Health Care: Conservative Alternatives

Despite the Left's claim, conservative-leaning legislators have "introduced at least four comprehensive alternatives to Obamacare," argues Ashe Schow, and he lists them ... for the record.

The Patients' Choice Act, introduced on May 20, 2009, in the House by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and in the Senate by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla. [Key features included: create a health care market through state-based exchanges, penalties for insurance companies that didn't accept patients with pre-existing conditions, and expand Health Savings Accounts.] There is no Congressional Budget Office score for this plan, so claims should be taken with a grain of salt, just as with Obamacare.

The Empowering Patients First Act that was introduced on July 30, 2009, by Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga, would first repeal Obamacare and replace it with a "patient-centered" solution that would provide tax incentives for purchasing health insurance, improve HSAs [Health Savings Accounts], allow health insurance pooling among individuals and small employers, allow insurance to be purchased across state lines [and more].  Again, there's no CBO score for this bill, but it's an alternative nonetheless.

The Patient OPTION Act was introduced on Aug. 1 by Rep. Paul Broun, R-GA., and would first repeal Obamacare and then focus on a patient-centered solution that would allow individuals to deduct all health care expenses, including insurance, increase contribution limits for HSAs, move Medicare to a "premium assistance program," allow for health insurance polling by small businesses [and more]. There is no CBO score for this bill either.

The American Health Care Reform Act was introduced on Sept. 18 by Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., and would also fully repeal Obamacare. The law would then increase access to portable, affordable health insurance, expand federal support for state high-risk pools and cap premiums of those pools, allow people with pre-existing conditions to move between markets so long as they maintain continuous coverage, introduce tort reform [and more]. This bill does not have a CBO score either.