeal of Health Care Law

Washington – After a heated midterm election, the Republican-led House easily passed legislation to repeal the nation’s sweeping health care law.

The vote was 245-189. There were four Democrats that voted for repeal.

Overturning the law was a major campaign plank for Republicans in the 2010 elections, and many of the House’s nearly 100 new lawmakers promised to repeal the law that was pushed by President Obama and congressional Democrats.

House Speaker John Boehner said the law would add nearly $1.5 trillion to the deficit and stifle the growth of some small businesses, which are required under the law to provide health insurance to employees or face penalties. A key issue for Republicans is that the law requires all Americans to have health insurance.

“Let’s stop payment on this check before it can destroy more jobs and put us in an even deeper hole,” Boehner said. “Then let’s work together to put in place reforms that lower costs without destroying jobs or bankrupting this government.”

Democrats failed in their procedural attempt to send the repeal bill back to committee for a discussion. Meanwhile, House Republicans are already preparing for four House committees to take the next step in the repeal effort and figure out ways to change the law.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has vowed to block the measure, and Obama has threatened to veto it.

Reid denounced the House’s repeal vote as a political stunt.

“This is nothing more than partisan grandstanding at a time when we should be working together to create jobs and strengthen the middle class,” he said in a statement today.

Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., said the House was not engaged in a stunt. “This is not symbolic. This is why we were sent here,” said Bachmann, a favorite of the small-government Tea Party movement.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., challenged Reid and Senate Democrats to show their votes and debate the measure if they are so confident of stopping the repeal effort.

“The American people deserve a full hearing,” Cantor said this morning. “They deserve to see this legislation go to the Senate for a full vote.”

Obama said he’s willing to work with both Democrats and Republicans to improve the law, but “we can’t go backward.”

The only surprise in Wednesday’s vote was how many Democrats would support the repeal effort.

The House has 13 Democrats, most of them members of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, who voted against the health care bill last year when it passed the House. Several Blue Dogs, such as Florida’s Allen Boyd, lost re-election in November partly because they voted “yes” on the health care legislation.

One issue key to the repeal debate is how much the law costs and the impact overturning it would have on the deficit. USA TODAY’s Kelly Kennedy reports Republicans say the law will add $701 billion to the deficit while Democrats say repealing the measure will cost $230 billion.

Yesterday, Cantor sought to ease concerns from seniors who might think they would have to return $250 they received under the law to help pay for prescription drug costs. Democrats such as Rep. Ed Markey of Massachusetts have said throughout the repeal debate that seniors could be among those affected the most by overturning the law.

Shortly after the law was passed last year, about 2.8 million recipients of Medicare who have a gap in their prescription drug coverage (known as the doughnut hole) received $250 checks to help them defray the cost of medicines.

Asked yesterday whether Republicans would seek to have that money returned, Cantor said no.

“If a repeal bill passes … the intention is not to require seniors to return the $250 checks they received,” Cantor said at his weekly news briefing.