Republicans Offer Real Reforms

Research Briefings on WISGOP.com 07.24.2009

Republicans Offer Real Reforms
by RPW Chairman Reince Priebus

Reform is coming, but we must carefully consider the implications of a government-run “public plan” before Congress hurries a partisan vote in an effort to avoid public scrutiny.
While Wisconsinites can be proud of our quality of care, Republicans and Democrats acknowledge there is work to be done to bring down the cost and increase accessibility of health care. We agree that the status quo is not acceptable.

As we’ve seen too many times before, saying the word “reform” doesn’t mean it is being accomplished, and it doesn’t mean lower costs for American health care consumers or taxpayers will result. Likewise, the burden of the cost of health care will not be addressed by a “public plan,” as President Obama has proposed, and, contrary to its supporters’ intent, this plan has an alarming potential to drive up costs down the road.

Giving more power to the federal government is not the answer to finding affordable health care for families. In fact, the “public plan” is the first step to a government takeover which will take decisions away from doctors and patients. And, if you like your plan, odds are employers could be switching to the government plan, regulated at the federal-level by a board of bureaucrats who will make decisions by playing politics.

Whether paying out of one pocket directly towards health care or paying out of the other pocket in the form of taxes to the federal government, Americans will be paying more for a “public plan.” Furthermore, many governors have expressed grave concerns about Obama’s plan to cut Medicare and Medicaid to pay for the plan—another shift that will end up driving up costs. With a starting price tag of over a trillion dollars, and as we saw with the stimulus bill, a heightened potential for bureaucratic waste and mismanagement, the sky is the limit for the true cost of a “public plan.”

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that costs will swell as will our nation’s deficit. More debt and spending, as called for under the bill, will prolong our recession. With unpredictable and high-reaching costs, the funding mechanism for the plan relies disproportionately on raising small businesses taxes across the country…small businesses would even be paying more than Fortune 500 companies! It should go without saying that adding a new tax on businesses in this time of unprecedented unemployment is a dangerous gamble in an already unstable economy. We cannot simply tax our way to more affordable health care.
Republicans are listening to the public’s calls for reform and are offering realistic measures that can bring down costs, increase access, and maintain quality through a vibrant free-market system of price controls. The “Patients’ Choice Act” offered by Republicans, including Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, features measures which would:

• reduce individual costs,
• protect the doctor-patient relationship Americans have come to expect, and
• protect the most vulnerable Americans to ensure no individual would be turned down based on age or health.
  

We can responsibly reform health care without further bankrupting the country. We can also preserve and improve quality and choices without turning our health care system over to the federal government.

Reform is coming, but we must carefully consider the implications of a government-run “public plan” before Congress hurries a partisan vote in an effort to avoid public scrutiny. Rushing a flawed bill that will damage our health care system would be a 1.6 trillion dollar mistake. I encourage you to contact your Congressional representative today to say there is a better way to reform health care.