Posted on 11/21/2013 8:51:58 PM PST by Olog-hai
Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) says increasing access to health care and lowering health care costs are at the heart of his bill that stands as an alternative to Obamacare.
“We drafted this bill with a working group of members of the Republican Study Committee, which I chair,” Scalise told Fox News’ Neil Cavuto on Wednesday. He said momentum is building for the American Health Care Reform Act, which is being taken “very seriously.”
“It’s a very concise bill. It’s less than 200 pages long. It’s not the 2,700-page bill that Obamacare is,” Scalise said.
“And also we have over 100 members of Congress now that have co-sponsored it. And we had medical doctors who serve in Congress, like Dr. Phil Roe, help write this bill. This is a bill based on putting patients back in charge of their health care and lowering the cost and getting government out of health care decisions.” …
(Excerpt) Read more at cnsnews.com ...
NO PORK! ZERO!
Keep the spotlight on the Democrats!
I’m sure they have a decent bill, but not NOW! Let the Dems sink with obamacare in 2014. For them to pass this ow- if it would pass - is just wrong. Don’t bail the commies out!
That sounds like it could be used as a political weapon except there is one huge hole in the current ‘no personal mandates’ rule that has been adopted in reaction to Obama-care, and the hole is in this plan.
That is the federal mandate that hospitals must treat anyone who show up in emergency room then try to get the $$$ back later, usually eating the bills and charging the rest of patients. In Maryland we pay a special tax that reimburses hospitals for this.
I know it may be heresy but that is NOT working and it will be used effectively to beat Republicans on it as it was before.
Any 'plan' ignoring that big problem will be seen as a loser except by the choir.
Conservatives (not to be confused with Rep. Scalise (R-La.)) - do not need to propose an “alternative plan”. Our plan is to repeal Obamacare and get goverment out of the healthcare field altogether.
Conservatives look at government as the problem, not the solution. This is the most fundamental distinction between conservatism and liberalism. He obviously is no conservative.
I don’t want a group of republican politicians tinkering with my healthcare any more than a group of democrats doing the same. Haven’t we learned anything from obamacare? Keep Washington out of it.
“I’m sure they have a decent bill, but not NOW!”
What are you talking about? This isn’t a delay or fix to help Socialized Medicine work out its kinks before taking over next year. It’s a complete repeal of Obamacare combined with sensible free-market reforms. This must be done NOW. Government entitlement programs are the only immortal things man has ever created. Every second we let Obama’s Socialist filth further penetrate our society it becomes less likely that we will ever cast it off.
Even if this won’t get through the Senate, let’s make Reid refuse to vote on it every day until the Nov 2014 elections, and let’s for once let the American people know that there is another option, and who it is who is keeping that option from them.
Haven’t we learned anything from obamacare? Keep Washington out of it.
That’s what I want, lower priced healthcare that offers more, and doesn’t require me to become a ward of the federal government, like Obamacare does. When it is a matter of give me liberty, or give me health insurance, I’ll take liberty every time.
Well the hospitals don’t quantify the effect of non insurance eroom coverage and don’t let you know what subsidies they get for the coverage. for regular insurance coverage that we do pay for: the hosp and docs charge 1200 for a service — the insco pays 300 via contact — the hosp/docs write off the rest. not a good business model. Health insurance can’t survive paying for health care oil changes(doc visits). currently ours does.
“repeal Obamacare and get goverment out of the healthcare field altogether.”
Amen Brother!
Regardless, in the 1980s the congress under Reagan passed a law requiring emergency rooms to treat people regardless of if they can or will pay, even illegals, anyone.
This was the first instance of compassionate conservatism and today we hear GOP resorting to claiming that it *works*
Three unpopular fixes come to mind: A personal mandate that covers JUST that freebee just like auto-insur-liability, or repeal that mandate on hospitals. Another is a tax to pay for it. All unpopular (a shame someone has to pay eventually isn't it?)
But they shouldnt claim that ‘works’ and expect to be taken serious.
Agree.
Why, precisely, would we trust someone who thinks 200 pages is “very concise”?
Here’s an even more concise version: Repeal the thing, in its entirety, immediately!
You cannot legislate lower costs unless you institute price controls.
All you can do is allow for free markets and hope the market can lower prices.
If this passes, it smells like a way for the Republicans to take the blame when the whole thing crashes.
This is the one-party system setting us up for single-payer.
On principle, I agree with you, but as a doc I know that it is very difficult at this point to ‘keep Washington out of it’ because we have built a system for years and years and years that is dependent upon federal programs/monies (e.g. Medicare). Honestly, very, very few Americans can afford to pay for much more than routine check ups etc. out of pocket. There are so many layers of expense for everything medical. Need a CT scan with IV and oral contrast? Well, there's the cost of the scanner, the upkeep, the technician's salary, the cost of the blood test you will need to ensure that your kidneys can handle the IV contrast, the cost of the oral contrast and bowel prep you may have to go through, the cost of the radiologist interpreting the test, and nowadays there is a built in cost for the electronic medical record system that had to be put in place to comply with national standards. The bottom line? It's expensive.
Can we address these issues? Yes, but it is not going to be easy.
Conservatives look at government as the problem, not the solution. This is the most fundamental distinction between conservatism and liberalism. He obviously is no conservative.
I read the whole article.
I'm with you in that I'm aware that government has no Constitutional authority to meddle in health care.
However, allowing insurance sales across state lines and reforming malpractice laws go a long way to getting the government out of it.
It's a damn sight better than Obamacare.
And, yes, we do need an "alternate plan". There will be no senate, congressional, or public support for repeal if there is no "alternate plan".
It’s a decent bill if it returns everything to the private sector, and gets the government out of it period.
If it’s warmed over RomneyCare on the rotisserie, it’ll be the same damned thing as Obamacare, unConstitutional, and eventually unsustainable.
We need to be moving in the other direction, getting government out of these programs, not into more of them.
the American Health Care Reform Act...thanks Olog-hai.
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