Ira Stoll: Conservative ‘Alternative’ to Obamacare Misses the Market

Instead of shutting down Obamacare’s
insurance exchanges, the government should expand them so that they
also include patients who now are covered by Medicaid, Medicare,
and veterans health programs. That’s the gist of a big new health
care policy proposal that’s getting a lot of attention. It’s
newsworthy in part because it’s so counter-intuitive. It comes from
a think tank, the Manhattan Institute, that’s generally known for
conservative, free-market, center-right policy ideas. You’d expect
them to be in favor of repealing Obamacare entirely, not expanding
it.

It’s good to see the Republican side of the policy debate
putting forth its own ideas for how to improve quality, reduce
costs, and tackle the federal budget problems that relate to health
care quality, writes Ira Stoll. But before they can successfully
tackle the policy details the politicians and their policy advisers
may need to step back and think some more about first
principles.

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