BENTON, Tenn. — U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said Tuesday he will continue to fight Democrats’ plans to reform health care.
Speaking at a town hall forum in rural Polk County, Tenn., the Chattanooga Republican said he has reservations about the cost of the bill, the burden it passes to states and the deficit it may create for future generations.
“My first concern is that there are $464 billion in Medicare savings that are being used to create a whole new entitlement,” Sen. Corker said. “We know Medicare is supposed to be bankrupt in 2017, so I think we should focus on making Medicare solvent, which already serves so many seniors.”
His displeasure with the proposal was received well by a crowd that appeared almost entirely Republican. Just three men in the room of about 75 people raised their hands to indicate they were Democrats.
The state’s junior senator also said he thinks the current proposal on the U.S. Senate floor passes unfunded Medicaid liabilities to states, which already are struggling to fund their current Medicaid obligations.
One area Democrat said Sen. Corker’s views of the proposal are one-sided because he is considering only the financial cost.
“You never heard Sen. Corker or the Republicans talk about the 47 million uninsured Americans,” said Dr. Ken Ellinger, a Dalton State College political science professor. “There are between 20,000 and 50,000 Americans dying every year because of a lack of insurance. That’s the body count.”
Adam Crisp covers education issues for the Times Free Press. He joined the paper's staff in 2007 and initially covered crime, public safety, courts and general assignment topics. Prior to Chattanooga, Crisp was a crime reporter at the Savannah Morning News and has been a reporter and editor at community newspapers in southeast Georgia. In college, he led his student paper to a first-place general excellence award from the Georgia College Press Association. He earned ...
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