Rivals rip Perriello for health care vote; congressman counters with benefits

CHARLOTTESVILLE - The seven Republicans hoping to challenge U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello in this fall's election have vocally criticized the freshman Democrat for supporting the recently passed health care law, saying it will lead to higher taxes, cost jobs and lower the quality of medical care.

On Tuesday, the Democratic Party of Virginia sought to hit back, citing projections by the House Energy and Commerce Committee that show hundreds of thousands of Perriello's constituents will benefit from the health care reforms.

The ongoing back-and-forth illustrates how both parties intend to position the health care issue to their advantage during upcoming mid-term elections that could reshape the face of Congress.

"The constant barrage of negativity against health care reform has to be countered with a reality check to substantiate why this bill was so important to President Obama, Congressman Perriello and so many others," said Fred Hudson, an Albemarle County resident and chairman of the 5th Congressional District Democratic Committee.

The health care law, according to the congressional estimates, will improve health coverage for 409,000 residents and extend coverage to 48,000 currently uninsured residents of the 5th District, which stretches from the Charlottesville area down to the North Carolina border.

The health care package, Democrats said, is projected to:

• provide tax credits and other assistance to up to 183,000 families and 15,200 small businesses in Perriello's district to help them afford health coverage;

• allow 55,000 young adults to stay on their parents' health plans until the age of 26;

• improves Medicare coverage for 130,000 beneficiaries, including closing the program's Part D "donut hole" that requires 12,500 of the district's seniors each year to pay the full cost of their prescription drugs; and

• guarantees that 10,700 residents with pre-existing conditions cannot be denied coverage.

At least four of the seven Republicans running against Perriello have signed a "repeal it" pledge sponsored by the conservative Club for Growth that promises they would "sponsor and support legislation to repeal any federal health care takeover passed in 2010, and replace it with real reforms that lower health care costs without growing government." All seven of the GOP candidates in the race have endorsed the idea of undoing the Democratic-backed health care reform.

The campaign of one of the candidates, Sen. Robert Hurt, R-Chatham, said Hurt supports "commonsense, market-based health care reforms" such as portability of plans, tort reform and allowing young people to remain on their parents' health insurance coverage for longer.

"However, Senator Hurt does not believe that Draconian cuts to Medicare affecting every senior citizen in the 5th District, half-a-trillion in higher taxes, medical decisions made by bean-counters in Washington and not doctors in Charlottesville - not to mention the largest increase in government power in generations - is the answer to healthcare reform," Hurt's strategist, Chris LaCivita, wrote in an e-mail. "Even more amazing, Tom Perriello and his allies in Washington won't even have to participate in the same system as their constituents. Are those issues Senator Hurt has promised to repeal? Absolutely."

Another GOP candidate, Laurence Verga, of Albemarle County, said he supports reforming of the nation's health care system, but not in the manner of the Democratic-backed legislation. He supports offering tax breaks for individuals to obtain coverage, tort reform and allowing consumers to purchase health insurance across state lines. The health care reform law, he said, is an "egregious job killing" measure that will raise taxes and is "fundamentally unconstitutional."

"This is a direct affront to the middle class," Verga said. "The Democrats can say it's going to help people, but it's going to be a job killer."

Larry J. Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, said the Democrats are trying to stress the benefits of the health care legislation while simultaneously seeking to divide Republicans who want to toss out the measure in its entirety and other more moderate Republicans who support certain provisions of the package.

"The best defense is a good offense. If your opponents know you're afraid of an issue, they are doubly emboldened to come after you," Sabato said. "On health care reform, most polls show people are fearful and unhappy about parts of the new law. So Democrats have logically decided to strike first and focus on the popular aspects of the legislation, which have been frontloaded to go into effect quickly. That's smart politics. It drives a wedge between the Republicans who just want a total repeal, and those who favor 'repeal and replace' - the substitution of some GOP reform ideas for the Democratic law."

Sabato noted that Democrats are touting the positive aspects of health care reform, while the measure's less popular bits will be delayed.

"The Democratic bill was designed shrewdly from a political standpoint. The goodies are frontloaded, while the unpleasant parts - the fee hikes, tax increases and possible expansion of the national debt - are phased in from 2013 to 2019," Sabato said. "In other words, the pain comes after this year's midterm election and the next presidential election."

The health care package includes several tax increases and fees. For example, starting in 2018, it will levy a 40 percent excise tax on high-cost "Cadillac" health plans with premiums exceeding $10,200 a year for individuals and $27,500 for families. Starting in 2013, it will also impose a new 3.8 percent tax on interest, dividends, capital gains and other investment income for those making more than $200,000 a year and couples making more than $250,000. It will also increase the Medicare payroll tax by 0.9 percentage points to 2.35 percent on wages more than $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples.

McNeill is a staff writer for The Daily Progress in Charlottesville.