'After The Veto, Let Uninsured Have A Choice' - By John Shadegg

NOTE: The democrat override of President Bush's Veto Failed today in the US House:

Below is an op-ed that runs in today's Investor's Business Daily. It outlines some health care choice ideas I have been working on for more than ten years. I make the point that we can do better than the current SCHIP program if we approach the problem with a more free-market oriented solution.

After The Veto, Let Uninsured Have A Choice

By Rep. John B. Shadegg

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Democrats are working overtime criticizing President Bush for vetoing their proposed expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), trying to gain every possible ounce of political leverage.

Demonstrating the failure of the media to cover the facts in this debate, a Capitol Hill reporter recently asked a House Republican leader how Republicans could possibly vote against a bill entitled the "State Children's Health Insurance Program." "The better question," responded the Republican, "is why would any responsible member of Congress vote for a bill based solely on its title?"

The Democrats' SCHIP proposal perverts the program's original purpose, expanding it to provide tax dollars to cover already insured, middle-class children and adults rather than uninsured, low-income children. The debate should be focused on helping Americans get the health care they need.

For over a decade, I - along with other Republicans in Congress - have advocated health care reform directed at giving Americans, especially the uninsured, the ability to get the insurance they need with greater choice at lower cost.

In his State of the Union address last year, President Bush proposed giving all Americans a tax deduction to purchase health care insurance, to be credited against payroll as well as income taxes. His proposal would have eliminated the unfairness in our current tax code that rewards those with group health insurance through their employer and punishes those who do not get coverage through their employer and must buy their own.

The president's proposal targeted those who do not have insurance available through their employer. This is precisely the group targeted by SCHIP. Yet, the same Democrats who are attacking the president now over his SCHIP veto declared his proposal "dead on arrival."
Giving families a refundable tax credit or deduction against payroll taxes to buy health insurance would let them choose a plan that meets their needs, a plan that included the coverage and doctors they want.Also, if they change or lose their job, it would be portable and they wouldn't lose their coverage.

For those individuals whose employers don't make coverage available, a refundable tax credit or a tax deduction would provide them with the financial ability to buy their own insurance. They could use money they would otherwise send as taxes to Washington to buy their own coverage.
For those Americans who don't make enough to owe or pay income taxes - one of the groups SCHIP is supposed to help - these proposals would give them the ability to buy health care coverage for themselves and their families through a refundable tax credit or an offset to payroll taxes.

I have introduced legislation that would let consumers buy health insurance approved in another state, not just their own, making far more choices available, increasing competition, and lowering the cost.President Bush has endorsed this concept.
People could pick a plan that covers only the services they need and want. They would not be forced to buy state-mandated coverage for services such as hair transplants, acupuncture, or massage therapy that they do not want or need.

This legislation would not only cover the SCHIP population, but millions of others who don't have insurance now.

These choice-focused plans put the patient in charge, not some government bureaucrat. Choice-focused plans will drive down cost and drive up quality. They would create no new government bureaucracy because they aren't government administered programs like SCHIP.

There are no business mandates, no individual mandates, no penalties for noncompliance, and they don't rely on compulsion to work. People would be back in charge of their own health care decisions.

For those who say that some people won't take advantage of the tax break and buy insurance, these individuals can be automatically placed in a pool, and their unused tax credits or deductions can be used to fund their future uninsured care.

The result would be coverage for all Americans, with patients making the critical choices. It would mean freedom and individual responsibility, not government control, price regulation and rationed care.

Those worried that such an approach will be too costly should look at how much Washington currently is spending to provide care to the uninsured at emergency rooms and on Medicaid Disproportionate Share Payments for uncompensated hospital care. They should also look at how much of everyone's insurance premiums go to pay for people who have no coverage.
People who are empowered take responsibility for their own wellness and make their own choices, will demand the best service and price, and be healthier.
We can do better than SCHIP. And we should.

Shadegg represents Arizona's third congressional district.

PAID FOR BY JOHN SHADEGG'S FRIENDS