I read with great interest Republican representatives Coffman, Lamborn, Buck and Timpton’s column (Journal, Jan. 19) defending their efforts to repeal Obamacare.
So, Republican politicians now have an interest in “fixing” health care so that all Americans have access to it? I really have to ask where the Republican Party was before Obama took office? They certainly took no action on this problem during the presidency of G.W. Bush, and obstructed the Clinton administration’s efforts before that.
The authors make some salient points about the very real problems of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). I have made the same arguments with my Democratic friends.
Yes, it is true, having health insurance is very different from actually having access to affordable health care. The ACA indeed is flawed in that it mandates people to buy health insurance in the marketplace, with many of these plans having high deductibles.
Now, for profit insurance, companies are either raising premiums, or withdrawing from the exchanges completely.
The authors claim that their repeal would not take away insurance from millions of Americans, and that there are viable Republican plans proposed that will provide all Americans with affordable access to health care. I am skeptical, and for good reason.
The recent news from a Republican Congressional retreat in Philadelphia is that there is no consensus on what would replace the ACA. Some Republican politicians are getting cold feet as they realize they may indeed throw people off of health insurance. They will break it and then own it, to paraphrase Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif).
Ironically, we continue to pretend that there is no simpler, more cost efficient solution.
As if there is no neighbor to our north (yeah, I am talking about Canada) that simply funds a “Medicare for all” insurance plan through taxes, covering all citizens for necessary medical care, at a much lower per capita cost than we do in the United States.
I get it, like the Obama administration, Republicans also must protect the revenue stream to corporate executives and shareholders. Let’s hope a more progressive Democratic Party has more courage in the future.
Sheldon Baker
Cortez
