WASHINGTON – House Republicans joined by a handful of Democrats voted Wednesday to repeal President Obama’s signature health care reform law.
Rep. Mike Ross, D-Prescott, was one of five Democrats to cross party lines on the 244-185 roll call vote to repeal. No Republican opposed it.
“My vote today to repeal the healthcare reform law remains consistent with my previous votes on this issue and reflects the overwhelming majority view of the people in my district,” Ross said in a statement.
Reps. Tim Griffin, R-Little Rock, Steve Womack, R-Rogers, and Rick Crawford, R-Jonesboro, also voted to repeal.
Rep. Dan Boren, D-Okla., also voted for repeal.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“I co-sponsored and supported this repeal bill because Arkansans deserve localized, specialized health care that fits their needs – not ObamaCare’s ‘one size fits all” system where decisions are made by bureaucrats in Washington,” Griffin said in a statement.
The vote comes less than two weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the law. House Republican leaders scheduled the vote to reaffirm their opposition to the law regardless of its constitutionality.
The Democrat-controlled Senate has refused to consider repeal. A similar repeal cleared the House in January 2011 only to gather dust in the upper chamber.
Ross, Boren and Rep. Mike McIntyre, D-N.C., voted for repeal in 2011. Reps. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, and Rep. Larry Kissell, D-N.C., joined them Wednesday in voting for repeal.
In his press statement, Ross drilled home the message that he has consistently opposed the health care reform law.
“I voted against the healthcare reform bill in 2009 and 2010 and voted to repeal the law in 2011,” he stated.
Ross said that he believes healthcare reform is needed but that the law that was enacted is “too big, too costly and not right for Arkansas.”
“The legislative process in crafting the healthcare reform law became more politics rather than good public policy,” he said. “It was a flawed process and we need to clean the slate and start over.”
Unmentioned in the statement was the pivotal role that Ross played in that legislative process as a key negotiator for moderate Democrats in the Blue Dog Caucus who served on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
After several days of private negotiations, four of the seven Blue Dogs – led by Ross – said they had resolved their differences with proponents of the bill. Among the concessions was to delay a full House vote until after the August recess so that members could read the bill and hear from their constituents.
Even as the committee approved the bill with Ross’s support, he indicated that he might oppose the bill on the House floor depending on actions from other committees.
But on that day at least, Ross was the toast of Democrats who supported the bill — as reported by Politico, which noted that Vermont Rep. Peter Welch gave him a slap on the back after the vote, telling the assembled reporters, “This is the guy who got it done.”
During the August recess, Ross heard from his Arkansas constituents and returned to Washington solidly opposed to the reform bill.
“An overwhelming number of you oppose a government-run health insurance option, and it is your feedback that has led me to oppose the public option as well,” Ross wrote in a statement following the August break.
Grassroots agency’s reaction
Maxine Nelson of Pine Bluff, president of the Arkansas Community Organizations, denounced Ross’ vote Wednesday.
“We are saddened, but not surprised that Representative Mike Ross once again voted against working families in his district by supporting the repeal of the Affordable Care Act,” Nelson said in a press release.
According to Nelson, the vote to repeal the healthcare law would:
• “Take away health insurance from more than 35,000 young adults in Arkansas who are now covered under the law’s provision that allows young adults to remain on a parent’s policy until age 26.
• “Increase costs for seniors in Medicare by taking away prescription drug rebates that have already benefited more than 36,000 seniors and by forcing 169,384 more seniors who have already gotten free preventive care in Medicare to pay for their cancer screenings and annual exams.
• “Rob state consumers of rebates totaling $7,787,177 that insurance companies will pay for the first time this year for failing to comply with the 80/20 rule. That Obamacare rule requires insurance companies to spend at least 80% of our premium dollars on actual medical care instead of overhead and profit.
• “Give back to the insurance companies the power to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions, to impose arbitrary caps and limits on coverage and to deny claims for any reason.”