Health Care

Does the GOP Think the British Are Coming?

by Tim Foley

categories: Enemies Of Reform, Obama And Congress

Published March 26, 2009 @ 05:07PM PT

The House Republicans released their initial version of their budget proposal.  Although others are focusing on various aspects of the 19 page proposal – say, that there aren’t any number in their budget, just some broad principles – since I’m all about the health care, I couldn’t help but notice the extent to which I think we may be on the cusp of a new line of thinking on health care.  In this new model, being in favor of reforming our broken health care doesn’t just make you a communist, a socialist and a fascist – it also makes you a Redcoat.

The British are coming!  The British are coming!

To give credit where it’s due, the House GOP budget does an excellent job of paraphrasing John McCain’s health care plan from the 2008 election.  Their solution involves “tax incentives” (the less-specific version of McCain’s refundable tax credits); allowing people to buy across state lines, so the poor consumers in Massachusetts who can today get a health care plan with consumer protections can instead purchase a much cheaper plan from Wyoming, where your claim can be denied without the insurance company giving you a reason and with no appeals process outside that within the company; tort reform (whoopee!  Half a penny savings on every health care dollar!); and some weird plan to charge George Soros and Warren Buffet $2 extra for their Medicare prescription drugs – no word on whether Republican kabillionaires would also be required to pay $2.  These aren’t principles I agree with, and there’s absolutely no indicator as to how these tinkering-on-the-margins proposals would achieve additional coverage, affect health care spending and/or the deficit.  (Again with the no numbers).  But at least there’s a principle.

But the rest of the section on health care is basically an attack on the British.  Weirdly enough, I thought we were done bashing them after we won the War of 1812.

But no!  Because the British model is held up as the scary taste of things to come if we reform health care.  It’s also held up as exactly what Obama and others want to create here in the U.S. – except that the Obama/Baucus plan looks nothing like the British system.  Heck, HR 676 looks nothing like the British system.  Nevertheless, we get to hear all about Ann Marie Rogers, who sued the government for denying her a drug she needed for her cancer.  I suppose that’s supposed to make me scared about letting the government near my health care, but this instead sounds exactly like what I hear from American patients who are denied care by their insurance company. “They’ve got no right to decide who can have this life-saving drug. This is not a poor country, after all. I have worked all my life and paid my taxes.”

These are horrific words.  But it’s not clear to me how that’s different from what millions of uninsured and underinsured say when they, too, are denied care in this country – often when they have insurance. Much like a Star Wars movie, I guess it just sounds more sinister and villainous in a British accent.

So we have reformers trying to build the American health care system of the 21st century and anti-reformers trying to re-fight the battles of the 18th and 19th.  Thanks for clearing that up, guys!

(Photo credit:  Thowra_uk on Flickr.)