Posted on 08/12/2012 10:42:36 PM PDT by Praxeologue
Anybody who believes Paul Ryan wants the government out of healthcare is falling for a typical Paul Ryan scam. He slices, he dices, he throws up some smoke and then he brings out the mirrors---and then he brings in the government.
Ryan's plan calls for keeping medicare intact for anyone who is 55 or older, then he gets slippery with his plan. For Americans currently under 55, his plan will give them a health insurance voucher as high as $8,000 per year. Government will get to decide what insurance companies are eligible to accept the vouchers. Ryan says all the major health insurers will be approved and accept the vouchers. Guess what that means? Edge to the major insurers.
Ryan says his plan will eliminate the Independent Payment Advisory Board,aka the Death Panels, a panel of 15 experts nominated by the president to recommend policies to cut Medicare costs, which is part of Obama's Affordable Care Act. But it is just slick packaging by Ryan to claim that his program does not include a death panel. With the government approving what insurance companies are approved to accept vouchers, the government will also by necessity have to approve the minimum services and types of services the insurances companies will have to cover. In other words, Ryan's plan takes the death panel into a deeper and darker backroom. I suspect it would eventually drive out of the healthcare business all insurers that are not part of the voucher accepting crowd--just like Obamacare will do
Indeed, the Ryan plan has a lot of other bells and whistles that Obamacare has. It requires insurance companies to insure people who have pre-existing conditions (which means someone, somehow, will be paying for these added costs heaped on the insurance companies for this) Ryan's plan also has adjustments on the size of the voucher based on wealth an income. It's socialist through and through.
It's not a surprise that ABC says:
Underneath the rhetoric, however, Ryan's plan to reform Medicare -- a central part of his 2012 proposal -- bears some glaring similarities to President Obama's health care plan.
Like his Price Stability bill, Ryan flashes and dances about getting the government burden off peoples backs, but when the smoke clears, Ryan is one big government dude.
Real healthcare reform would get government out of the sector, not set up some kind of voucher system that keeps government in the middle of healthcare for the benefit of the crony healthcare industry. The Ryan plan sets up such power centers that the evil will seek to take advantage of. It would result in higher costs, poorer quality treatment and less innovation.
Ryan is a real bad operator because his slick moves will make many think he is attempting to shrink big government. He isn't. He just has a shinier suit with a slicker spiel.
How do you see allowing the consumer to make price based decisions and introducing price-competition into the market not decreasing cost?
Are you really a “free enterpriser” or do you not understand the basic concepts?
So Obama is used as a threat so that we have to embrace socialism with open arms. Have you ever considered that Obama is thrilled that you know want the United States to become a socialist country?
Good grief Nick, if Ryan is a socialist, you’re a unicorn.
This is absurd.
Okay, he just wants socialized medicine, he’s not a socialist. Is that okay for you? (Oh yeah, he wants some cuts in spending, but the significant cuts are always five years out)
As my dear late Mother always said, “you help people who CAN'T help themselves, not people who WON'T help themselves”.
My Mother's Sister lost her sight to Glaucoma back in the 40’s. Back then the only thing a Doctor could do is remove your Eyeballs if the pain was too intense. There was no treatment available as there is today, so she went Blind. She is 88 Years Old and never complains as much as all the idiot Liberals do day in and day out.
Before I was born, my Aunt was going to work sewing Garments in what many today would consider a sweat shop. Her Blindness didn't make her helpless. When the place closed down and another job was elusive, my Mother and Father had to force her to go to the Welfare Office to get help. I think she ended up getting $10 a week and she got off it six months later when she found a job doing assembly work.
My patience wears thin when able bodied people expect their Neighbors to pay their bills because life ain't fair. Well, if life was fair, Obama would be serving Bill Clinton Coffee every morning at the Whorehouse.
As we discussed above, Ryan's original plan would have introduced market-based pricing that would have saved money. Ryan's March plan moved back toward a defined benefit program that appears to remove the benefits of his original defined contribution plan. My current problem is that his current proposal is too vague to reach a conclusion. It sets of my warning bells, however.
As for fighting among ourselves, if that is your concern, I can think of no better venue that FR for a free discussion, unfettered by the formal position of the Republican Party.
No, Nick, it’s not good enough. It’s lobbing spitballs from the sideline. Only it’s not a game anymore, it’s our country’s future.
I’m sorry, I’m not in the mood for it anymore.
Do you not think that insurance companies will do a far better job of recognizing and effectively dealing with fraud, waste and inefficiency than the federal government ever could?
The only worthy discussion for the next three months is how to remove the current regime from power.
After that, we can discuss..
I completely agree. The government should stay out of health care as much as possible. However, that is not what Ryan's current proposal provides; his earlier proposals, yes, but not his current proposal.
Aren't we supposed to be keeping these guys' feet to the fire? I thought that was part of FR's mission in the new Romney world.
Well, someone has to stick up for this country. We have two presidential candidate who came up with the healthcare plan. Maybe you like it, but someone has to dissent. Someone has to stick up for the country.
They are both Keynesian dbags. And you want to send the message to Romney that he can ignore that he can totally ignore conservatives? You want to tell them they should govern from the left?
I’m sorry but I don’t see your dissent as sticking up for this country. I see fighting to defeat the current regime as sticking up for this country.
It’s down to three months. Choose to fight against one or the other or sit it out.
You’re supposed to vote for establishment candidates and then be happy that they are 0.00001% better than “the other guy!” And you, Mr. Thinky McWaitAMinute, and screwing it up.
Don’t you know that the proper time to have a discussion is after it’s too late to do anything about it?
If Romney/Ryan beats Obama/Biden, you think the message is the left wins?
That’s, again, absurd.
Oh, OK, I’ll be sure to vote for Obama then.
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