Sen. McConnell Press Release On Health Care Hits All Major Republican Talking Points

Republican TP:  Americans Do Not Want Government To Reform Health Care

Sen. McConnell: "The government is running banks. It's running insurance companies. As of this week it's running a significant portion of the American auto industry. Now it's thinking seriously about running the entire health care industry. And chances are Americans won't like the result any more than they like the government takeover of the banks or the auto industry." [Press Release, 6/3/09, emphasis added]

Plurality Of Americans Polled Think Health Care Is The Most Pressing Issue For Congress And The President.  According to a New York Times/CBS News Poll conducted February 18-22, 2009 and based on 1,112 respondents, when asked "Beside the economy, which of these domestic policy areas do you want the President and Congress to concentrate on MOST right now - health care, global warming, education, or Social Security?" the respondents answers were: 40% Health Care, 5% Global Warming, 27% Education, 22% Social Security, 4% Something Else/Combination, and 1% Didn't Know.  [New York Times/CBS Poll, 2/09]

More Than 70% Of Americans Polled Want An Increased Governmental Role In Health Care.  According to CNN, "seventy-two percent of those questioned in recent CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey say they favor increasing the federal government's influence over the country's health care system in an attempt to lower costs and provide health care coverage to more Americans, with 27 percent opposing such a move. Other recent polls show six in 10 think the government should provide health insurance or take responsibility for providing health care to all Americans." [CNN.com, 3/5/09]

More Than 60% Of Americans Think The Federal Government "Should Guarantee" Health Care For All Americans.  When asked, "Do you think the federal government should guarantee health care for all Americans, or don't you think so?" during a CNN/Opinion Research poll, a majority of Americans, 62 %, said "should guarantee," 38% said "don't think so," and 1% "unsure." [CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll, 5/14-17/09]

Other Republicans who got the memo on this talking point: Ryan Ellis and Rep. John Boehner.

Republican TP: Public Health Care Option Will Choke Out Private Insurance

Sen. McConnell: "A government-run plan would set artificially-low prices that private insurers would have no way of competing with. Rates for private health plans would either skyrocket, leaving companies and individuals unable to afford it; or private health plans would just be forced out of business. Either way, the government-run plan would take over the health care system, radically changing the way Americans choose and receive their care, from routine check-ups to lifesaving surgeries." [Press Release, 6/3/09]

Public Plans Already Compete With Private Plans And "Set A Benchmark" For Care. The Los Angeles Times said: "The federal government already provides health insurance to about 83 million Americans through Medicare, Medicaid and other public programs, including those offered by the military. Private insurers, meanwhile, face growing criticism for refusing to cover people with preexisting conditions and dropping coverage for sick customers. 'This is a benchmark that will set a high standard that private plans have to meet,' said Jacob Hacker, a political scientist at UC Berkeley who advocates a public option." [Los Angeles Times, 5/10/09]

In Uncertain Economic Times, A Public Plan Is "Backup Insurance" For The United States' Largely Employer-Based Insurance System. According to the Economic Policy Institute: "Another reason that the health system needs a public health insurance option is that it serves as backup insurance for all Americans. While a majority of Americans are covered by employer-sponsored health insurance, many do not have access. Even among full-time workers, 17% do not have insurance. Furthermore, many people lose coverage each year when they leave their jobs and then pick it up again at a later time, spending at least brief time periods without insurance. Aside from the risks of being uninsured, these individuals and families also must deal with the disruption of changing providers, and the lack of continuity in their care. Though employer-sponsored health insurance is the backbone of the American health insurance system, it is not an effective backstop particularly in this time of high unemployment. A public health insurance option would offer a plan Americans could depend on." [EPI.org, 5/13/09]

Fears Of A Public Plan Putting Private Plans Out Of Business Are "Overblown." According to the New York Times: "What many critics seem to fear most is that a new public plan would sweep away its private competitors and evolve over time into a full-fledged single-payer system (sometimes called Medicare for all). No matter how fair the competition between public and private plans might be at the start, they warn that the government would find it irresistible to rig the outcome through its regulatory and pricing powers and its ability, in a pinch, to subsidize the public plan with taxpayers' money. That fear seems overblown. Innovative, nimble private plans with well-integrated service systems might outperform any government plan, just as some now outperform Medicare through better coordination of services, stronger preventive care and broader benefits. A new public plan is neither the cornerstone of health care reform nor the death knell of private insurance. It should be tried as one element of comprehensive reform." [New York Times, 4/6/09]

Other Republicans who got the memo on this talking point: Rep. Phil Gingrey and Rep. Charles Boustany. 

Luntz TP: Government Rationed Health Care

Sen. McConnell: "Americans who now take for granted the ability to choose their care may suddenly find themselves being told by government bureaucrats that they're too old to qualify for a certain kind of surgery or that they have to go to the back of the line for a procedure they could now get right away." [Press Release, 6/3/09]

Luntz Memo, Page 8: "It could lead to the government rationing care, making people stand in line and denying treatment like they do in other countries with national healthcare." [The Language of Healthcare 2009, by Frank Luntz, accessed 6/2/09]

Other Republicans who got the memo on this talking point: Rep. Mark Kirk and Rep. Charlie Dent.

Luntz TP: Denied And Delayed Health Care

Sen. McConnell: "As I've said, Americans want health care reform. But this isn't what they have in mind. Americans don't want their health care denied or delayed. But once government health care is the only option, bureaucratic hassles, endless hours stuck on hold waiting for a government service rep, restrictions on care, and rationing are sure to follow." [Press Release, 6/3/09]

Luntz Memo, Rule 3: "'Time' is the government healthcare killer...Nothing else turns people against the government takeover of healthcare that the realistic expectation that it will result in delayed and potentially even denied treatment, procedures and/or medications. 'Waiting to buy a care or even a house won't kill you.  But waiting for the healthcare you need - could.  Delayed care is denied care.'" [The Language of Healthcare 2009, by Frank Luntz, accessed 5/21/09, emphasis original]

Other Republicans who got the memo on this talking point: Rep. Mark Kirk and Rep. Charlie Dent.

Luntz TP: Washington Bureaucracy-Run Health Care

Sen. McConnell: "Americans don't want some remote bureaucrat in Washington deciding whether or not their mothers and fathers or spouses have access to a lifesaving drug." [Press Release, 6/3/09]

Luntz Memo, Rule 2: "Doctors and patients should be making healthcare decisions, not some Washington bureaucracy." [The Language of Healthcare 2009, by Frank Luntz, accessed 5/21/09]

Other Republicans who got the memo on this talking point: Rep. Mark Kirk and Rep. Charlie Dent.

The Ultimate Talking Point: Government Takeover

Sen. McConnell: "In America, we're free to make those decisions ourselves. If Congress approves a government takeover of health care, that freedom could soon be a memory." [Press Release, 6/3/09, emphasis added]

Sen. McConnell: "And chances are Americans won't like the result any more than they like the government takeover of the banks or the auto industry." [Press Release, 6/3/09, emphasis added]

Sen. McConnell: "As we consider the best way to reform health care, some have argued that a so-called government option would not lead to a government takeover of health care." [Press Release, 6/3/09, emphasis added]

Sen. McConnell: "We're already seeing in the government takeover of the auto industry how government interference in business forces firms out of the way by leveraging taxpayer dollars against their private competitors." [Press Release, 6/3/09, emphasis added]

Luntz Memo, Rule 5: "You'll notice we recommend the phrase 'government takeover' rather than 'government run' or 'government controlled' It's because too many politician say 'we don't want a government run healthcare system like Canada or Great Britain' without explaining those consequences." [The Language of Healthcare 2009, by Frank Luntz, accessed 5/21/09, emphasis original]

Conservatives clearly took Luntz' recommendation to heart. Other recent examples of Republicans panicking over "government takeover" include: Phyllis Schlafly and Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, Rep. John Boehner, FreedomWorks, Rep. Charles Boustany, Rick Scott, Rep. Roy Blunt, and Rep. Mike Pence.