Republican Wave Put Obamacare In Surgery, And These Parts Could Be Amputated
The wave of Republican electoral victories, and switch in Senate control, raises the obvious question: what changes are in store for Obamacare?
Conventional wisdom is that President Obama would veto legislation that made any fundamental changes to his signature bill. But even the Acts enthusiasts concede, that there are parts of Obamacare that are disliked, gratuitous, or simply unfeasible.
The question is whether theres enough common ground to make meaningful excisions to the original law, and secure White House support.
There may be more changes in store than Washingtons conventional wisdom now portends. Some easy and obvious revisions are already getting attention. But there are also some bigger changes that could get popular support.
Some conservatives will argue that Congress shouldnt do anything to blunt Obamacares painful excesses, lest they weaken the case for full repeal. That sort of thinking may leave market based reforms harder to achieve in the long run.
Thats because the marketplace is rapidly changing to accommodate Obamacare, in ways that could make market based schemes harder to eventually implement. Just look at all of the consolidation underway in the market for providers much of it the acquisitions of doctors by hospitals, stoked by provisions in Obamacare.
Without changes now, by 2016 there may not be enough local competition left in the healthcare market on which to eventually erect a solid, market-based alternative to the Affordable Care Act. Conservatives have to start injecting more competition and choice into the market right away, and push back against the erection of healthcare oligopolies that are being favored by the top down Obamacare scheme.
Some selective excisions to the current scheme could achieve these ends.
First on the easy changes:
One popular idea is full repealthe disliked device tax. This excisionhad bi-partisan support long before the mid-term elections.
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Republican Wave Put Obamacare In Surgery, And These Parts Could Be Amputated