If at first you don't repeal Obamacare, try doing it the right way

TrumpRyanRinoCare was doomed from the get-go.

We didn't elect these clowns so they could enact Obamacare Lite.

And we surely didn't expect "repeal" would turn out to be "keep all the bad stuff."

So as you all know by now, Paul Ryan pulled his American Health Care Act before it could go down in flames in the House.

The Democrats, and their media allies, would have you believe this was a defeat for "repeal" and a victory for Obamacare.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

The House Freedom Caucus torpedoed the bill, and I assure you, they are no fans of Obamacare.

They killed it because it did not do the one thing we elected a GOP House, a GOP Senate, and a GOP president to do — repeal Obamacare, all of Obamacare.

They know how to do that, of course, They did it last year. The GOP House and the GOP Senate passed a clean Obamacare repeal bill, which was promptly vetoed by then-president Obama.

One has to wonder where their courage went.

Or was the clean repeal bill just for show?

Because the easiest way to fulfill Donald Trump's campaign promise is to simply pass that bill again.

In addition to repealing Obamacare the Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Act of 2015 defunded the charnal houses of Planned Parenthood. That's what I call a win-win piece of legislation.

But with a Republican in the White House the House GOP got cold feet.

So they crafted a version of Obamacare Lite, less satisfying, but with the same onerous provisions.

Slacker millenials can keep their parents' insurance? Why? Don't mandate it; don't ban it either. That way mom and dad can keep little Poindexter on their insurance until he's 65 if they want, and they're willing to pay for it. But the rest of us who actually understand responsibility aren't subsidizing his social disease lab tests.

Pre-existing conditions? Listen up, that's called "pay my bills." Look, I get it, sick people don't want to go broke. But sorry if I sound harsh, that's not my problem. Sure the truly sick need a safety net, and why not model it on the national flood insurance program instead of sticking you and me with the bill?

In fact, deregulate all health insurance. Set it up on the catastrophic care model — you pay for the routine stuff and the insurance kicks in when the bills get out of hand. That's how car insurance works; the insurance company doesn't pay for your gas and oil changes. So why should your health insurance pay when your kid has a cold?

A health care system where people pay their own damned bills is a health care system that will constrain costs. Doctors and hospitals and labs that charge "too much" will go out of business. We shop around for food and phone service and clothing and entertainment, but we don't even stop to consider the cost when we visit a doctor or pick up a prescription. Why?

Since I was knee-high to a grasshopper I've heard Republican politicians tout the need for Association Health Plans and selling insurance across state lines. Then there's tort reform, so the next John Edwards can't get rich exploiting vulnerable women. Why didn't RyanCare incorporate those features?

Beats me. But my guess is his donors didn't like the sound of Freedom.

Fox News posted that Donald Trump is "open" to a new health care bill. Here's my advice.

Repeal Obamacare. All of Obamacare.

Then craft a replacement that emphasizes Freedom.

Freedom to choose our doctors.

Freedom to choose the coverages we want. No mandates.

Freedom to pay cash if we desire to forego health insurance.

Freedom to determine our own destiny.

Freedom to fail, if that's what we chose to do. Because the Constitution wasn't designed to save us from ourselves.

Remember, the Constitution guarantees the pursuit of happiness; not actual happiness. That's up to you.

And I must say, a health care system that is built upon the idea of personal responsibility is a health care system that is sustainable, affordable, and inherently fair.

Posted at 21:35 by Chris Wysocki   [/obamacare]   Comments | Perm Link |
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