Democrat Vs Republican Healthcare

Sen. John Kyl (R-Arizona) has an article at Real Clear Politics today about the health care debate coming in Congress. He contrasts the differences between Republican and Democrat Health Care.

Kyl talks about the success of the Prescription Drug Program that was passed a few years ago. Despite what some might say (or even not even discuss), the program is popular among seniors and is saving them money:

Republicans passed a prescription drug benefit that uses market competition to provide critical medications to seniors at much lower costs than were projected. This "Part D" benefit for the first time is providing seniors with affordable access to a broad range of prescription drugs. Due to robust competition among health plans, the average senior is saving more than $1,200, with many saving much more. Average monthly premiums for seniors are only $22 -- 40 percent less than expected. Over 90 percent of Medicare beneficiaries are now receiving comprehensive prescription drug coverage, and polls show that more than 80 percent of seniors are happy with their drug coverage.

The American taxpayer also benefits from these lower costs. The drug benefit is estimated to cost $265 billion less than projected over the next ten years. When is the last time a government program came in under budget with a greater than 80 percent approval rating? Yet, instead of supporting the principles that have made this program successful, Senate Democrats this week will try to undo them.

Here is what Kyl says is the problem with government intervention:

Proponents of government intervention say they simply want to use the market power of the large number of Medicare beneficiaries to lower prices. But private pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) already use this same market clout to negotiate lower prices. In fact, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service, the three largest PBMs already negotiate on behalf of four times as many beneficiaries (200 million) as the entire Medicare population (44 million).

Then Kyl sums it all up:

The choice is clear: a government-run health care bureaucracy that restricts choice and rations care or a consumer-driven health care system that expands health care options while controlling costs. The prescription drug legislation has put this choice to the test, and seniors have proven that they prefer the Republican model. Seniors have independently chosen plans that provide more health care options at lower costs. For example, 88 percent of seniors who enrolled in a prescription drug plan in 2007 chose a plan that offered coverage other than the standard benefit, and this year seniors have chosen plans with 13 percent more available medications than last year.

Wise men will tell you that you don't mess with government programs that 80% of its recipients are happy with. If and when Congress passes more health care legislation, it needs to focus on the free market, not bureaucratic decision making.

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