And I used to be a liberal. We have a right to change our minds.
The mandate is not working in Mass. Maybe we should learn from them.
Everyone has the right to change their opinions or their party affiliation. But where this about-face by the GOP on the individual mandate is concerned, I've read nothing nor heard nothing from the GOP leadership that expressly outlines why they're now against it when the mandate was their idea in the first place. Clearly, their reasons for it were fairly identical to the Democrats w/ObamaCare. So, what changed?
The Constitution? No new amendments have been added nor taken away.
Health care costs? Premium rates have been on the rise for years and still rising with or without ObamaCare being passed.
Are there more or fewer people going w/o health insurance now than before? By all statistics, more people are dropping their insurance (or being dropped) because its unaffordable. And mind you, it's not employers who are dropping them; it's the insurance companies themselves finding reasons to deny coverage.
Are there fewer people using ERs to seek medical attention? No; those numbers have also increased over the years, even moreso during this recessionary period we're still fighting our way out of.
Medicare cost decrease? Not since Medicare, Part-D was enacted w/o being funded and the "donut-hole" is still problematic for senior citizens. Moreover, with more and more seniors going onto Medicare and/or disabled receiving SSI, I don't see these costs going down significantly any time soon.
Has the government spent less to subsidize employer-sponsored health insurance premiums? By all accounts, the government is still paying a hefty price towards subsidized health care cost.
Have the individual or group markets change? I haven't seen any evidence that HSAs have risen or proven more beneficial than a regular, individual health insurance policy. So, I'd say no here as well.
Are high-risk pools less appealing to insurance markets today than they were 17-25 yrs ago? Still the same risk assessment today as they were years ago.
So, what in the GOP's view changed?
I'm still waiting for someone within the GOP leadership to provide a straight answer. I could deal with their push to repeal the health care law if they just informed the American people their true reason for no longer being for the mandate other than "it's unconstitutional". Really? So far, the Supreme Court hasn't ruled on that yet. So, to say such is foolish.