Congressional Republicans have released an outline of what they call the Patients’ Choice Act–their alternative to health care legislation due shortly out of both the Senate Finance Committee and the Committee and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. They will refer to this in the coming weeks as they attempt to defeat Democratic reform efforts, and, at the very least, it’s a much more thorough document than was, say, the House GOP’s alternative budget, which was mocked loudly all across the capital.
More on the merits later. (As a sneak peak, the PCA, like the Republican budget, includes a predictable scheme to turn Medicare into a boon for private insurers.)
But of course, with Republicans out of power, this plan is mostly meant to serve rhetorical purposes–it’s not really a plausible direction for health reform under Democratic rule. If you’re looking for some insight into how they plan to attack the forthcoming legislation, though, it’s a pretty good primer.
For instance, it warns that “[t]he federal government would run a health care system–or a public plan option–with the compassion of the IRS, the efficiency of the post office, and the incompetence of Katrina.”
Republicans seem to be making a habit of attacking rivals by reminding everybody of how badly they botched their handling Katrina. Which, I suppose, must make Democrats happy. But I’ve gotta admit, I really don’t understand the angle. On substance, the government fully runs one health care system–the Veterans Health Administration–and it’s considered to be just about the best system in the country.
