If Supreme Court strikes down ACA, GOP says it has plan

GOP will craft a plan to replace reform law based on court ruling

Topics: Health Care Reform, Market Trends, Strategy, Payer and Regulatory Policy

January 26, 2012

When the Supreme Court hands down its health reform ruling this summer, Republicans plan to be ready.

House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Chair Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) on Wednesday said that the GOP will release their long-awaited alternative to the federal health reform law after the court rules on the law’s constitutionality, Politico reports.

Republicans last year unsuccessfully attempted to repeal the reform law, as well as some of its individual provisions. However, the "replace" portion of their "repeal and replace" strategy never came to fruition. According to Pitts, the party "will be ready to respond to the Supreme Court decision, which is expected in June, with a replacement package."

Pitts says the plan likely will include various proposals long supported by Republicans, such as:

  • Providing tax breaks for health insurance to workers instead of employers;
  • Implementing medical malpractice reform;
  • Allowing insurers to sell plans across state lines; and
  • Creating state-based high-risk pools funded by the government instead of requiring private insurers to cover people with pre-existing conditions.

"There are [other proposals that] we will be discussing and will have ready in response to the Supreme Court decision," Pitts says. He notes that any GOP plan will have to be crafted based on how the court rules.

According to The Hill's "Healthwatch," Republicans would be able to use the plan as part of their strategy for the 2012 election regardless of the court's ruling. If the Supreme Court strikes down the law or certain provisions, Republicans will have a replacement. If the court upholds the entire law, Republicans still can capitalize on the renewed attention on health reform the ruling creates and present a concrete alternative to voters (Haberkorn, Politico, 1/25; Baker, "Healthwatch," The Hill, 1/25).

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What Your Peers Are Saying

Rating: | kenneth olshansky | January 26, 2012

The Republican's plan has several good features to reduce premium costs. a) Tax breaks leaves more money in families pockets which is a good thing. How will that loss of tax revenue be offset? b) Medical Malpractice reform is essential as long as patients who have been harmed by negligence can be fairly compensated. This should cut unnecessary testing,etc.. c) Allowing insurers to sell across state lines should increase competition as long as there is consistency in State laws to protect consumers. However the Republican plan as outlined in this article,does not address the biggest contributor to healthcare costs. That is the cost of chronic diseases most of which are preventable or could be managed in a better way and are the driving force resulting in all of our high premiums. I look forward to hearing what innovations the Republicans have to offer. In the PP & ACA ,the current law that is being challenged, there are many protections for consumers as well as innovative ways , such as ACO's, that may help drive down healthcare costs. I think everyone can agree the law is not perfect.I believe there is a big difference between "repealing " a law and "improving" a law. I look forward to Congress trying to make the current law better rather than political grandstanding.

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