Five years after Obama’s first election, the GOP has absolutely NO comprehensive health care reform plan other than “hurry up and die” or “good luck not going bankrupt over healthcare costs.” Instead of embracing the Affordable Care Act, they prefer to return to insurance corporation rule over the healthcare options for Americans.
They can talk about “tort reform” and “selling insurance across state lines” … but neither of those concepts will help someone declared by the insurance industry to be defective, in that they have a “pre-existing” condition, making them ineligible for insurance at any price. A large number of governors have already attempted “tort reform” and have been unable to achieve positive results. In addition, I doubt those same Governors would want to see Insurers from some other state “cherry-pick” healthy citizens out of their state only to watch health pools become mostly populated with more unhealthy individuals causing healthcare costs to rise dramatically.
The GOP claims tort reform would give more certainty to the healthcare marketplace by curbing liability costs of providers of healthcare. The only way they can conceivably do that is to dictate flat monetary values for the loss of a foot, arm, life, etc., or flat allowances for the plethora of malpractices that are committed on a regular basis. In other words, if a doctor or health provider ruins your health or the quality of your life, you’ll get only a pittance for your bad luck.
The GOP’s desire to “sell insurance across state lines” is at cross-directions with their “States Rights” mantra and instead would throw each state under the bus. Each State has its own Commissioner of Insurance who sets minimum requirements for those who provide Insurance policies to citizens of their particular state. So, instead of protecting “States” rights, it appears the GOP wants to plow the way for large corporate insurance providers to take out more efficient and less costly smaller sized organizations … DECREASING competition in the marketplace, and thus HIGHER costs and abuses.
But, that’s all they’ve got. So, before we throw out the baby with the bath water, so to say … maybe it’s time to get behind what was actually passed, upheld by the Supreme Court, and now in the process of being implemented. The benefits of the Affordable Care Act are pretty straight forward: the law makes it easier to get insurance you can afford, ensures you have the care you need when you get sick, and covers the preventive services you need to stay healthy without additional co-pay:
