Several weeks ago, I blogged on the need to face facts when repealing Obamacare. With this issue front and center this week, I\u2019m returning to the topic to make a few more comments.<\/p>\n
During the past several weeks, I\u2019ve heard countless party strategists, Congressional representatives, and Senators explaining how the Republicans will repeal Obamacare. They are routinely asked how they will deal with Americans who have insurance now but did not before the law passed. Most change the subject and wax eloquently about the obvious misgivings of the ACA, and all of them claim to be committed to a new plan that retains coverage for everyone who is currently insured. In essence, they are recommitting the Republicans to maintaining the entitlements already granted by the ACA. Nobody seems to be acknowledging what was obvious six years ago: Obamacare is a massive redistribution scheme we cannot afford. It\u2019s built on false expectations and a complete misunderstanding of economics.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Democrats have responded accordingly. \u201cObamacare repeal will be chaos,\u201d they tell us. To those on the left, chaos is a synonym for markets, as it would require individuals to obtain their own insurance from \u201cevil\u201d providers free to price their services without guidance from Washington. It would be like much of what we do every day\u2014buying groceries, changing cell phone plans, or eating at a restaurant. It would be \u201cchaotic\u201d in the sense that Americans would get back some of the control they use over exert their healthcare prior to the ACA.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s turn back the clock for a minute. When Obamacare was on the docket in 2010, opponents argued vigorously that if passed, such an entitlement could NEVER be undone politically. For the last year, most of the same people are celebrating the impending repeal and replace<\/em>. Were they right six years ago, or is it really possible to undo such a monstrosity?<\/p>\n For the most part, I think they were right six years ago, as demonstrated by the continued unwillingness to undo the entitlement. If coverage for all Americans is the goal, and if healthcare is such a great priority, then all Americans need to understand the financial reality. The current notion of healthcare\u2014the idea that anyone should be able to pursue almost any treatment at almost any facility regardless of cost\u2014is unworkable. Either individual consumers must be willing to make tough choices about what they need and are willing to pay for, or Washington will do it instead.<\/p>\n I do not favor a single payer plan, but most countries with universal healthcare tax everyone\u2014not just \u201cthe rich\u201d\u2014to pay for it. Those who have more pay more, but average citizens have real skin in the game. When healthcare budgets run tight, politicians openly discuss rationing. The idea that government subsidies can magically \u201cmake healthcare affordable\u201d is just ballooning the debt.<\/p>\n Is there hope? Yes, but only if we are willing to make bold changes. The idea of a three-year phase-in won\u2019t get it done. Republicans have an opportunity to completely alter the role of government in healthcare, but doing so would require making some tough choices. I don\u2019t see much evidence that they are willing to do so.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Several weeks ago, I blogged on the need to face facts when repealing Obamacare. With this issue front and center this week, I\u2019m returning to the topic to make a few more comments. During the past several weeks, I\u2019ve heard countless party strategists, Congressional representatives, and Senators explaining how the Republicans will repeal Obamacare. They […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1073"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1073"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1073\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}