“Patient’s Choice” Health Care Plan Not Ryan’s Choice

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Last week, Congressman Paul Ryan and three other republican congressionals unveiled their talking points on a worker and patient health care rip-off scheme dubbed the Patient's Choice Act.

Real Clear Politics Excerpt:
Our bill creates voluntary state-based solutions - state health exchanges - that will offer health insurance benefits using the same standard used for Members of Congress.

First of all, let’s not pretend like $2,200 per individual or $5,700 per family can pay for the same kind of health care coverage federal employees including congressionals receive at today's prices – because it can’t.

Real Clear Politics Excerpt:
Specifically, we would shift health care tax benefits to individuals and families in the form of a "Medi-Choice" tax rebate worth about $2,200 for individuals and $5,700 for families.

But how does Ryan expect to pay for the annual federal hand-outs without raising taxes or creating new ones? Specifically, where does the shift come from?

Real Clear Politics Excerpt:
We do this by first ending the discrimination in the tax code that rewards corporations and employers for offering insurance…

Okay, so your employer will no longer receive a tax incentive to offer employees health care coverage – which means of course – you won’t have employer based group health insurance. We need to be clear on that aspect – Ryan’s health care tax rebate is not in addition to what you already have, it’s in place of what you have because your employer will no longer sponsor health insurance. Yet, Ryan double-backs on this by implying you can keep what you have AND still get the annual hand-out. He actually pulls this same stunt with Social Security (divert a third of your SS tax to a private account yet guarantees full SS benefits). Never mind the notion here that Ryan expects to pay for his brand of "universal health care" by eliminating a corporate tax credit. The plan is so old republican.

Excerpt:
Under our plan, if you like the health care you have, you can keep it - but you'll have more money in your pocket because you will still receive a tax rebate.

How disingenuous is that? No question about it, if the Patients Choice Act became law, the only folks who would keep the health care they have would be federal employees and that includes all members of Congress. These four GOPers are speaking strictly for themselves.

So, Ryan and his three republican cohorts need to show that their "Patient's Choice" brainchild is their choice. They need to step up to the plate and include the Federal Government among all employers no longer offering their employees health care benefits. Ryan in particular needs to show how he can provide the same health care coverage he now receives from the govenment for himself and his family on $5,700 a year - and he needs to show how shopping around can make it affordable on an annual income of less than $70,000 a year - not the $170,000+ he is getting.

But there is a sound solution to our health care crisis. It's called "single payer." It's not a tax shifting tool or an ideological tenet, nor is it a political gimmick designed to aid campaign donors like nearly all of Ryan's rehashed and retrofitted corporate drawing board solutions. The single payer system is about health care and it is the only way to significantly reduce per capita overall health care costs while simultaneously providing quality care for everyone.

You can read more about single payer at Paulette Garin's Blog. It's time for a reboot.