this is a commentary on health care and obamacare

8/9/2019 This is a Commentary on Health Care and Obamacare

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This is a Commentary On Health Care and

Obamacare

Waging War on Obamacare

Published on April 15, 2010 by Michael Franc

The cloud of Obamacare has a faint silver lining. Both the substance of the bill and the way itwas passed have boosted the electoral prospects for right-leaning candidates in November.That¶s a critical first step toward repealing the most consequential expansion of government¶srole in our daily lives in many decades.

Let¶s be clear, however: To repeal or even defang Obamacare will require a combination of skill,luck, and the right political environment. And it will require conservative reformers in both parties (yes, both parties ² the only bipartisanship on display this past year, it is worth recalling,has been bipartisan opposition to Obamacare). It¶s doable, but it won¶t be easy.

As long as President Obama is in the White House, his veto pen can stop any reform bill. A vetooverride requires two-thirds supermajorities in both House and Senate ² a wholly unrealistic prospect unless Republicans make unprecedented electoral gains and scores of politically queasymoderate Democrats openly rebel against their party leaders.

But each day seems to bring news that should make moderates queasier and liberals less cocky.Less than a week after passage of the bill, major U.S. companies like AT&T, Caterpillar, andJohn Deere announced billions of dollars in writedowns to account for the new law¶s financial

impact. And thousands of Americans eager to sign up for their ³free health coverage´ learnedthey¶d have to wait four years before Washington would start delivering on that promise.

More negative news is on the way. A long list of new tax burdens and regulations will createadditional unintended consequences. The CEO of Medtronic Inc., for example, believes the new2.3 percent excise tax on medical devices will force his firm to eliminate a thousand jobs. TheCFO of Massachusetts-based Zoll Medical Corp. warns that his company may have to relocate650 Bay State jobs overseas.

This fall, millions of seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans will receive notices of benefitcutbacks or even the termination of their plans, thanks to Obamacare¶s $200-billion cuts in the

popular program.

With these developments looming on the horizon, President Obama and his Hill allies hope tofocus attention elsewhere: on jobs and the economy. If Republicans, the conservative grassroots,and the media become preoccupied with other concerns, they hope, the voters will soon calmdown.

Center-right America should not let itself be distracted.



A coalition of Republicans and a few courageous Democrats can jettison Obamacare if they gainthe trust of voters on health-policy issues. That¶s already starting.

Obamacare has not won the people¶s hearts and minds. Despite wildly positive media coverage

and the triumphant White House signing ceremony, surveys find public support for the new lawdropping like a stone. Support in the most recent CBS poll has fallen to a dismal 32 percent, withopposition up to a new high of 53 percent. The same trend was apparent in polls conducted byFox News and Rasmussen. Nearly six of every ten voters now support outright repeal, accordingto the most recent Rasmussen survey.

The polls reveal that frustration is particularly acute among political independents. Over half of the independents in the CBS poll, for example, thought the new law would increase their health-care costs; only 13 percent thought their costs would come down. Similarly, 42 percent expectObamacare to deliver lower-quality care; only 13 percent expect it to deliver better care. By sixto one (67±11 percent) they dismiss outright the claims by the president and Hill leaders that the

new law will cut federal deficits.

Such intense animosity offers an opening for lawmakers who want to build voter enthusiasm for a market-oriented approach to health-care reform, which would be far less costly and would giveAmericans far greater freedom.

Democrats used to have an advantage in public opinion on this issue. Over the past two decades,however, Gallup surveys that have asked voters which party they trust to handle the health-careissue found that the gap between Republicans and Democrats narrowed whenever the GOPactively promoted its market-oriented alternative view.

The gap shrank in 1993 (after Republicans fought the Clinton health-care bill). It narrowed againin 1997±98 (when the GOP promoted a balanced budget, including provisions to slow the growthof health-care entitlements). Now, after a year of debate on Obamacare, the gap has closed onceagain.

A recent Rasmussen survey echoes the Gallup findings. It found that likely voters giveRepublicans a significant edge over Democrats (53 to 37 percent) on health care, a sea changecompared with a year ago. The same poll shows that the GOP enjoys an even larger advantageamong independents (58 to 22 percent), also a considerable improvement compared with

November 2008.

In the past, lawmakers espousing free-market ideas on health care would abandon the playingfield to liberals once the media ceased focusing on health care. Like a scrum of six-year-old boysfollowing the soccer ball, they would pursue the next hot issue while liberals kept pluggingaway, adding new layers to Medicaid and transforming what once was a relatively modest program for children¶s health insurance into a mushrooming entitlement that now coverschildless adults with middle-class lifestyles.

This time must be different. Republicans and the moderate Democrats who opposed Obamacare



must remain on the playing field. They must keep highlighting the many problems with thislegislation and work tirelessly to convert nascent voter trust into a more permanent attachment.Only then will we have a realistic shot at replacing Obamacare with a better, market-orientedalternative.

The best way to do this is to broaden that playing field. Obamacare, after all, will not just lower the quality and increase the cost of our health care. It will also wreak havoc in many other areasof our lives. Federal and state budgets will explode; new tax burdens on investors and medical-device innovators will stifle job creation; tomorrow¶s students and young workers will have toshoulder even greater fiscal burdens. And so on.

Specifically, reformers must:

Understand that the repeal effort should be waged at the state level as well as in D.C. Work closely with governors and other state officials in both parties to highlight the negative budgetaryconsequences and likely unconstitutionality of Obamacare. Recall that Tennessee governor Phil

Bredesen, a Democrat, was the first governor to openly criticize Obamacare¶s impact on his stateMedicaid program;

Educate younger voters on how the new insurance regulations will increase their costs anddim their prospects for upward mobility;

Draw in the 9 million or so seniors who will bear the brunt of the Left¶s crusade to destroy theonly competitive corner of Medicare: Medicare Advantage;

Give platforms to entrepreneurs in the health-care sector to explain how the regulatory spawnof Obamacare will impede the development of next-generation medical breakthroughs;

Ditto for employers, who, as they encounter the harsh realities of Obamacare, will opt to scale back their workforce, farm out operations overseas, or simply leave their employees to the tender mercies of the Obama health exchange; and, finally

Give a voice to the tens of thousands of practicing physicians who see how Obamacare willeviscerate the doctor-patient relationship, robbing millions of patients of the quality care theydeserve.

It¶s hard to keep public attention focused on an issue once Congress acts. But historydemonstrates that lawmakers who tout commonsense solutions to difficult problems gaincredibility and trust when they persevere.

When it comes to health care, the GOP and like-minded Democrats must stay engaged andactive, or else Democratic progressives will press ahead with implementing Obamacare, in the process exploding state and federal budgets and hindering upward mobility, while making healthcare more expensive and reducing quality for everyone.



Michael G. Franc is vice president of government relations for the Heritage Foundation. Gary Andres is vice chairman of research for Dutko Worldwide.

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