JIM HENDRICKS: Needed — an All-American health plan

Our Republican lawmakers in Washington may have rediscovered an adage that has been true more times than not — Be careful what you wish for. You might just get it.

That’s been the case of Obamacare.

For seven long years, Republicans who were shut out of the development phase of the Affordable Care Act after some initial photo opportunities have railed against it, bolstered by its unpopularity with many Americans. It has expanded care to those who are the poorest, which was beneficial, but those with incomes too high to qualify for subsidies found they were paying much more for medical coverage with higher deductibles, in some cases to the point where the insurance was useless. And then there were the promises of having the choice to keep your old plan and doctor if you liked them, which didn’t pan out. In our region and others, the ACA market had little or no choice for insurance carriers.

As with any legislation that is rushed through, the ACA has weaknesses in it that have become apparent as time has passed. With the GOP opposed to former President Obama’s signature legislation in nearly every form and fashion, there has been no effort to improve what’s there, only a mantra of repeal and replace.

Meanwhile, states like Georgia, which didn’t expand Medicaid, have seen a big loss of healthcare dollars, which is adversely affecting medical providers in our state and, in turn, Georgia citizens. This is especially true here in Southwest Georgia.

So, with a Republican president ready to sign a bill that he promised would be better for everyone and seven years to develop plan, the GOP-led Congress has found the repeal part is relatively easy, while the replace is herculean task for which they weren’t prepared. One wonders whether Republicans, rather than working a real plan they never expected to have an opportunity to implement, instead spent all of that time painstakingly planning for another four years of bashing Obamacare at re-election campaign rallies.

An inability to come to a consensus has forced GOP senators to push a vote on a Senate version of a new health care law to after Independence Day. Whatever plan senators come up with has to be reconciled with the House, and neither chamber has a big enough majority to withstand many party defections.

Meanwhile, the cracks on the ACA are widening as insurers abandon exchanges and health care officials are finding it difficult to plan how to meet needs because they can’t really be sure what the rules will be.

Republicans and Democrats need to sit down, look each other in the eye and accept four facts: (1) the system that the ACA replaced wasn’t working well either, there’s no going back; (2) the ACA is not going to survive in its current state; (3) it will take the best ideas from all sides to develop a plan that works well, and (4) what they do — and don’t do — will touch the life of each American citizen in a fundamental way.

Perhaps this is an ideal time for this bump in the legislative road, this Fourth of July celebration period. Perhaps our lawmakers on both sides of the aisles will be inspired to look back at what our ancestors faced and hoped for when they established this nation. Most importantly, they need to look at what the people who founded this nation risked.

It was much more than a re-election bid or control of a house of Congress. Much more.

We live in a great nation. Americans have been made promises regarding their welfare, security and opportunity to pursue happiness. Affordable health care that is dependable and efficient seems to us to not be too much to ask for, unless you let the politics get in the way.

We don’t need a Republican plan or a Democratic plan. We need an American plan. Think about that, Washington lawmakers, when you celebrate our country’s 241st birthday.

Email Jim Hendricks at [email protected]. Follow @ABH_JHendricks on Twitter.