GOP's Health Care Plan

So, after months of being accused of "obstructing" the Democrat's agenda on health care and not presenting a vision of their own, the GOP has presented its alternative to health care. This claim of obstruction was always dubious, as Paul Ryan, R-Wi, has been touting the Patient's Choice Act for many months now on any talk show on which he can appear.

The GOP's health care plan was scored by the Congressional Budget Office, the same office that is both headed by Doug Elmendorff (a liberal economist) and had skewered Democrats' plans as both budget-breaking and not achieving their goals of coverage.

The Washington Examiner summarizes the highlights of the GOP bill:

The Congressional Budget Office Wednesday night released its cost analysis of the Republican health care plan and found that it would reduce health care premiums and cut the deficit by $68 billion over ten years.

The Republican plan does not call for a government insurance plan but rather attempts to reform the system by creating high-risk insurance pools, allowing people to purchase health insurance policies across state lines and instituting medical malpractice reforms.

"Not only does the GOP plan lower health care costs, but it also increases access to quality care, including for those with pre-existing conditions, at a price our country can afford," House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said.

According to CBO, the GOP bill would indeed lower costs, particularly for small businesses that have trouble finding affordable health care policies for their employees. The report found rates would drop by seven to 10 percent for this group, and by five to eight percent for the individual market, where it can also be difficult to find affordable policies.

The GOP plan would have the smallest economic impact on the large group market that serves people working for large businesses that have access to the cheapest coverage. Those premiums would decline by zero to 3 percent, the CBO said.

So Congressional Budget Office claims that this will both lower insurance premiums for the individual market and place downward pressure on the budget deficit. You would think the political left would be enthusiastic about this idea.

But my suspicion is that you won't get too many Democrats and progressives on board with a plan that has originated in conservative circles. A cardinal sin on the Left is to give Republicans credit for anything. It's already an indication that many mainstream media outfits are not reporting on this plan, and I would be absolutely shocked if Nancy Pelosi allowed this plan to gain traction in congress.

We shall see.

Update: The New York Times prescription blog quotes a senior Democrat in the House of Representatives--

Representative George Miller, Democrat of California, chairman of the Education and Labor Committee and one of the main architects of the Democrats’ bill, said the Republicans had come up short.

“Tonight CBO confirmed that the Republicans’ only solution for health reform is to preserve the status quo,” Mr. Miller said in a statement. “It will leave 52 million Americans literally out in the cold, does nothing to help low-income and middle-class families afford quality health care, and protects insurance companies’ power to deny claims and stand between patients and their doctors.”

So there you have it. Not only does George Miller pull the 52 million number out of his ass, he claims that the effect of lowering premiums will do "nothing to help low-income and middle-class families afford quality health care." We now see where the true proclivities of the Democratic Party lie.