Source: The Hill
You may be thinking, “When was health insurance in America ever great?” Point taken, but at least there was a time when health insurance was more affordable and individuals were better able to buy what they wanted, not what the government demanded. And the good news is Republicans can take steps toward getting us moving in that direction again.
For 30 years Democrats have tried to make health insurance “affordable” — or even “free” if Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) got his way — by expanding government control. Yet it has never been so expensive, costing about $24,000 for a family of four in 2023.
The federal government had largely stayed out of the health insurance market until President Bill Clinton (D) tried to push through a massive restructuring of the health care system in 1993-1994. That effort failed, but Congress eventually passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) in 1997, the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 and the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) in 2010. While those laws had some good components, they greatly expanded the government’s role in, and the cost of, health insurance.
The incoming Republicans almost certainly can’t repeal ObamaCare, but there are several steps they could implement that would improve health insurance options.
