“Beyond these encouraging developments in the states, however, there are two proposals that Republicans should embrace in the early months of 2013 to help destabilize Obamacare and lay the foundation for its eventual replacement. First, congressional Republicans should push for a delay in Obamacare’s implementation. Second, the party should unite behind, and persuasively advance, a credible and practical replacement plan—for one cannot replace Obamacare without offering a replacement.”
“The American Medical Association praised the reintroduction Wednesday of a bill to repeal the controversial Medicare payments board in President Obama’s healthcare law. Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.) reintroduced his bill to repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) — a panel of 15 healthcare experts with the power to cut Medicare payments to doctors if spending grows faster than a prescribed rate.”
“Ninety-four years ago today, the 18th Amendment was added to the Constitution. It prohibited ‘the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes.’ The 18th Amendment was enacted with far more support than Obamacare.”
“The answer is that replacing Obamacare is by necessity a long-term project; you have to start somewhere. Moreover, it remains essential. Like it not, health-care policy is central to the struggle over the size and scope of governmental power. Without a better approach than Obamacare, there will be no success in limiting government or in lessening the dependence of citizens on the state.”
“A conservative nonprofit group is putting pressure on the Obama administration to delay major regulations from the healthcare reform law. The Minnesota-based Citizens Council for Health Freedom says the administration is trying to ‘rush ObamaCare’ by providing just 30 days for comment on major pieces of the program. The group has asked supporters to write the Health and Human Services Department and demand that the rule-making process be slowed down.”
“But the survey found that even with federal subsidies, many uninsured people may balk at the cost of coverage. Only about a third of respondents leaned toward thinking monthly premiums of $210 for a single person earning $30,000 a year, for example, were affordable.”
“After three years, Obamacare remains unpopular. Both the raw numbers and the intensity favor its opponents. Last month, for the first time ever, Gallup found that a majority of Americans oppose a government guarantee of health insurance for all. The ongoing resistance to Obamacare is a grassroots phenomenon. It has probably intensified since the election, as many disappointed voters (and non-voters) have sought an outlet for their frustrations.”
“New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) declined to set up a state-based insurance exchange under the healthcare law Thursday — the same day he met with President Obama on Hurricane Sandy aid. The move will be welcomed by conservatives who blamed Christie for praising Obama’s response to the storm. Sandy hit just before the election and distracted national media coverage from Obama’s campaign against Mitt Romney. “
“President Obama won re-election and Democrats maintained control of the Senate this month, but the states hold the future of ObamaCare in their hands. Knowing the harm the law would do to their citizens, to the economy and to American health care, governors should refuse to become its enablers.”
“For the first time in 12 years, a majority say it is not the federal government’s responsibility to ensure that health care coverage is provided to all Americans, according to a poll on Wednesday.
Only 44 percent believe the government should guarantee health care coverage, and 54 percent believe it has no such responsibility, according to a Gallup survey.”