Marathon Pundit: Mark Kirk press release: Decatur Memorial outlines impact of health care law's Medicare cuts

Sen. Mark Kirk, a central Illinois native, traveled to Decatur this morning and discovered that ObamaCare is devastating Medicare.

Below is a press relase from Kirk's office:

DECATUR – U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) today met with leaders of Decatur Memorial hospital where they outlined job losses mandated by the new health care law.

"Decatur Memorial hospital's President Ken Smithmier warned that the Medicare cuts required by the health care law will cut $10 million annually from this hospital, once fully implemented. This will cost hundreds of jobs in the Decatur area,” said Kirk. "These health care law cuts mirror similar job losses in hospitals across Illinois. In nearly half of Illinois counties, hospitals are among the top three employers," added Kirk.

"This is why we should repeal and replace the health care law with common sense reforms like the Medical Rights and Reform Act (H.R. 3970)," added Kirk.

The Medical Rights and Reform Act covers high-risk pools of people with pre-existing conditions and covers kids up to age 26. While left out of the health care law, the Medical Rights and Reform Act includes three major reforms needed to improve medicine in America: 1) Medical Rights Act, prohibiting Congress from interfering with any decisions made by you and your doctor, 2) Lawsuit reforms to return doctors to Illinois, and 3) Protection of your right to buy health insurance from any state in the union if you find a less expensive plan.

"The new health care law mandates a massive $500 billion cut to the health care of seniors who depend on Medicare." Said Kirk. “While this will harm the quality of senior citizens' health care, it will also reduce jobs in hospitals across Illinois. In the teeth of the Great Recession, Central and Southern Illinois' top employers will be severely cut by the new health care law."

Yesterday, the House voted to repeal the health care law by a vote of 245 to 189. While that legislation faces long odds in the Senate, a large bipartisan majority is forming to strike a key provision of the law requiring any business that buys something over $600 in cost to file federal paperwork. This "1099" rule is likely to become the first part of the health care law to be eliminated shortly by Congress.

First the Democrats said ObamaCare would cut costs--until they were proven wrong. Then they said it would improve health care. Does anyone care what they're saying now?

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