October 23, 2012

“Job one for a new Congress and a new administration must be repeal” of Obamacare, Heritage Foundation health care expert Nina Owcharenko said today at Heritage’s President’s Club meeting in Washington.

In addition, Congress must fix entitlement programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. For example, Congress can replace Medicare’s “empty IOU” with a free-market premium support program that includes a true safety net for the neediest, she said.

To advance a conservative, patient-based health reform, Owcharenko said lawmakers must fix the tax treatment of health insurance to allow individuals to purchase their own coverage, independently of their employers. And we need regulations to complement a patient-based, market-oriented health care model.

Some conservatives have suggested we should keep certain of Obamacare’s regulations. But “we shouldn’t preserve any of that,” Owcharenko argued. Instead, we should use our own conservative solutions to health care problems. Heritage’s Alyene Senger explains what these solutions look like.

Fortunately, the 2012 House budget takes steps in the right direction on health care and reining in entitlements. Heritage experts will work to ensure the 2013 budget is also consistent with Heritage’s Saving the American Dream plan.

Read more about Heritage’s Saving the American Dream plan and how it reforms entitlement programs and strengthens our nation’s health care system.

Learn more about the President’s Club and how you can get your invitation to our 2013 meeting.