With the government shut down, Republicans face a choice: Do they cave and continue funding the Democrats’ bloated, wasteful projects? Or do they hold the line and stand up for the American people by insisting on cutting excess spending?
The answer is obvious. True conservatives would terminate unnecessary subsidies, eliminate unproductive government jobs, and limit social programs to only the truly needy. Yet cracks are showing in the GOP, as lawmakers grow hesitant to confront the undefeated behemoth of Obamacare.
Temporary credits passed by the Biden administration to prop up health insurers during the COVID-19 pandemic are set to expire soon. They largely covered Obamacare plan premiums, substantially subsidizing the healthcare insurance industry. At a time of desperate need, when uncertainty of a public health crisis froze the American economy, the credits were sold by Democrats as short-term relief. But now, post-pandemic, it’s time for them to be terminated.
Republicans shouldn’t give an inch. Let the subsidies expire. The hundreds of billions of dollars doled out to insurers are neither pro-growth spending nor do they improve American health. If extended, these credits would add an estimated $450 billion to the federal deficit and only further inflate healthcare costs.
But Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) have already suggested an extension of the subsidies, at least for another year if not more.
Any continuation of this temporary policy is billions of taxpayer dollars down the drain, straight into the pockets of health insurers. These subsidies were explicitly sold as short-term relief during a public health emergency. That time has passed.
Subsidies shield insurers from real market signals, seriously damaging affordability and supply chains. With insurers not accurately pricing products or coordinating coverage, gaps in healthcare availability arise and costs only become worse down the line. Obamacare mandates and pricing rules already raised premiums and reduced quality, with fewer doctors and hospitals willing to participate — particularly hiking the burden on young, healthy enrollees.
With Biden’s COVID credits, enacted in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and extended by the Inflation Reduction Act, even larger subsidies have damaged the health insurance sector. Rather than efficiently providing service to their customers, insurers have become less innovative and cost conscious with the insulation of subsidies. As a result, healthcare markets became less competitive and consolidated among a few corporate giants.
Improving America’s health requires a focus on patients, not insurance models. No formula of healthcare coverage will magically reduce costs or improve outcomes when insurers are guaranteed federal dollars regardless of performance. If we want reform, it should begin with expanding health savings accounts (HSAs), prioritizing market competition, and eliminating unnecessary mandates that drive up costs.
Critics suggest millions will lose insurance and premiums will spike without subsidies. But the truth is, subsidies don’t make health care affordable — they disguise its unaffordability by shifting the bill to taxpayers. And every dollar we borrow today is a dollar our children will pay back tomorrow, with interest.
If Republicans cave now, they will waste another half-trillion dollars and cement Obamacare subsidies as a permanent entitlement — something Democrats always wanted, but never had the votes to achieve openly. Don’t do the Left’s work for them.
The pandemic is over. The emergency is over. And these subsidies must be over, too.
Draw a line in the sand: No more blank checks to insurers, no more COVID-era excuses, no more half-measures. Let the subsidies expire. And start the real work of fixing America’s broken healthcare system and making the country healthy again.
Sam Raus, a recent graduate of the University of Miami, is a Tech and Consumer Freedom Fellow with Young Voices. Follow him on Twitter: @SamRaus1.
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