ObamaCare Reformed at State Level : No Veto

Here is a great idea for the Conservatives come this November third, when the hopefully take control of congress, to get control of the ObamaCare nightmare.

The problem, of course, is do the Republicans/Conservatives have the back bone to actually stand up for what they believe? Will they reach across the isle for the Democrats or will they do what needs to be done by actually legislating good sound policy at the federal level and, as stated in the article, at the state level.

Unfortunately the Republicans have a less then stellar record of doing what will get them reelected or what the Democrats want them to for camera time on the evening news. As everyone is well aware, the Democrats control the main stream media which means the politicians that what to get noticed have to do the biding of the liberal Democrats. Republicans love camera time.

I guess all we can do now is hope the Republicans will do what they say they will do, and if they don't, we have to get rid of them in 2012.

How to Reform ObamaCare Starting Now
Soruce: Scott Gottlieb and Tom Miller, "How to Reform ObamaCare Starting Now," Wall Street Journal, October 14, 2010.

Until at least 2012, President Obama will veto any law repealing his signature health care legislation. What, then, can be done in the next two years? Look to the states, say Scott Gottlieb and Tom Miller, resident fellows at the American Enterprise Institute.

The most promising option is for governors to offer their own market-friendly versions of exchanges, establishing an alternative to ObamaCare and its one-size-fits-all health plans.
State-designed exchanges should allow any willing insurers already licensed in the state to offer plans. Once inside the exchange, consumers would be guaranteed the ability to renew their coverage without regard to changes in their health status, so long as they remain continuously insured. If individuals want to switch plans, they couldn't be hit with higher costs due to changes in health status.

Under this arrangement, there wouldn't be the incentive for gaming the system that exists under ObamaCare. Of course, not everyone will be able to afford to purchase insurance in these exchanges, say Gottlieb and Miller.

Taxpayers can provide targeted subsidies through expanded high-risk pools to cap out-of-pocket, risk-based premium costs for the most vulnerable. In the longer term, states could get waivers to "monetize" Medicaid medical benefits and allow these recipients to shop in the same exchanges. Subsidies should flow directly to consumers, rather than to the health plans as ObamaCare requires.

Replacing the command-and-control features of ObamaCare with a plan offering consumers a real marketplace is a change many people can start to believe in, say Gottlieb and Miller.