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Republican healthcare solutions (Rep. Michele Bachmann)

By Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) - 10/28/09 09:22 AM ET

To hear the Democrats and most of the mainstream media you would think that Republicans are not bringing any alternatives to the health care debate. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

Back in September during an address to a joint session of Congress, President Obama said his office would always be open to Republicans who wanted to present ideas on health care reform. I wrote the President to present my alternatives and request time with the President to discuss them. I took him at his word that the door was open for honest discussion; but I am still waiting for a reply.

To the contrary, Democrats have shut Republicans out of all discussions on drafting the health care bill.  In fact, the Democrats are being so hyper-partisan that they’ve physically locked Republican members out of a committee room. So much for the era of post-partisanship that the President and Speaker Pelosi promised.

Well, at least the Chicago Tribune is paying attention. Today, they published an editorial: “A GOP health plan.” You see, there’s been no shortage of great ideas offered by Republicans which would give us much needed reform without breaking the bank. In fact, I’ve authored the Health Care Freedom of Choice Act to give people who buy insurance in the private market the same tax breaks as those who get it through their employers. The Tribune actually mentions this as one of several viable solutions for true health care reform.

The fact of the matter is: our country is broke. We’re close to $12 TRILLION in debt, an all-time high, and facing staggering deficits for years to come. Do this Congress and Administration care? Apparently not. While they may give lip service to our perilous economic situation, their actions don’t match their rhetoric. Priority number one in Washington should be getting our fiscal house in order.

Cross-posted from Townhall.com

Source:
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/healthcare/65159-republican-healthcare-solutions-rep-michele-bachmann

Comments (17)

We are trillions of dollars in debt because of the last 8 years! And if you can not afford to buy insurance, or have a pre-existing condition, then all of the tax credits in the world will do no good. It is the Republicans who are giving "lip service" and they have had 8 years of practice.BY Samuel Alex Leoni on 10/28/2009 at 12:08
Samuel…you are correct in saying Bush drove the deficit. However, the Dems have quadrupled the debt in just 9 months!!BY Mitch on 10/28/2009 at 12:22
Republicans seem to be able to find strength and rally to add amendments by the dozens to the health care bills.As to the deficit, perhaps Ms. Bachmann can understand an analogy for the economy that it is better to borrow from the bank to buy planting supplies rather than eat the seed in hand.She is a farmer after all, at least in the sense that she a recipient of handsome government largess for crop subsidy payments for her farm enterprise.BY Stp Bryan on 10/28/2009 at 12:41
Real health care reform must include limiting malpractice lawsuits, make health insurance portable, make health insurance premiums tax deductible to the individual, allow insurers to compete and sell insurance across state lines. The government canBY Mike on 10/28/2009 at 12:48
The only Republican who has complained about the deficit in the last 8 years in John McCain. Now, since January, the rest of the party has become deficit hawks. What a bunch of hypocrites. McCain is the only one with class, and I dont agree with him, but I respect him.BY jim on 10/28/2009 at 13:21
The GOP is so out of tough with Americans. It's no wonder that John Kyl of Arizona now favors the idea of an "opt-in" proposal vs. the "opt-out" provision. The calls to his office for the public option must be overwhelming. Arizona is becoming more liberal and he has to face voters in 3 years, who will probably be quite angry that he was against it. The bottom line is that the 1 thing Politicians care about the most, it's getting re-elected; not having their pockets stuffed by special interests.BY Rob on 10/28/2009 at 14:20
The Health Care is a national problem - and the People should be able to vote on weather or not we want the Government in Charge of Health Care. I have worked in and around Government Agencies for 27 years and i have seen some of the worst financial spending and accounting that I have ever seen. There is no responsiblity in the Government. It's broken - replace it - It's old - buy new and buy the best… That's not always the answer. We have a government system it's called Medicaid, there is Cobra for those who do not have company insurance. I like my insurance the way it is - Don't change it.BY Nan on 10/28/2009 at 15:43
The GOP is not out of the loop - the GOP is thining with it's head and not with the pocketbook.BY Barny Frnk on 10/28/2009 at 15:44
Right on Mic[***]e. For one thing Health Care is NOT a right and cannot be found ANYWHERE in the Constitution. For another thing, this if for you Democrats, forcing someone to buy something they don't want to buy is Unconstitutiona l. It will, and rightly so, be thrown out of a court of law if you Democrats try to force this garbage on an individual that doesn't want it and I might add, the majority of the people in this country do NOT want the Govt option to begin with. What we want is Tort Reform and the reality of peddling insurance across state lines so we can have competition lower prices. AZ, more liberal??? Oh yeah, right, with all the seniors that live in AZ and esp the number of seniors in that state that do NOT want this POS bill to become law.BY Dennis on 10/28/2009 at 15:49
Republicans use Healthcare to score a coup!GET THE FACTS BEHIND THE NEWS! The Republican party has an opportunity to seize this moment and establish themselves as the leading party. As the discussions on healthcare reform continue it has become apparent that the public wants healthcare reform that will cover almost everyone and they want it at the lowest cost possible.Republicans have come up with several good ideas, selling insurance across state lines, giving individuals the same tax breaks as those who get insurance thru their employers, tort reform to lessen Doctors insurance costs etc. These idea will help but are not sufficient for almost universal coverage at the lowest cost possible. How to save BIG MONEY on healthcare REFORM! Despite all the smoke and mirrors the best opinion shows that the public option saves money not costs money. The Urban Institute of Washington DC estimated that a gov’t insurance plan would save $224 to $400 billion over a period of 10 years. The private insurance co’s simply will not offer the low cost full coverage insurance plans that would reduce the subsidy for the uninsured and underinsured. The gov’t plan would. The Massachusetts experience using Heritage Foundation ideas with exchanges has covered over 97% of the people but at high cost. Yearly insurance plans run from $800 to $1,000 per month. The Congressional Budget Office has confirmed the money saving of public option plans by estimating that the cost of one of the proposed House plans would be reduced from $1.1 billion to only $800 billion, a saving of $300 billion over a 10 yr period with a gov’t plan. The polls show 60% of the public want a gov’t option. There is another important step we can take to reduce cost by an estimated $40 billion annually or $400 billion over a 10 year period.According to Drs. David Himmelstein and Steffie Woolhandler Physicians for a National Health Plan the public option misses at least 84 percent of the administrative savings available through a single payer, gov’t, healthcare plan. The public plan option would not do anything to streamline the administrative tasks (and costs) of hospitals, physicians offices, and nursing homes. They would still contend with multiple payers, and hence still need the complex cost tracking and billing apparatus that drives administrative costs. These unnecessary provider administrative costs account for the vast majority of bureaucratic waste. The Physician group research in California showed that now 31% of every health care $ was paid for administrative costs. This compared to 3% of Medicare administrative costs. The PNHP single payer information is available at Tel 312-782-6006, info@pnhp.org.I suggest that you introduce a single payer healthcare reform bill with a gov’t plan. Many liberal democrats will go along with you and you may take control of the healthcare reform debate and give the public what it wants.BY robert diogenes on 10/28/2009 at 22:46

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