GOP hits new fee on health plans

Republicans on Tuesday attacked a new fee under the healthcare reform law that is set to take effect this week for many consumers.

The healthcare law tacks on a fee of $1 per year to private insurance plans. The money will fund comparative effectiveness research — studies into which treatments work best for particular conditions.

The Senate Republican Policy Committee contrasted the fee with Obama's opposition, during the 2008 campaign, to taxing employer-based health benefits. That debate centered around the tax exclusion for healthcare coverage, but the committee said the comparative effectiveness fee is still a tax on insurance.

The RPC also argued that comparative effectiveness research "could be used to justify placing limits on costly medical treatments." The healthcare law prohibits Medicare from setting reimbursement rates based solely on comparative effectiveness research and includes other restrictions designed to prevent rationing. Some health groups, however, say effectiveness should ultimately become part of how the government decides what it will pay.