Thursday, April 13, 2017

GOP’s Health-Care ‘Deal’ Still Offering Fake Federalism And No Real Solution

Real federalism in health care is state control over the factors governing supply and demand of health care, not bits of control offered piecemeal by Washington bureaucrats.
DC discussions continue in an effort to reach a health-care “deal” for Republicans more concerned with replacing Obamacare than simply honoring their promise to repeal it. The talks center on enhancing Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price’s waiver authority and administrative powers so he could try to do Congress’ job.
But there’s a catch. The proposal, as we currently understand it, would require state governors to request a waiver of certain Obamacare mandates. As our colleague, Chris Jacobs, has pointed out, however, the only way for people to truly gain access to quality care is by repealing all of the regulations lest there be perverse and unsustainable outcomes for providers and patients.
This deal is being touted as a commitment to federalism, to freeing up states to have competitive markets, and in effect, to choose whether they want Obamacare or a more free-market-oriented health-care system. In theory, it is laudable to increase options for each state to choose how to regulate health care within its borders. Indeed, the Texas Public Policy Foundation is so committed to federalism, we have a center that focuses on the Tenth Amendment as a centerpiece to limited government and freedom.
But federalism doesn’t work in a theoretical vacuum. Federalism centers fundamentally on locating decision-making in the context of the constitutionally limited powers granted to the federal government. That Tenth Amendment limitation is not supposed to require states to beg for crumbs of discretion from the king. Moreover, token federalism is not a substitute for free markets, wherein we magically say “leave something to the states” under patchwork regulation then expect the markets to function.
The Current Discussion Promises More of the Same-->
Read the rest of this op-ed from The Federalist HERE and follow links to related stories below:

What You Need To Know About ‘Invisible High Risk Pools’ The GOP Is Considering

How to Craft an Effective, Politically Viable Repeal-and-Replace Bill

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