Now that Republicans will control both houses of Congress come January they should get to work improving Obamacare with free-market principles, writes Paul Hsieh on
Forbes.com.
"Their proposal doesn’t have to be perfect, as long as it’s a clear improvement to ObamaCare (and to the dysfunctional pre-ObamaCare system)," Hsieh writes.
He points to a number of possible plans already proposed, including one from Whole Foods CEO
John Mackey.
The common attributes in most of those plans include the ability for insurers to sell "castrophic only" coverage, which could be added to a health savings account to cover most medical needs; allowing insurers to sell policies across state lines; making the tax status for employer-provided and individually bought policies the same; and ending price controls that force the young and healthy to subsidize the health costs of the older and sicker.
Another plan by University of Chicago professor John Cochrane would allow people to lock in their health insurance costs now over the long term. Under such terms, plans cannot be canceled because of changes in health.
And a plan by UCLA professor Russell Korobkin would allow people to choose which types of treatment they want covered. Such a plan would eliminate the complaints many have had under Obamacare, which forces everyone to buy obstetrics and children's dental coverage even if they have no need.
Other alternatives include ministries which pool money to cover members' medical bills and "concierge" practices for the middle class.
Republicans should make a better case for freedom to choose such plans, Hsieh says, noting that many of what have been called gains in patient coverage actually are just an expansion of Medicaid programs and any such gains are "illusory."
Many doctors who are listed as serving Medicaid patients actually are not available to treat them, a Dec. 8
New York Times story reported.
"When Americans are left free to seek their best medical interests through voluntary trade, they can devise innovative new health care delivery and financing models far better than government central planners," he writes.
House Republicans have held more than 50 votes to repeal all or parts of Obamacare, but with Democrats controlling the Senate, the bills all died.
Though the GOP Congress won't be able to garner enough votes to repeal Obamacare and override a presidential veto, they can hold hearings to point to the successes of the alternative and make it an issue for the 2016 presidential campaign, Hsieh said.
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