Wyo senators decry passage of Senate health bill

(Casper Star Tribune)

By Joan Barron, Casper Star Tribune, 12/25/2009

CHEYENNE -- Wyoming's two senators lamented passage of the Senate health care bill Thursday.

Republicans Mike Enzi and John Barrasso voted against the bill they characterized as deeply flawed.

A Wyoming AARP official, meanwhile, applauded the bill's progress and expressed disappointment in the senators' votes.

And Wyoming Democratic party chairwoman Leslie Petersen said Enzi and Barrasso need to explain to voters why they chose to "side with the health insurance executives over Wyoming families."

Enzi, Wyoming's senior senator, predicted great difficulty in reconciling the Senate and House health care bills. If and when a compromise bill is reached, each chamber must vote again on the proposal.

Enzi claimed the Democrats moved away from legislating to "deal making" to get all 60 Democratic votes in the Senate.

The bill passed the Senate on Thursday on a 60-39 party-line vote after months of heated partisan debate. Every member of the Democratic caucus backed the measure and every Republican opposed it.

"Welfare reform, civil rights, Medicare and all monumental pieces of legislation ever passed by Congress have passed with members from both parties sharing the credit and blame ... until now," Enzi said in a media release.

He said the bill means more taxes, higher health care costs and worse health care delivery.

"How on earth did the majority convince themselves this was a good thing? This bill not only breaks the bank, it breaks the very promises the president made to the country, " Enzi added.

"We would have helped the majority pass a solid health care bill if they would have let us," Enzi said."All of us want to improve our health care system."

Barrasso said the health care bill "represents politics at its worst."

"Promises of transparency, fiscal discipline and thoughtful policy debates were replaced with closed-door meetings, billion-dollar payoffs and partisan tactics," he said in a release.

The 2,700-page bill cuts Medicare, increases taxes, raises insurance premiums "and burdens our grandchildren with even more debt."

"After practicing medicine for over 25 years, I know that this bill will not deliver better care to folks in Wyoming and across America," Barrasso added.

He said he will continue to speak out against the bill and do everything possible to ensure that Congress finally passes reform that will increase the quality, availability and affordability of health care in the country.

AARP Wyoming President Les Engelter, however, said there are many provisions in the health care bill that will benefit the people of Wyoming, including nearly 100,000 AARP members who live here.

"Wyoming's sparse population takes an especially difficult toll on those ages 50-64, who have a pre-existing condition and need access to health care," Engelter said in a release.

The Senate bill and the House version prevent that discrimination from continuing, he added.

Also, the addition of prevention and wellness benefits to Medicare will help the 76,000 Medicare recipients in Wyoming who have been paying for routine screenings out of their own pockets, he said.

AARP CEO A. Barry Rand said the association looks forward to improving the legislation in conference committee.

Petersen said Thursday's vote is the most significant development in domestic policy since Social Security was created.

It will expand coverage to more than 30 million Americans while reducing the deficit by more than $130 billion in the next 10 years, she said in a release.

"This bill is a clear victory for Wyomingites. It will deliver on the promises President Obama has made since the health care debate began -- reducing costs; providing quality, affordable choices for the uninsured, and providing stability and security for those who already have coverage," Petersen said.

Noting the absence of any Republican vote, Petersen added, "Sadly, Senators Enzi and Barrasso and the Republican party have shown once again that they will stop at nothing, and even vote against the best interests of their constituents, to see the president fail."

Contact capital bureau reporter Joan Barron at 307-632-1244 or joan.barron@trib.com