Former Speaker Newt Gingrich scolded Republicans this week for having “zero” ideas for how to replace Obamacare, a law the GOP desperately wants to repeal. It is an argument often employed by Democrats, who have been on the defensive lately as the president’s signature law has encountered a series of setbacks, and is becoming increasingly unpopular.
Either way, the notion that Republicans have no plan to replace Obamacare is news to Representative Tom Price (R., Ga.), who in June introduced a comprehensive alternative health-care plan — for the third time since 2009. It was originally introduced as the Obamacare alternative from the conservative Republican Study Committee (RSC), which Price chaired at the time.
The 250-page legislation, known as the Empowering Patients First Act, has yet to receive a vote in the House, but currently has 32 co-sponsors, including Representatives Michele Bachmann (R., Minn.), Tim Huelskamp (R., Kans.), Jeb Hensarling (R., Texas), and Tom Cotton (R., Ark.).
While it is good to know that this plan has been floated for awhile it’s also important to point out that opposing a piece of horrible legislation doesn’t carry a burden of having an alternative. If a law is bad or poorly written, it is the duty of elected officials to point that out. They don’t have to wait until they’ve crafted counter legislation.
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