Submitted by: Tony Caputo
No alternatives to Obama Care? Republicans rebut White House claim
By Jim Angle
Published August 16, 2013
FoxNews.com
President
Obama has tried to defend his health care plan lately by criticizing
Republicans for trying to roll back Obama Care without offering any
alternatives -- despite the fact that Republicans have offered several.
In
a White House news conference a week ago, the president said: "They
used to say, 'well, we're going to replace it with something better.'
There's not even a pretense now that they're going to replace it with
something better."
Moments
later, Obama elaborated, saying "they used to say they had a
replacement. That never actually arrived, right? I mean, I've been
hearing about this whole replacement thing for two years -- now I just
don't hear about it, because basically they don't have an agenda to
provide health insurance to people at affordable rates."
The assertion makes some Republicans livid.
"For
the president to say that no Republican member of Congress has put up a
positive solution, or a solution to the health care challenge, is
simply not true," said Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., who introduced his own
health care bill before Obama Care was even passed.
His wasn't the only one.
"I
think the president has an incredibly short memory," said John Goodman
of the National Center for Policy Analysis in Dallas. "He seems to have
forgotten his campaign spent millions and millions of dollars attacking
the John McCain health plan. In fact, that was their major argument
against John McCain."
After
the campaign, that plan was championed in Congress and co-sponsored by
Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.
Goodman
explains the plan "would grant a refundable tax credit to every
American. It would treat us all same, unlike Obama Care. It would not
discourage employers from hiring anyone. It would not push us all into
part-time jobs."
Goodman
was referring to criticism that the current health care law will drive
employers to push workers into part-time status, due to a provision that
requires some employers to offer coverage to workers logging 30 hours
or more per week. The White House denies this, with a top economic
adviser arguing recently that there is "no systematic evidence that the
Affordable Care Act is having an adverse impact on job growth or the
number of hours employees are working."
One
analyst says most Republican plans, including the Price plan, aim to
give every American the same tax benefit as those who get tax-free
employer-provided health insurance -- but put the power and the money
under the individual's control.
Michael Tanner of the Cato Institute said those who pay the piper, call the tune.
"If
your boss controls your health care spending, your boss gets to choose
your insurance. If the government gets to control your health care
spending, then they get to ration care," he said. "If you control your
own money, then you get more choice and more control over your health
care dollars."
Price
emphasizes that his and other alternatives would let consumers choose
what kind of insurance they want, while ObamaCare requires consumers to
buy insurance and sets guidelines for what will be offered on the
market.
"We
ought to be moving in the direction of patient-centered health care,"
Price said. "Which means patients and families and doctors making
medical decisions, not Washington, D.C."
Republicans
are making clear they do indeed have alternatives, including ways to
protect those with pre-existing conditions, in spite of the president's
comments.
Their
problem, analysts say, is they don't have a single national spokesman
who can step forward and say "this is the plan," in the same way the
president can.
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