The Height Of Arrogance
Sometimes, House Democrats have the tinniest of tin ears. After reading this post by Philip Klein of the American Spectator, I’m certain we’re looking at a prime example of the Democrats arrogance. Here’s what I’m talking about:
The bill also calls for the creation of a national, government-run insurance exchange, in which individuals would receive government subsidies to purchase either the government plan or chose among government-designed private plans.
The common theme in my interviews with Rep. Charles Boustany and Rep. Paul Ryan was their advocating giving people the option to design their own custom health care policies. That’s why the House Republicans’ plan is titled the Patients’ Choice Act.
This is the biggest philosophical difference between conservatives and progressives. Generally speaking, conservatives want to give people the freedom to choose what works best for them. Generally speaking, progressives think that they have to design policies because people aren’t capable of thinking things through and finding the best solutions.
TRANSLATION: Conservatives trust people and put a high priority on sustaining a high level of personal liberty. On the other hand, progressives trust only wonks, which naturally means that they try controlling everything as much as possible.
QUESTION: What makes progressives think that they know what’s best for me in terms of health care policies?
One of the central themes to Rep. Boustany’s thinking was that the doctor-patient relationship was important in the patient getting the highest quality health care possible. Rep. Boustany said that anytime a DC bureaucrat gets in between a doctor and his patient, there’s cause for concern. He’s absolutely right. That’s precisely when the patient should start worrying.
Klein does a great job in highlighting this part of the House Democrats’ legislation:
One key fact worth highlighting: “Over time, the Exchange will be opened to all employers as another choice for covering their employees.”
As Klein notes, “this directly contradicts President Obama’s pledge that everybody who is happy with the health care they receive can keep it.” This isn’t surprising, especially in light of the video that Verum Serum put together. That video, combined with CBO’s scoring of the Kennedy-Dodd bill, have put the Democrats on the defensive on this issue.
That’s why it’s vitally important that we keep increasing the pressure by exposing the parts of the Democrats’ bills that people disagree with. That’s why it’s vitally important that we keep increasing the pressure by highlighting the popular provisions in the Patients’ Choice Act. Here’s how Rep. Ryan chose to sell PCA:
“Both parties need to step up to the plate with specific solutions to our nation’s health care crisis,” added Ryan. “The Patients’ Choice Act represents a clear alternative to those who seek to empower Washington at the expense of the individual, and I am hopeful that our efforts can help push Congress to enact a more sensible health care reform bill this year. The Patients’ Choice Act proves that America can have universal health care coverage without the government running our health care system.”
I’ll just refer you to my interviews with Rep. Paul Ryan and Rep. Charles Boustany on why they think it’s important to get government out of the way. First, here’s an exchange I had with Rep. Ryan:
Shouldn’t people, working in concert with their physician, have the option of putting together a customized health insurance policy?
Yes, that’s a great idea and just the type of innovative thinking we don’t want the federal government to squash. Patients have different needs, and that’s exactly why health insurance shouldn’t be run by the federal government. The government does not know what is best for patients. Patients and doctors should be able to make decisions together about the types of health plans that best suit their individual needs. That concept is exactly what motivated the Patients’ Choice Act. We don’t want the federal government taking over these decisions, and we want to show people that there is another way that allows the individual to maintain control over these personal decisions.
Here’s what Rep. Boustany said about giving people multiple (private sector) choices:
The next subject we talked about was whether government was capable of efficiently administering the changing world of health care. Rep. Boustany said that, based on his personal experiences dealing with government regulators, that the answer to that question was a definite no. Rep. Boustany said that the government is incapable of the type of flexibility that’s needed.
Rep. Boustany also said that the doctor-patient relationship shouldn’t be discounted in these considerations. He said that doctors, working in concert with their patients, make the type of quality decisions that bureaucrats can’t possibly make.
Another topic that we discussed was regulations/mandate-oriented health care vs. cafeteria-style health care. Rep. Boustany said that giving patients the widest variety of choices is the centerpiece of the Patients’ Choice Act. He said that minimizing the number of mandates will drive down both health costs and health insurance premiums while giving the patients a high quality insurance policy.
Anything that government gets its hands on, it strangles with mandates.
In the end, the Democrats’ public option plans will be defeated because people prefer having lots of private sector choices more than they prefer having bureaucrats and politicians putting health insurance policies together.
Technorati Tags: Reform, Health Care, Patients’ Choice Act, Paul Ryan, Charles Boustany, Republicans, Ted Kennedy, Jan Schakowsky, Jacob Hacker, Bureaucrats, Democrats
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog