Republicans’ bizarre visions of healthcare

Karen Tumulty notes that Rudy Giuliani — who not only received free, taxpayer-financed healthcare when diagnosed with cancer, but also “recently turned around his chartered jet to seek emergency medical treatment” — was asked why Republican presidential hopefuls aren’t talking about healthcare in their campaigns.

“I suspect that our Democratic colleagues would get that question more often in a Democratic audience than we get in a Republican audience,” he said. “Maybe more Democrats are concerned about their health care than Republicans, maybe because Republicans have health care or maybe Republicans generally like the idea of private solutions.”

It’s a reminder that when it comes to Giuliani’s capacity to sound like a buffoon, there are no limits.

But more importantly, it’s also a reminder of why Republican candidates really aren’t talking about healthcare in their campaigns: they know their plans don’t help people.

Workers like [Dena Roach, who can barely afford her employer-subsidized premiums] want insurance that stays affordable, and the Republican presidential candidates say the best way is to give individuals tax breaks to help pay for coverage. Critics, including Democrats who advocate a broader government role, say these plans won’t hold down rising costs, much less put a dent in the 47 million uninsured Americans. “As laid out, the candidates’ proposals don’t fully address the problems of affordability, access to coverage and cost,” Roberton Williams, principal research associate at the Washington-based Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution, said in a Dec. 24 interview.

So, when it comes to GOP healthcare plans, if you overlook the fact that the uninsured will stay that way, and those with insurance will still struggle with exorbitant costs, and the fact that tax credits won’t stop insurers from raising rates, then sure, the Republicans are offering great policies.



What’s more, it’s worth remembering this LAT piece from a month ago in which we learned that Giuliani, McCain, and Fred Thompson could be denied healthcare insurance under their own healthcare plans.

All three have offered proposals with the stated aim of helping the 47 million people in the U.S. who have no health insurance, including those with preexisting medical conditions. But under the plans all three have put forward, cancer survivors such as themselves could not be sure of getting coverage — especially if they were not already covered by a government or job-related plan and had to seek insurance as individuals. “Unless it’s in a state that has very strong consumer protections, they would likely be denied coverage,” said economist Paul Fronstin of the Employee Benefit Research Institute, who has reviewed the candidates’ proposals. “People with preexisting conditions would not be able to get coverage or would not be able to afford it.”

It offers a helpful contrast between the downsides of the two parties’ approaches to healthcare. The problem with the Dems’ plans is that they’re expensive. The problem with the Republicans’ policies is that sick people of modest means can’t get health insurance.

The Republican presidential hopefuls seem to realize that their plans leave millions of vulnerable Americans behind, but also realize that the alternative is government regulation — specifically, telling insurers that they can’t exclude people with pre-existing conditions, and can’t price these people out of coverage. Given a choice between a large gap of uninsured and government-imposed safeguards for Americans, the GOP candidates prefer the prior.

I have to assume that any voter who cares about healthcare and backs Republican candidates just isn’t paying attention.