Democrats “Steal” Republican Health Reform Ideas

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Now that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) is law, one might expect people to learn what is in the law and settle down a bit.  However, Republicans continue to rail against it as bad law and even unconstitutional.

Republicans might well review a bit of their own history.  In 1993, President Clinton attempted healthcare reform and like today, Republicans railed against that plan.  However, 23 Republicans co-sponsored a counter proposal, the “Chafee bill”.  That bill even received the endorsement of the AMA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  The table below highlights 19 key areas and compares the new law with the 1993 Republican proposal.  Note that nearly all the key elements that include the most contentious items were initially proposed by Republicans.

In three areas, the current law includes items not in the Republican proposal: Medicaid expansion, prohibiting insurers from setting lifetime spending caps, and extending coverage to dependents.  In two areas, the Republican proposal includes items not in the law: Medical malpractice reform, and equalizing tax treatment for insurance of self-employed.  With the possible exception of Malpractice reform, none of these were major areas of contention.

Despite how this law came about, the most visible provisions of the new health care law are truly bipartisan.

Source: http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Graphics/2010/022310-Bill-comparison.aspx

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