Congressional Healthcare Updates

by: Clem Guttata

Wed Nov 24, 2010 at 07:04:00 AM EST

As an update to Jeremiah's post on the Republican Congressperson who campaigned against government healthcare and then complained he has to wait a month for his Congressional health plan to kick in... here are more congressional healthcare updates.

Via Greg Sargent at The Plum Line

* Sleeper issue? The Dem firm Public Policy Polling finds large majorities of Republicans and independents want anti-Obamacare members of Congress to forgo their own Big Government Health Care.

* And: According to one estimate, GOPers forgoing their Congressional health care could save $2.4 million per year.

* Gamble of the day: A House Democrat is introducing legislation rolling back the most popular provisions of health reform -- and daring Republicans to vote for it.

More details on that PPP poll:

Most Americans think incoming Congressmen who campaigned against the health care bill should put their money where their mouth is and decline government provided health care now that they're in office. Only 33% think they should accept the health care they get for being a member of Congress while 53% think they should decline it and 15% have no opinion.

Democrats are actually the most supportive of anti-health care Congressmen taking their health care, with 40% saying they should accept it to 46% who think they should decline. But Republicans and independents- who put these folks in office in the first place- strongly think they should refuse their government provided health care. GOP voters hold that sentiment by a 58/28 margin and indys do 56/27.

Closer to home, Senator Joe Manchin has followed through on his campaign promise to deal with the "bad parts" of the healthcare reform bill. Here's his press release from November 19, 2010 (received via email):

SENATOR MANCHIN SIGNS ON TO SUPPORT 1099 REPEAL IN HEALTH CARE REFORM

Bill Would Repeal Form 1099 Income Reporting Requirements for Small Businesses

Legislation is Also Being Introduced As Stand-Alone Amendment

Washington, D.C.- Senator Joe Manchin has signed on as a cosponsor to S. 3946, legislation to repeal one of the health care reform requirements for small businesses to file their 1099 forms that would report payments made for goods and certain services to the IRS. This legislation is also being introduced as a stand-alone amendment which will be brought up for consideration during the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act.

"Right now, our small businesses are struggling to make ends meet, and this large paperwork burden is the wrong approach to jump-start our economy," said Senator Joe Manchin. "Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy-both in West Virginia and across the country. We need to re-examine the entire health care bill and make changes right away-and repealing the 1099 provision which puts an onerous burden on our small businesses is the right way to start."

Form 1099 indicates how much money businesses pay to corporations and was designed to keep track of tax liability. According to the Senate Finance Committee, after health care reform was signed into law, more business owners became aware of the new paperwork requirements and raised concerns about the resources required in January 2012 to complete the forms, when the policy was set to go into effect. This legislation and the stand-alone amendment, both of which Senator Manchin is cosponsoring, would repeal those provisions to relieve the paperwork burden placed on small businesses and any business which is required to complete a 1099 form.