LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is downplaying the need for a comprehensive overhaul of the nation's health care system.
McConnell told a large gathering Thursday at the Kentucky fairgrounds that Congress should instead pass legislation targeting specific problems in health care.
The Kentucky Republican said individual purchasers of health coverage should be able to deduct those costs on their tax returns. McConnell said companies can already deduct those costs. His other suggestions included promoting healthier lifestyles and protecting doctors and hospitals from what he called "junk lawsuits."
McConnell also took a jab at President Barack Obama in his speech at the annual Kentucky Country Ham Breakfast, which coincides with the state fair. McConnell joked that health care protests have gotten so bad that Obama is spending time on an island — a reference to the president's vacation on Martha's Vineyard.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
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