GOP should be bold, follow through

Republicans in Congress should be bold and have the courage to follow through on campaign promises. They ran for office telling the American people they would repeal the Affordable Care Act since 2010, and when they find themselves with their hands on the levers of power, they can’t resist the temptation to hang on to that power over those Americans who voted for them.

For seven years we heard the argument that the federal government has no place inserting itself between citizens and their health care. They accurately pointed out when government takes control of the choices in health insurance, costs will rise and quality will suffer. Virtually all Republican candidates since the passage of the ACA claimed to agree with voters that consumers of health care and those that provide health care are not well served when Congress intrudes in their health care choices.

From toothbrushes to cellphones the free market has served us well. Within the health care field those areas that have remained outside the influence of Congress, such as laser eyesight correction and plastic surgery are notable, in that costs have come down, results have improved, while access has increased.

Those Republicans in Congress who refuse to call for clean repeal of Obamacare and pass legislation that would reduce the influence of the federal government in health care are guilty of deception and need to understand the seats they hold will be challenged next year.

This story was originally published March 29, 2017 at 11:16 PM with the headline "GOP should be bold, follow through."