Last Thursday Senate Republicans presented their own version of a healthcare bill as a replacement for Obamacare, as if it needs to be replaced. It doesn’t but Republicans are still feverishly trying to appeal to Democrats in offering them an alternative they could be satisfied with. Democrats, however, have been indoctrinated into believing that healthcare is a right. It is not a right, it’s a commodity.
Right off the bat Senators Mike Lee, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Ron Johnson vowed to not vote for this bill unless it is amended. This Senate bill, as well as the House version and of course the original bill which became Obamacare, has a price tag of over a trillion dollars. A major point of repealing and replacing Obamacare is to eliminate costs, not add to them. That’s why it is important to repeal Obamacare and not replace it.
As I’ve been saying for years, the government has no place in tampering with healthcare. Capitalism already creates opportunities for the free market to work the way it’s supposed to, through competition. The only role government has as regards healthcare is to ensure that no one is taken advantage of or treated unfairly.
Individual insurance companies should be able to choose what coverage they want to offer. After all, like any other company, they exist to provide a service and make a profit. The more variety of coverage insurance companies offer, such as to patients with pre-existing conditions, the more profitable they can be. The more companies compete, through capitalism and the free market system, the less patients have to pay. That is a solution-based approach to healthcare.
It’s not the role of government in a capitalistic system to create laws that affect the relationship between patient and physician. It’s not even for the government to make sure that people with pre-existing conditions are covered. And it’s certainly not for government to mandate that Americans must purchase health insurance, as was the case with Obamacare. In this case it is the responsibility of government to ensure that no one is forced to purchase healthcare. That is tyrannical and unconstitutional, despite any U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
I’d like to see a law that makes it mandatory to publically address the nation when a controversial bill, such as this needless healthcare bill, comes before the House or the Senate. When a bill meets a certain criteria of controversy, Congressional leaders would be responsible to inform citizens of what the bill is, what it says and does, who it will affect and how. Each party would have an opportunity to voice their positions and no interruptions would be tolerated. The public would then be able to weigh in and express its approval or non-approval. Congresspersons who are smart will listen to the public and vote the right way, representing their constituents. If after passage the new law is different than described (like Obamacare was founded to be), that part of the bill must either be altered to what it was described as, or gotten rid of from the rest of the law. If that proves not to be a solution, the law should be scrapped altogether and repealed entirely.
Tom Folden is a political strategist, conservative thinker, and Editor of RightWingWriter.com, a website for conservative viewpoints. A human rights activist, he is a firm believer in the Constitution and the rule of law. He is also a singer/songwriter and recording artist. For interviews and/or appearances, please contact him at spencergroup@hotmail.com.
