Manchin Ready to Work in Bipartisan, Transparent Way to Reform and Improve Health Care System

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) joined the entire democratic caucus in a letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch and Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander, urging them to work in a bipartisan transparent way to reform and improve the health care system.

The caucus said in part: “We urge you to drop the current partisan effort to repeal and replace health care reform through reconciliation.  We also urge you to discourage the ongoing effort by the Administration to de-stabilize the health care marketplace, which could lead to rising insurance premiums for all and make it harder for families to access health care. If repeal is abandoned, we stand ready to work with you to help all Americans get the affordable health care they need.  Instead of trying to change the House’s “repeal and replace” legislation, which has an uncertain path to the President’s desk, you could instead choose to work with us on a bipartisan health reform package that can garner 60 votes in the Senate and pass the House with Republican and Democratic votes.”

Read the full letter below:

Dear Leader McConnell, Chairman Alexander and Chairman Hatch:

We write to request that the Senate work in a bipartisan, open and transparent way to improve and reform the health care system. Democrats stand ready – as we always have -- to develop legislation with Republicans that will improve quality, lower costs, and expand coverage for all Americans. But Republicans need to set aside their current partisan efforts and work with us to get this done.

Last week, the House passed a partisan bill that will dramatically increase the cost of health insurance for those who need it most and lower the quality of coverage. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that the underlying bill would result in 24 million Americans losing health insurance, while facing increased costs. The House passed bill also eliminates $880 billion from state Medicaid programs and important patient and consumer protections – especially for women and all those with pre-existing conditions.  Finally, the House bill was passed without a final official cost or coverage estimate from CBO and may contain provisions that violate the Senate’s rules regarding the privileged reconciliation process.

We urge you to drop the current partisan effort to repeal and replace health care reform through reconciliation.  We also urge you to discourage the ongoing effort by the Administration to de-stabilize the health care marketplace, which could lead to rising insurance premiums for all and make it harder for families to access health care. If repeal is abandoned, we stand ready to work with you to help all Americans get the affordable health care they need.  Instead of trying to change the House’s “repeal and replace” legislation, which has an uncertain path to the President’s desk, you could instead choose to work with us on a bipartisan health reform package that can garner 60 votes in the Senate and pass the House with Republican and Democratic votes.

Working together to improve health care requires an open and transparent process that includes public hearings, an open amendment process, and ample time for debate in the full Senate. There are a number of issue areas we want to work on with you, including:

• Reducing the cost of prescription drugs
• Decreasing the cost of premiums without cutting the quality of benefits
• Making the cost of care more affordable by reducing out-of-pocket costs
• Stabilizing and strengthening the insurance market
• Helping more struggling families get covered
• Making it easier and less expensive for small businesses to provide health care

We look forward to your response and working with you in a bipartisan process to improve the health care system for all Americans.

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