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Founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is a research and educational institution—a think tank—whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense. We believe the principles and ideas of the American Founding are worth conserving and renewing. As policy entrepreneurs, we believe the most effective solutions are consistent with those ideas and principles.






10 Responses to “Heritage’s Health Care Solutions: Real Choice, Real Freedom”
MAS1916 – Denver, CO on September 9th, 2009 at 9:01am said:
Of course the Teleprompter in Chief will roll out the same litany of reasons to take over one sixth of the US economy for the benefit of a few folks who don’t want to pay for health insurance (as well as for several million illegal aliens).
Obama will try the same http://www.conservativeblog.thewebinfocenter.com/conservative-blog/health-care-reform-speech-obamas-top-five-tactics” rel=”nofollow”> five tactics in his speech this evening that have so far failed to generate any support.
Unless the Prez takes the ‘public option’ of the table, there really won’t be anything new in the speech this evening. And hopefully this can signal the end of the health care takeover nightmare.
Kelly, Denver CO on September 9th, 2009 at 9:01am said:
No wonder this country is in such a mess. Where are the defenders of capitalism? Your above two “solutions” are just alternate forms of statism and can’t you see that a “mixed economy” just does not work?
The only way to fix the problems with health care in this country is to get the government completely out of it! Let the free markets do what they do best. The 50 states have been “experimenting” far too long…that’s the problem!
(Not to mention that if our oppressive government would lower our taxes, we could afford health care as it is now!)
Please, please, for the sake of America, the freest country the planet has ever known, quit falling for these “conservative” and/or “Republican” fixes. The fixes are not found in any sort of statism. Capitalism is the only fix.
For more information, read Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal by Ayn Rand. It truly is ideal and certainly unknown to any politician in the U.S.
Normca on September 9th, 2009 at 9:01am said:
If B H Obama comes up with a plan, it will be his first. Since he has outsourced legislation to date. We cannot fall for a supposed trigger provision or co-ops; they are an open door to the government take over. Personally, this American will not be watching the new liar in chief this afternoon. That’s what DVR’s are for – then I can listen to conservative radio talk shows and go back and fact check. B Obama is not going to change – Rev Wright gave him the go ahead to hold his line.
Louis Levy on September 9th, 2009 at 9:01am said:
Unless the Prez re-centers to the Center-Right things will not go smooth for all.
Bill, TN on September 9th, 2009 at 9:01am said:
This indepdendent is NOT interested in starting over….I am interested in STOPPING! Health care reform will bring increased government intrusion, higher taxes, a lose of individual privacy,an IRS empowered with even more “clout,” and a nation increasing it march towards “big government” and its’ spend and tax mentality. STOP IT NOW and DON’T BACK DOWN! It may be our last chance to save the country we love!
Lynn B. DeSpain on September 9th, 2009 at 9:01am said:
Force the Federal Government to abide by the Laws set forth in the Constitution and its Amendments and keep their Powers within those boundaries, and let the States make the decisions that are supposed to be left to the States, including Health Insurance and Medical Care!
If this cannot be done, then have all the remaining States that have yet to do so, become Soveriegn, and answerable only to the United States Consitution and its Amendments and DC can just issue orders to itself!
Hozro
Jerry from Chicago on September 9th, 2009 at 9:01am said:
It really doesn’t matter much what Mr. Obama says tonight about Health Care Reform. He has changed his direction so many times already that he will probably change it again a number of times, even after tonight’s speech.
The man has lost credibility with too many Americans, especially the ones that voted for him. His first official act as President was to sign the Stimulus bill and by doing that he turned two campaign promises into lies. As a candidate, he promised promised to post all proposed legislation on the internet for five days before acting on it. This was to be a routine part of his “transparent” administration. As a candidate, he also promised to exercise line item veto authority on any legislation containing earmarks or pork barrel spending. As President, the very first piece of legislation he was given was the Stimulous bill, containing 1,100 pages with 9,000 earmarks of absurd spending, at a price tag of $800 billion dollars. It wasn’t posted on the internet for five days for the public to see. He didn’t excersize line item veto authority on even one of the 9,000 earmarked, pork barrel projects. HE DIDN’T EVEN READ IT BEFORE HE SIGNED IT! It did nothing to stem the tide of unemployment or stimulate the economy.
Please tell me, why anyone with a lick of common sense would give any credence to what this man says?
Mr.Obama and his supporters have terribly misread the rest of the American public’s opinion of Mr. Obama and his actions since becoming President. Following the debacle that was TARP, the public was in no mood for more of the same. Yet that is exactly what they got under Stimulous – hundreds of billions of dollars that neither stimulated the economy, nor stemmed the rising tide of unemployment. They didn’t like the takeover of GM and Chrysler. They didn’t like the bail-out of AIG, nor the bonuses AIG executives were given as part of the Stimulus bill that Mr. Obama signed, but unfortunately didn’t bother to read.
This was one of the few times I actually felt sorry for Mr. Obama. He went on TV and in a press conference said that like the American public, he too was outraged over the bonuses given to AIG executives, only to discover later that it was something he unwittingly signed into law.
Another thing that irritated the rest of the American public was the name calling of Tea Party protesters by Mr. Obama and his supporters.
Then, the railroad tie that broke the camel’s back, came the ill-fated attempt to ram through national health care (another 1,000 page bill, costing hundreds of billions of dollars that neither Mr. Obama nor his supporters bothered to read) prior to the August 1st Congressional recess.
It was not just the national health care plan they tried to slip by the public, but it was a culmination of all of these other things, plus the fact that not even one federal employee from Mr. Obama on down would be impacted by it. All federal employees would, of course, keep their own health plans. It was all of this that caused the anger that boiled over in the Town Hall meetings. That anger was only further inflamed by the callous dismissal of Town Hall protester’s
questions and the name calling from the administration and its supporters directed at the protesters.
John, Virginia Beach on September 9th, 2009 at 9:01am said:
What nobody is saying is that the health care problem requires a national paradigm shift.
We Americans must rearrange our priorities. There should be a public awareness campaign that illustrates the necessity of having health insurance, as well as a campaign that informs people about how poor lifestyle choices cause a detrimental effect to their health and to their premiums (Armed Forces Network does a great job–should be used as a model).
There are many young health people who feel they do not need insurance because they are healthy. There are also too many people who do not wish to purchase insurance because the premiums cost money that they feel is better spent elsewhere, such as payments on out-of-control credit card debt, beer, partying, new Harley payments, etc.
On a policy level, there are things I feel could help dramatically. 1st, illegal aliens should not be eligible for government help; 2nd, employers must not be forced to provide health insurance to employees; 3rd, we should view health care in a similar vein as auto insurance and vehicle maintenance: do we file a claim with our insurer when we need an oil change or a new transmission? Can people just show up for new tires and not pay for them, expecting Good Year to eat the bill? Of course not. Were we to do that, car insurance would be in the same situation as health insurance, and auto repair and maintenance would not be affordable.
Health/dental insurance should be modeled after auto insurance. We should pay our own way from our own pockets for basic health maintenance and small emergencies, reserving insurance for a catastrophy, utilizing a deductible of some sort. We should also look into health care savings plans (I do not know anything about them).
I think health insurers should not be able to deny coverage or drop people, but they could adjust the premiums accordingly for risky behavior/lifestyles.
Americans must rearrange their priorities and alter their spending and borrowing (ie, credit cards) habits so that they can afford health care. For those who cannot afford it in spite of their best efforts and life situation, something can be figured out for them. I have an idea for that, but it is too long for this space.
John Clancy, Wyandotte, MI on September 9th, 2009 at 9:01am said:
People will now, more than ever, look for a comprehensive healthcare bill from the Republican Party because they see a vacuum, since the Democrat healthcare is wholly unacceptable. NOW is the time to present a bill front and center before the people. It should be widely, widely, widely broadcast. (States can experiment, but it is crucial for Republicans to have a clear voice in the healthcare reform mode.)
Doc, Columbus, IN on September 9th, 2009 at 9:01am said:
Congress has gone wild. Here’s an idea. Let’s tell them before they pass any further tax increasing legislation, they must pass a bill that increases their own personal taxes by double the amount projected to increase the average tax payers increase. This requirement would be faced by any legislator and maybe any executive branch member who signs on to the legislation based on how he votes on the tax increase. Pretty soon they will be paying more in taxes that their take home pay.