Health care law's opponents: State should create insurance exchange

By Misty Williams

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Even as the court battle to undo the health care overhaul builds momentum, Georgia should create its own health insurance exchange rather than let the federal government take control, opponents of the controversial law say.

States that are moving forward will have a leg up when the dust eventually settles, U.S. Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., said at a Georgia Public Policy Foundation luncheon Friday.

Price said he was pleased by Monday’s ruling by Florida U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson declaring the health care overhaul unconstitutional and called for the case to be expedited to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“When you pull the linchpin, the whole thing comes tumbling down,” Price said.

Medical decisions should be made by doctors, patients and their families, not the government, he said. Price, chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, introduced Republicans’ own bill, the Empowering Patients First Act, in 2009.

While the current overhaul is unacceptable, so is the status quo, he said. “The solutions are out there, they’re positive, and they’re patient-centered.”

Proponents of the current health care overhaul say repealing it would mean millions of Georgians, including those with pre-existing conditions, would risk losing their health insurance; small businesses and local families would miss out on health care tax credits; and medical providers would continue to lose hundreds of millions of dollars for treating the uninsured and underinsured.

Whether the law is ultimately thrown out by the courts or Americans elect a new president, there will be major changes, said Grace-Marie Turner, president of policy research group the Galen Institute, which promotes free-market ideas for health care changes. Like Price, Turner is an opponent of the overhaul.

Either way, states need to prepare, said Turner, who also spoke at the lunch, which focused on health care efforts in Washington and the implications for Georgia.

Georgia needs to figure out what works for it, Turner said. That might be a minimal insurance exchange vehicle that allows employers to contribute to workers' insurance on a pre-tax basis, much like they do with 401(k)s, she said. Health care in the 21st century is about consumers taking ownership of their insurance, she said.

Turner added that Georgia should hold legislative hearings on the impact of the overhaul so far and study what other states are doing. Indiana, for example, has developed a plan for the uninsured that is modeled after a health savings account, she said.

Like Price, Turner said the lawsuit to block the health care overhaul could be expedited to the Supreme Court, though it would likely not be ruled on this session.

“The sooner it gets there,” Price said, “the sooner states can move on.”