You can’t fix stupid…or ObamaCare

With the health care law known as “ObamaCare” clearly failing on its own terms (in terms of keeping your health plan and “bending the cost curve”) , there has been a lot of talk among the Law’s defenders about “fixing” it. Former US Senator (D-NM) Jeff Bingaman was recently quoted along these lines and former President Bill Clinton has both called aspects of the Law “the craziest thing ever” and argued for undisclosed “fixes” to it.

It is hard to understand why Democrats didn’t “fix” the law the first time around when they passed it through Congress with overwhelming majorities and zero Republican votes. It is pretty clear that any “fix” simply means further expansion of government’s role in health care.

What Bill Clinton and ObamaCare’s defenders fail to understand is that American health care was NOT a free market system BEFORE ObamaCare. In fact, the health law actually locks in the worst problem with American health care: third-party payment and does NOTHING to increase the presence of market forces.

ObamaCare cannot be “fixed.” It can be repealed and “replaced” but not with another third-party payment scheme (whether that is through the tax code or government programs) with something resembling a free market or the system will slowly morph into a “single-payer” system with all the issues that entails. I know that is the game plan for many, but it would be worth at least trying the free market before embracing socialism.