Post Obamacare Health Care Reform Working Its Way Through the House
COMMENTARY | As the burning wreckage of Obamacare continues to fill the air with its toxicity, an alternative is already working its way through the House, courtesy of the conservative House Study Committee, according to the Washington Free Beacon.
The bill, which already has 108 cosponsors, would repeal Obamacare and would replace it with a more free market oriented system designed to lower costs and improve benefits. It replaces the so-called Affordable Care Act with “a system of tax deductions to help Americans purchase health insurance and federal support for state high-risk pools to cover those with pre-existing conditions.”
It also contains provisions that would involve “allowing people to buy health insurance products across state lines, permitting small businesses to pool together for better rates, capping non-economic damages in medical liability lawsuits, and making Medicare claims and payment data publicly available.”
“The American Health Care Reform Act” is still a work in progress. Some have suggested using tax credits instead of tax deductions to support health insurance premiums. The authors of the bill are also welcoming amendments, in start contract to the way Obamacare was passed, with no input or support from Republicans with hidden provisions that only became apparent long after the law was passed.
The constant jibe thrown by the dwindling numbers of Obamacare supporters is that its critics have no alternative. The AHCRA provides a ready answer for that. It also provides a ready target, since Democrats will claim that the Obamacare alternative will involve throwing Granny over the cliff. That accusation, however, would be slightly more credible if Obamacare was not already doing that.
The drive to repeal Obamacare, once considered quixotic, is only going to get stronger and more peoples’ lives are ruined. The first verifiable death of someone as a result of losing his or her insurance as a result of Obamacare is going to make the imperative to get rid of the thing all that more urgent. But will the Democrats listen?
