Days before the U.S. Supreme Court is set to rule on the constitutionality of Obamacare, liberals in Congress are laying the groundwork to preserve some of the law’s badly flawed provisions that happen to poll well with voters.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), chairman of the Republican Study Committee, said conservatives should focus on another goal: repealing all of Obamacare.
Recent reports indicate that provisions addressing pre-existing conditions, coverage for dependents up to age 26 and the Medicare prescription drug “donut hole” — each of which enjoys some support in polls — could become the focus of congressional action if the Supreme Court strikes down the law.
In remarks today at Heritage’s Bloggers Briefing, Jordan said that would be misguided:
We should repeal all of Obamacare and restart the whole debate — and not focus on Washington as the so-called answer to health care, but focus on market solutions. It’s really that basic. We want to empower families, we want to empower moms and dads, we want to empower individuals to make their health-care decisions.
I always tell folks the biggest problem with this health-care law, the reason folks still dislike it so much is the fundamental fact this administration missed: Americans don’t like being told what to do. That’s why we’re Americans. We actually think freedom is important.
Jordan’s approach echoes the advice of Heritage health-care expert Nina Owcharenko, who warned about the consequences of preserving some of the flawed Obamacare policies.
“Conservatives especially should not be fooled into making short-term concessions that can undermine their long-term policy goals,” Owcharenko wrote yesterday.
Despite the of some of Obamacare’s provisions, the law itself remains unpopular with most Americans. Continuing any policies, Owcharenko cautioned, would be ill-advised and undermine the correct way to reform health care. She recommended better solutions for each of the provisions, addressing the challenges in ways that provide individuals with better care at a lower cost without government dictating decisions.
