The GOP Pledge on Health Care: "Repeal" is Great, "Replace" Needs Work

Let’s start with the good news: The GOP has pledged to repeal Obamacare “immediately” (see page 27 of the Pledge), which means it will be the first legislative order of business on Monday, January 3, 2011, if the GOP takes the House.

When it comes to “replace,” however, the Republican alternative is still significantly malformed. Indeed, there’s more than a whiff of big-government Republican in it. It completely ignores the single most important reform to private health insurance: Amend the tax code to give individuals, instead of our employers, ownership of our non-taxable health dollars.

Read my entire response at National Review Online.

ObamaCare is Already Creating More Uninsured Americans

I received an e-mail from a fan that goes like this:

I've decided to not renew my coverage when the bill comes in for the 4th quarter. I currently pay $320/mo for a $2500 deductible BCBS plan. I have an HSA and have saved up a fair amount of money in it. Pretty good deal. So why drop it?

1. I have never even come close to meeting my deductible. Everything I have done since HSAs came in has been paid for from my HSA. In fact, never in my life have I ever incurred more than $2,500 in medical expenses in one year. The odds are that will not change, even though I am older.

2. I expect a pretty substantial increase in my premiums, but it doesn't really matter. I would make the same decision anyway.

3. If I guess wrong and my health does change, I will be able to sign up for the new federal risk pool - but ONLY after I have been uninsured for six months. I might as well get started on that six month qualifying period now while I am still healthy.

4. There is no penalty for doing this. The federal risk pool is not allowed to charge me more than standard rates.

5. Meanwhile I will be able to save $4,000 a year on insurance premiums, which is no small matter these days that I am semi-retired.

6. I will not be able to contribute additional money to my HSA, but my income is low enough now that there is virtually no tax advantage to making an HSA contribution. My main tax issue today is the payroll tax, and the HSA has no effect on that.

So, I am joining the ranks of the uninsured. Thank you, Mr. Obama.

I can't say that I disagree with his plan.

States Are Right to Shun ObamaCare's High-Risk Pools

One of ObamaCare's first major cash flows was scheduled to start on July 1: $5 billion to bail out states' so-called "high-risk" pools until January 1, 2014. A full 22 states want nothing to do with it: A drastic choice in times of broken budgets, but nevertheless the right choice. Read more here.