Blunt: Gov't Healthcare Will Stifle Competition

HANNIBAL, Mo. -- While Democrats were basking in the basking in the glow of their 2008 victories and ramping up for 2010, Congressman Roy Blunt was raising concerns about government-run healthcare in the GOP response to President Obama's weekly address.

In a Saturday address, Blunt said he was concerned that government intervention could disrupt or even push out private health care plans. You can watch Blunt's speech HERE.

"This could cause your employer to simply stop offering coverage, hoping the government will pick up the slack," Blunt said. "Just imagine a health care system that looks like a government run operation most of us are all too familiar with -- the local DMV. Lines, paper work, taking a number. Or how about another government agency -- the IRS," Blunt went on.

This week the President made healthcare a top priority in his first term. President Obama has said reforming healthcare would help reduce the massive budget deficit and spur economic growth.

But Blunt said "real competition" would be key to any healthcare reform.

"It encourages innovation so that the health care treatments and services available to you are the ones that you need and you want. Republicans are committed to common-sense solutions that promote competition and innovation," Blunt said. "Not surprisingly the government never gets the price right: overpaying for some services, underpaying for others. It's also a system that leads to unfair rationing of care. Part of that comes from the backward way the government looks at problems. Washington is the only place that tells you how much they care about something based on how much it costs, instead of how well it works," Blunt added.

Sen. Kit Bond has warned of similar concerns. He has said if government gets involved in healthcare, it would result in overblown bureaucracy and rationed treatment.