It’s about time.
This afternoon beginning at 1pm eastern, the GOP will host a live telecast ( see it here ) to discuss the problems with Nancy Pelosi’s healthcare plan, and introduce the Republican plan.
From the GOP website:
Welcome to “Pelosi Plan Exposed: 12 Truths about PelosiCare and Republican Alternatives.” Over the course of 12 hours we will take an in-depth look at the Pelosi health care bill set for a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives in the coming days. We will also explore common-sense Republican alternatives and explain why they will give the American people the health care reform they need and deserve.
This will be a 12-hour live online telecast beginning at 1pm ET on Thursday, November 5, 2009.
Topics Will Include:
Health Care & Small Business
Health Care & Taxes
Health Care & Seniors
Health Care & The Economy
Health Care & Your Money
Health Care & The Culture Of Life
Health Care & Low Income Households And Rural America
Health Care & Families And Women
Health Care & Young Americans
Health Care & Patients And Doctors
Health Care & States
Additionally, from John Boehner’s site:
CBO Confirms GOP Plan Will Lower Health Care Premiums, Lower Deficit Without Tax Hikes on Families & Small Businesses
Nonpartisan Congressional Scorekeeper: GOP Plan Lowers Premiums By Up to 10 Percent
Washington, Nov 4 - House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) issued the following statement after the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) confirmed in a letter tonight that the Republican health care plan will lower health care premiums by up to 10 percent and reduce the deficit by $68 billion over 10 years without imposing tax increases on families and small businesses:
“When it comes to reforming health care, controlling skyrocketing costs is the American peoples’ top priority. Now CBO has confirmed that the Republican plan will lower health care costs for American families, and that’s good news for everyone struggling in today’s economy. The choice now could not be clearer: Speaker Pelosi’s plan raises costs. Our plan lowers them.“Not only does the GOP plan lower health care costs, but it also increases access to quality care – including for those with pre-existing conditions – at a price our country can afford. The cost of the Speaker’s bill, now at $1.3 trillion and counting, is a debt that will be paid for by our kids and our grandkids. The American people deserve a better solution, and Republicans’ smart, fiscally-responsible plans give them exactly what they want.”
NOTE: In a letter delivered tonight, CBO estimated that the GOP health care plan would reduce average private health insurance premiums per enrollee in the United States relative to what they would be under current law. Specifically:•   For the small group market (generally businesses with 2 to 50 employees), the GOP plan would reduce premiums in 2016 for example by up to 10 percent.
•   For the individual market, the GOP plan would reduce premiums in 2016 by up to eight percent.
•   For the large group market, the GOP plan would reduce premiums in 2016 by up to three percent.
Conservative Nation has not yet seen the text of the GOP plan so, at this point, has no opinion on it one way or the other. Three things that I would expect to see in it though:
- Elimination of federal regulations that currently prohibit interstate competition between insurance providers
- At least the preliminary groundwork for tort reform legislation
- Legislation allowing small business owners to pool together as a large group to obtain more favorable insurance rates
I would also expect to see no individual or employer mandates, as well as a method for the legitimately uninsured (legitimately meaning those who are actually uninsurable as opposed to those who prioritize a big screen TV and$300 dollar sneakers over their basic health needs) to obtain catastrophic health care coverage.
As I’ve said several times before, this battle is the GOP’s to lose. A solid, workable and understandable free-market alternative to Pelosicare is exactly what they need to put out there. Hopefully this will be it, and not another ridiculous Palinesque ‘Game Changer‘ like we had last weekend.
…..
-Cnation