More than 19,000 people have signed an online petition spearheaded by Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo opposing the current health care reform legislation scheduled for a final vote on the Senate floor on Christmas Eve.

Crapo opposes the bill, contending it would raise taxes on the middle class, increase premiums for people currently carrying insurance, cut programs for seniors and fail to lower health care costs, according to a press release from his office.

“There has not been a piece of legislation this decade that has come with more opposition to it than this health care reform bill,” Crapo said in a prepared statement.  “I support health reforms, but not a bill like this that puts the government in charge of doctor-patient relationships.  Three days ago, I asked Idahoans if they would join me in petitioning the United States Senate to defeat this bill.  The response has been remarkable.  We now have more than 19,000 signatures, and that number continues to grow by the hour.”

Crapo

 “The more that Idahoans, and Americans, know about this bill, the more they dislike it,” Crapo added.  “Health care is a personal, private and sensitive matter among the individual, his or her doctor and family.  This bill makes health care a public policy decision controlled by a government bureaucracy.  The thousands of people signing this petition want the Congress to listen to them, carefully deliberate and pass a fair solution to health care reform.  But the majority in Congress is moving full steam ahead, in hopes of passing this wrongheaded bill before public sentiment overwhelms them, while ignoring the will of thousands of Idahoans and Americans.”

 As an alternative, Crapo endorses reforms in the private sector.

They are:

• Letting insurance companies to compete across state lines.
• Allowing small businesses to group together to negotiate lower group rates.
• Requiring pricing disclosures from health care providers to encourage a competitive health care market.