“The brutal arithmetic is that total federal health spending is about 10% of GDP today and on pace to hit 15% in 20 years. The liberal response is more central planning and eventually the political rationing of care, even as taxes continue to climb. The alternative that Mr. Ryan has offered, including an ObamaCare repeal and a conversion of Medicaid into block grants to states, would bring that share down to 6% as premium support began to limit Medicare’s open-ended spending.”
“At the heart of the spending problem, of course, is health care, and at the heart of the health-care cost problem is Medicare. The Obamacare ‘solution’ is heavy-handed regulation and government-imposed cost controls. That approach never works, and only erodes the quality of the system. What’s needed is a functioning marketplace, with government oversight and cost-conscious consumers directing the allocation of resources. And that’s exactly what the Ryan plan would deliver.”
“In other words, the new rules constitute a detailed attempt by the federal government to tell primary care doctors, specialists, and other providers exactly how they should work together. Rather than encourage private, market-driven experimentation, ObamaCare’s ACOs create yet another model of care built around satisfying government rules and regulations.”
“Access, cost, and quality have long been known as the three-legged stool of health reform. It is hard to improve one without worsening the others. So trade-offs must be made.
But not this time. Congress decided it no longer had to make trade-offs. It could have its cake and eat it, too, by creating (drum roll)…tah daaaaah!…ACCOUNTABLE CARE ORGANIZATIONS (ACOs)!!!!”
“Today, liberals will argue that Obamacare is good for America’s seniors. The truth is that the few perks Medicare beneficiaries will experience under the new law are overshadowed by the negative consequences of the far-reaching, fundamental changes it makes to the program.”
“The Obama administration argues that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act improves the Medicare health-insurance program for seniors. This could not be further from the truth. In fact, Medicare patients are at a high risk of service cuts under the new health law.”
“During a hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) admitted to double-counting in the Obamacare budget.”
“The White House has apparently decided that it won’t enforce the unpopular parts of its health-care plan until after the 2012 election. The latest evidence is its decision not to slash Medicare Advantage, the program that Democrats hate because it lets seniors choose private insurance options.”
“One way to think about all this is to see the ACA as a sham of sorts. Long before the passage of the bill public opinion polls consistently showed over many years that the average voter was willing to pay only $100 or so to insure the uninsured. If you think about it, everything that has come out of the White House and other administration officials is consistent with that finding. ObamaCare, we are being told, is one big free lunch. No one’s premium will be higher. No one’s wage will be lower. Millions of people are supposed to benefit and no one is acknowledged to be the slightest bit worse off because of it.”
“GOP committee members repeated their warnings that the law will drive doctors away from treating older Americans, ruin people’s ability to keep their current health care, undermine the free enterprise system and place health care in the hands of what one called ‘unelected bureaucracies.’ These were arguments they and GOP House colleagues made last month when the chamber voted to repeal the entire law – a step the Senate has refused to take.”