Jan
30
For months now, the Democrats/liberals have been mocking Republicans/conservatives for having no ideas or solutions for healthcare reform or to address the energy issue or jobs & the economy, etc. (I pointed out in a previous post that this was baloney.) In his State of the Union Address, President Obama went on record again challenging the GOP for better alternatives. As Sarah Palin stated in her article “The Credibility Gap”,
He dared us to ‘let him know’ if we have a better health care plan, but he refused to allow Republicans in on the negotiations or consider any ideas for real free market and patient-centered reforms. We’ve been ‘letting him know’ our ideas for months from the town halls to the tea parties, but he isn’t interested in listening. Instead he keeps making the nonsensical claim that his massive trillion-dollar health care bill won’t increase the deficit.”
At RealClearMarkets, the Manhattan Institute’s Diana Furchtgott-Roth recently took a look at alternative healthcare proposals by two GOP members of the House of Representatives. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-WI, has reintroduced his “Road Map for America’s Future”, which includes a food stamps-like approach to healthcare reform. People would receive tax credits (low-income individuals would get extra) to purchase the insurance plan of their choice among those available in their state, and the insurers are free to price those plans according to the market. (All state-licensed plans would be eligible.) High-deductible/low-premium plans would be allowed for use with HSAs or more traditional managed care or fee-for-service plans, and special, government-subsidized high-risk plans would be available for those with chronic illnesses. No changes in Medicare for those currently 55 or older; when the rest of us turn 65, we “would receive $11,000, adjusted for inflation, to buy a Medicare certified plan. Those with lower incomes or with more serious health conditions would receive more funding.”
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) (AP, via the Daily Caller)
According to the CBO, “national health expenditures would almost certainly be lower [under Ryan’s plan] than they would under the alternative fiscal scenario. Federal spending for health care would be substantially lower, relative to the amount in that scenario, for working-age people and the Medicare population.”
Rep. Tom Price, R-GA, is sponsoring the Empowering Patients First Act, H.R. 3400. Similar to Rep. Ryan’s proposal, under this plan people would be able to purchase health insurance with money from tax deductions. (If your employer provides health insurance, you can keep it.) States would subsidize high-risk pools for the chronically ill. Etc. Here’s an interesting innovation: Companies would be allowed (not required) to offer their employees a certain $ amount to pick-n-choose whatever plan they wanted on the open market, and that plan would be portable to their next job. Plus, the employer would retain the tax benefits it now receives for providing its workers with tax-free health coverage.
Federally-controlled public utility w/ mandated coverages VS. All Americans (even w/ special needs) able to buy whatever plan they want on the open market. I know which one I prefer….
In an attempt at bipartisan communication and reconciliation, President Obama joined “the opposition” at the House Republicans’ Annual Meeting in Baltimore last night (1/29/2010). Before the President took the stage, Republican Leader John Boehner, R-OH, presented him with a compilation of Republican policy alternatives for healthcare reform, energy crisis/independence, jobs, the budget, and housing. These were not brand new proposals but had been created and presented in Congress over the past year. Want to read them for yourself? Visit GOP Solutions for America.
President Obama, are you listening? (Reading? Paying attention and giving serious thought?) I hope so.
