On Friday, Democrats moved one step closer to giving free health insurance to the nation’s estimated 12 million illegal aliens when they successfully defeated a Republican-backed amendment, offered by Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., that would have prevented illegal aliens from receiving government-subsidized health care under the proposed plan backed by House Democrats and President Barack Obama.
This is exactly the kind of thing that causes Americans to oppose legal immigration. If people who come here had to pay their own way and stay out of legal trouble, then we could open the doors wide and naturalize them after 5 years of clean, productive, self-sufficient living. But the Democrats are looking for people who are not self-sufficient. They want the votes of people who can’t make their own way. And they want you to pay for it!
“The last time the President made grand promises and demanded passage of a bill before it could be reviewed, we ended up with the colossal stimulus failure and unemployment near 10 percent,” said Senator DeMint.
“Now the President wants Americans to trust him again, but he can’t back up the utopian promises he’s making about a government takeover of health care. He insists his health care plan won’t add to our nation’s deficit despite the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office saying exactly the opposite. And today we learn that the President is refusing to release a critical report on the state of our economy, which contains facts essential to this debate. What is he hiding?
“If the actual legislation came close to matching the President’s rhetoric, he would have no problem passing this bill with huge Democrat majorities in both chambers. But Americans aren’t being fooled and are discovering the truth about his plan which includes rationed care, trillions in new costs, high taxes and penalties that will destroy jobs, and even government-funded abortions.
“Let’s be clear, there is no one in this debate advocating that we do nothing despite the President’s constant straw man arguments. Republicans have offered comprehensive health care reform solutions that cover millions of the uninsured without exploding costs, raising taxes, or rationing care. We can give every American access to a health plan they can own, afford and keep without a government takeover.”
So I guess it’s Michele Bachmann and Jim Demint in 2012, then! Right? Bobby Jindal can be Secretary of Health & Human Services, Sarah Palin can be Secretary of Energy, Paul Ryan can be Secretary of Commerce and John Bolton can be Secretary of State. And Edith Hollan Jones and Janice Rogers Brown go on the Supreme Court! Oh, that makes me so happy!
Although there are some positive provisions in the current House Tri-Committee bill – including insurance for all and payment reform demonstration projects – the proposed legislation misses the opportunity to help create higher-quality, more affordable health care for patients. In fact, it will do the opposite.
In general, the proposals under discussion are not patient focused or results oriented. Lawmakers have failed to use a fundamental lever – a change in Medicare payment policy – to help drive necessary improvements in American health care. Unless legislators create payment systems that pay for good patient results at reasonable costs, the promise of transformation in American health care will wither. The real losers will be the citizens of the United States.
Obama is interested in controlling as much of the economy as possible – he is not interested in providing good services and prosperity for you!
Further study
You can learn more about the Republican health care plan with short 5-minute podcasts by brilliant policy analysts like Regina Hertzlinger, Sally Pipes and Rep. Paul Ryan. Not to mention Michael Tanner and Michael Cannon of the Cato Institute. There is an alternative way to lower health care costs while preserving individual choice and liberty: consumer-driven health care. Health care videos are here.
It’s a great little debate! I recommend watching it.
HINT: Somebody won, and somebody lost. And it’s obvious.
About Keith Hennessey
Keith Hennessey is the former Assistant to the U.S. President for Economic Policy and Director of the U.S. National Economic Council. He was appointed to the position in November 2007 by President George W. Bush, and served until the end of Bush’s second term in office. Mr. Hennessey served in the White House since August 2002, when he was appointed to his previous position of Deputy Assistant to the U.S. President for Economic Policy and Deputy Director of the U.S. National Economic Council.
Hennessey holds a B.S. in Mathematics and Political Science from Stanford University as well as a Master of Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. The title of his Harvard public policy thesis was Unintended Consequences: Critical Assumptions in the Clinton Health Plan.
About Howard Dean
Yeaarrrrrrghhh! He makes Al Franken look like an even-tempered centrist.
WINTERY KNIGHT 