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Mona Charen: Republicans should prepare for the collapse of Obamacare
The Washington Examiner ^ | March 21, 2013 | Mona Charen

Posted on 03/22/2013 10:52:08 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet

In my last column, I argued that for all the undeniable woes of the Republican Party, the unfurling of Obamacare represents a huge vulnerability for Democrats. The Democratic health reform bill is economically nonsensical and politically unpopular. A recent Rasmussen poll found that 54 percent believe the law will damage the U.S. health care system. Even among Democrats, support for the law is ebbing. In February, a Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that only 57 percent of Democrats (compared with 72 percent in November of 2012) support the law.

The battle over health care reform is not over. Yes, the 2012 election ensured that the law would not be repealed and replaced in 2013. But when the American people are unhappy with a policy, they find a way to alter it. Republicans can tie themselves in knots and consider abandoning their principles on abortion, taxes, immigration or marriage (and perhaps some of those positions require rethinking), but the health care issue is pitched right over home plate.

Nearly every American is intimately concerned with the delivery of health care. Choice and competition can deliver what Americans desire -- a quality product at an affordable price. Before offering reform proposals, Republicans need to be clear that they are not endorsing the status quo ante.

The pre-Obamacare health care system was not a free market for health care at all but a peculiar hybrid with distorting incentives created by bad government policy. Because the government set wages and prices during World War II, employers were not permitted to raise salaries more than a set amount approved by National War Labor Board. Employers resorted to providing fringe benefits, including health coverage, and the IRS approved this workaround by treating fringe benefits differently from wages. Thus was born the link between employment and health_insurance.......

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...


TOPICS: Issues; Parties; Polls
KEYWORDS: democrats; medicine; obama; obamacare
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Obamacare is doomed to fail. I have a great idea. Why don’t
we have the government control all healthcare?


21 posted on 03/23/2013 6:04:51 AM PDT by Dr. Ursus
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

> “...consider abandoning their principles on abortion, taxes, immigration or marriage (and perhaps some of those positions require rethinking)...”

Uh No. No, Mona, these issues do not need any “rethinking”. They are universally linked to the most important institutions and values of life.

Abortion —> Value of LIFE
Taxes —> FREEDOM
Immigration —> As in illegal residence, NATIONHOOD
Marriage —> MORALITY

We don’t ‘rethink’ life, freedom. nationhood and morality. Rather we ‘emphasize’ them and ‘pass them on’ from generation to generation.

The rest of the summary of the history of the unholy alliance between employer and employee stemming from Roosevelt’s folly is fairly accurate and informative but not new.

Charen’s purpose is to steer the Stupid party away from the defining issues of life, freedom, nationhood and morality and towards Obama madness in health. Fine, but it always ends up with what are the Stupids going to do to replace Obama’s con artistry?

The answer right now is there is no answer and there shouldn’t ever be an answer from government. There are solutions out there in the private sector but investors are broke or jaded, entrepreneurs are abandoned or on hold and Obamacare is a roadblock to solutions. The government propped up by the Federal Reserve credit card is the only player at the table right now. Without this block, the solutions would come forward and people would see what works.

Why haven’t these solutions come forward in the past pre-Obamacare?

Answer: Government interference and displacement of markets by Medicaid and Medicare. Government has already taken the controlling market share. It is difficult to undo what they have done which is to make medical delivery so expensive that the only answer is more government meaning more taxes.

The only way out of this tar pit is to grow the economy through a massive change in the tax code with the ‘FairTax’, then pay for the doctors and hospitals with emerging markets and reduce the market share held by government to zero with strict laws that government is not to ever interfere in health markets again. It can be done and must be done without compromise. To leave government involved in health even as a fraction of a percent is to leave cancer cells remaining after surgery only to come back later with a vengeance.


22 posted on 03/23/2013 6:12:41 AM PDT by Hostage (Be Breitbart!)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
The smarter democrats know perfectly well that Obamacare, as passed, will not work. And that is perfectly ok with them. Its purpose in their eyes is (1) to destroy private health insurance, which will be turned into a collection of no-longer-competitive companies functioning as government benefit administrators, and (2) to convert all health care providers into government contractors in all but name.

With this in place, when Obamacare collapses, single payer will seem the obvious "fix."

We will then reconstruct a private health insurance market outside of single payer for those who can afford it, as is typical in much of Europe. If necessary, the services will be provided abroad, and the U.S. will cease to be the world leader in medical care. There are many countries in Asia that will be happy to assume this role and cater to the carriage trade.

23 posted on 03/23/2013 6:19:11 AM PDT by sphinx
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Mona,

Concern yourself with the Collapse of the RNC who is no longer the GOP and has left us.

The question you should ask is who and what will replace them, because the current crowd to me ain't got the Moxie to give us a true market alternative to Obamacare.

24 posted on 03/23/2013 6:24:18 AM PDT by taildragger (( Tighten the 5 point harness and brace for Impact Freepers, ya know it's coming..... ))
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To: sphinx
With this in place, when Obamacare collapses, single payer will seem the obvious fix.

This is the essence of the issue. And the GOP will go along with it complacently. All this other palaver is just whistling in the dark.

25 posted on 03/23/2013 6:43:50 AM PDT by hinckley buzzard
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Mona, you've got your priorities reversed. The Republican Party will collapse before ObamaCare. [See RNC autopsy report for its suicide pact known as “fixes”.]
26 posted on 03/23/2013 7:49:06 AM PDT by MasterGunner01
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To: Venturer
If you are over 65 you are on Medicare. You have no choice it is the law.

My mom was overseas when she turned 65, since she had health insurance through her employer she thought there would be no problem. Fast forward to when they finally decided to retire. Medicare wanted to FINE her for not signing up on time. She pointed out that she was overseas and had full health insurance. No matter.

She fought for a year and it only ended when her former employer got a lawyer and he had a chat with Medicare.

BTW her employer used to offer full health insurance after retirement. That can not do that any more. The best they can do is offer supplemental insurance and BTW that is considered taxable income.

Lovely system there.

27 posted on 03/23/2013 8:02:35 AM PDT by Harmless Teddy Bear (Promotional Fee Paid for by "Ouchies" The Sharp, Prickly Toy You Bathe With!)
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear

I have had insurance all of my life.
It had a @250 dollar deductible and a $20.00 co-pay

No problem I didn’t mind that at all

When I turned 65 medicare took over. I didn’t ask for it, I didn’t need it, It just took over.

I still kept my Insurance, because the supplemental was as high as the regular insurance, so now I have that and Medicare.

Now my fear is that Obamacare will ration me when I turn 76, and my regular insurance will be run out of business or won’t pay.Or will get so expensive I won’t be able to afford it.


28 posted on 03/23/2013 8:48:45 AM PDT by Venturer
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

I see some potentials for ending Obamacare as well as Medicare and Medicaid as they currently exist, but doing so while minimizing harm as much as possible.

To start with, turn administration over to the states with guidelines that are *not* mandatory. Payment in block grants only. States can add to, but cannot delete from the grants, and have strict limits on administrative costs.

Second, open up the federal law to permit “open season” medical care. This means cash only, no insurance, no Medicare or Medicaid for routine care only. Insurance allowed only for catastrophic health care. In exchange, physician and hospital liability is limited to “actual damages”, and revocation of state medical licenses.

Third, offer tax advantages to not using emergency, Medicare and Medicaid, or any other government health care. If you *don’t* use it, you get deductions whose actual value is slightly more than the medical costs.

Mainstream VA care, except for medical problems that exist mostly for service members, like PTSD and “war” diseases like Gulf War Syndrome, as well as prosthetics and rehabilitation.

Privatize the HIPPA record keeping, and put strict limits on what non-medical personnel can access it without a written unique warrant.

This list goes on and on, but it’s a good start.


29 posted on 03/23/2013 9:35:07 AM PDT by yefragetuwrabrumuy (Best WoT news at rantburg.com)
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To: snuffy smiff

Boenher will cry as he waffles, caves and misses openings to destroy the opposition you could drive a drag line mining machine through.


30 posted on 03/23/2013 1:16:29 PM PDT by TigersEye (The irresponsible should not be leading the responsible.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Bullshit!! obamacare is not going anywhere. Both Parties want it. Deomcrats openly. Republicans covertly.

Don't fall for that line. I did at one time but events convinced me differently.

31 posted on 03/23/2013 1:22:55 PM PDT by sport
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To: autumnraine

If she qualifies as poor enough she will be able to get health insurance for free. She will have to fill out a 21 page application which comes with a 61 page instruction book. Getting health care insurance and getting health care treatment are two different things though. With doctors retiring or going cash only and millions of people getting their new free insurance seeing a doctor may become more uncommon than seeing a Sasquatch.


32 posted on 03/23/2013 1:25:48 PM PDT by TigersEye (The irresponsible should not be leading the responsible.)
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