Healthcare: one of the most important facets of our lives, and rapidly becoming one of the most pervasive and expensive ones. In 2009, the Congress passed ObamaCare in one of the most dubious fashions ever seen in Washington politics. The legion of broken promises which the health care law was predicated on still reverberate throughout the country and impact millions of American citizens who have had their monthly premiums skyrocket or their plans canceled altogether.
In 2013, Politifact voted President Obama’s repeated statement, “If you like your health care plan, you can keep it,” as their “Lie of the Year.” Nancy Pelosi made the now infamous statement, “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.” Well, the American people did find out what was in it and they didn’t like it. The reckoning which followed from canceled policies, sky-high premium increases, and tax penalties led to an unprecedented political realignment nationwide. Republicans now control the White House, both Houses of Congress, 33 governorships, and have gained more than 1,000 state legislative seats over the past six years.
Ronald Reagan once said, “No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth!” As witty as that statement may have been at the time, we find ourselves in a rare moment in history where our government may be on the verge of doing just that – reducing its role in the decisions covering more than one-sixth of our economy. As individuals who believe in limited government and fiscal responsibility, we welcome the repeal of the policy train wreck that is ObamaCare. But repealing it is only the first step. A suitable replacement must accompany the repeal – one that will incorporate competition and consumer choice – two elements that are greatly missing from our health care system today and which are fundamental to lowering costs and improving quality.
It is past time to eliminate a government bureaucracy that prevents patients from making their own medical decisions and doctors from pursuing treatments they believe to be in their patients’ best interest. Free-market reforms would bring sanity to the system – reforms such as allowing insurance providers to compete with one another across state lines, promoting the enhancement and expansion of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), and championing innovation in the delivery of care. Only then will we begin to see the real cost of health care decline without negatively impacting the quality of care.
We have for too long straddled the cliff of socialized medicine and centralized planning in health care. It has not worked. Albert Einstein defined insanity as “Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
We need to hear from you now.
As we engage with both state and federal policy makers, we have an opportunity to share your story with them. Have you lost an insurance plan that worked for you, as a result of Obamacare? Have you lost your doctor because your new plan had too restrictive networks? Are you paying for coverage you can’t possibly ever use?
Please tell us your story by emailing: jmi@jamesmadison.org
Source: www.jamesmadison.org
We invite you to share your positive experiences with health share ministries and Internal Medicine Lipids and Wellness. www.imlwp.com