Time for a change

In his Aug. 17 “Washington Weekly Roundup,” Rep. Glenn Thompson claimed that “along with more than 40 Republicans and Democrats, I have endorsed a solution that will prevent those consumers who purchase private insurance from facing dramatic premium increases in 2018.”

The following is a brief synopsis of the plan:

1. Accepts Obamacare subsidies but adds government oversight

2. Creates a “stability fund” (subsidy) for states to use to control premium increases

3. Increased the Obamacare employer mandate from 50 to 500

4. Repeals the medical device tax

5. Per Obamacare sections 1332 and 1333, Health and Human Services is to provide technical changes and clear guidelines for encouraging state innovation

6. Implement various Medicare cost savings measures and use the savings to pay for items 1-5.

So, how will the plan that Thompson supports lower premiums? The answer is Obamacare. The plan promotes subsidies and the hope that, by offering incentives and new guidelines, states may find solutions to the premium problem created by the federal government. Worst of all, he supports a plan that uses cost savings from Medicare reform, a system headed toward financial disaster, to pay for Obamacare subsidies.

In effect, this plan is a GOP admission of deceit and defeat. For seven years, Thompson and the GOP made promises for health-care reform that they were never prepared to deliver.

It’s time for a change. Republicans need a true fiscal conservative and an opponent of Obamacare to challenge Thompson in the 2018 primary.

This story was originally published September 3, 2017 at 8:45 PM with the headline "Time for a change."