Another Georgia congressman proposes possible Obamacare replacement
Last week, I looked at U.S. Rep. Tom Price’s bill to repeal and replace Obamacare. His bill includes a section on tort reform authored by Congressman Phil Gingrey, who, like Price, was a physician before entering politics.
Well, Gingrey and Price aren’t the only doctors-turned-congressmen from Georgia. Paul Broun, who represents much of northeast Georgia in Congress, has submitted his own repeal-and-replace bill, the OPTION Act. It caught the attention of Avik Roy, a health-policy blogger for Forbes, who gave it a fairly positive review as “The Tea Party’s Plan for Replacing Obamacare.”
Some of the OPTION (Offering Patients True Individualized Options Now) Act’s provisions are similar to Price’s Empowering Patients First Act. Both provide for repealing the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare; both change the tax treatment of health care to put those buying coverage in the individual market on equal tax footing with people in employer-sponsored plans; and both allow for interstate insurance purchases and ways to let small businesses band together to form larger risk pools.
But whereas Price’s bill includes Gingrey’s tort reform measures and goes farther in establishing risk pools and addressing Medicaid, Broun would leave reforms of malpractice laws and Medicaid to other bills (he has proposed a separate bill to block-grant Medicaid funds to the states). Instead, he focuses on a premium-support model for Medicare, a la the Paul Ryan plan, and would change the law mandating emergency-room care, known as EMTALA. Roy summarizes those changes:
The OPTION Act includes two significant reforms to our charity care system. First, it gives physicians a tax credit (i.e., a subsidy) of between $2,000 and $8,000 a year for engaging in charity care, depending upon the amount of charity care they offer. “Today, I could be put in jail for giving charity care to a Medicare patient for free,” explains Broun. “What we’re doing is we’re taking all of those regulations out of the system.”
Second, it would allow emergency rooms to turn away patients, under EMTALA, that don’t have actual emergencies. “I had the experience of what every ER physician sees in this country,” says Broun, “which is people who aren’t having emergencies using the ER. They should be seeing their regular doctors.” This simple reform could do a lot to ensure that uninsured people with actual emergencies would get treated faster, with better outcomes, than they do today.
One thing is clear: This trio of congressmen with medical backgrounds stand to put Georgia front and center in the health policy debate whether or not the Supreme Court overturns part or all of Obamacare.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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176 comments Add your comment
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
April 10th, 2012
9:30 am
“45,000 people die each year for lack of medical insurance, according to Reuters and CBS News.”
carlos, you DO realize that they are simply quoting the incorrect figures that former (thank God!) Congressman Alan Grayson used from a study that was debunked shortly after he used them, right?
And let’s face it, CBS news isn’t exactly a source for accurate information any longer, now is it?
WAW
April 10th, 2012
9:32 am
Tiberius, et al – So you are not only having Insurance Companies determine what and how much care a patient may receive from what doctor and what hospital, but you are also having these same Insurance Companies determine liability and judgement for malpractice. Having a bunch doctors turned Republican _ _ _ _heads (apply your own expletive) is like having a drunk overseeing Jack Daniels.
They are about three years late (as usual) with their great ideas and if there’s any justice left that is not owned by lobby-bloggers, they’ll see their piggy banks cracked. They can’t use their insider information anymore, now how about making them part-timers, cut their forever salaries, let them buy their own insurance and, better yet, send their gimme butts home. Congressman is really BAD title to claim if you’re a _ _ _ _ (choose again) fool.
AmVet
April 10th, 2012
9:34 am
So what is the number of Americans who die each year from having no health insurance that you use in lieu of those provided in the Harvard Medical Study?
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
April 10th, 2012
9:38 am
“So you are not only having Insurance Companies determine what and how much care a patient may receive from what doctor and what hospital, but you are also having these same Insurance Companies determine liability and judgement for malpractice.”
No, I’m not. You need to brush up on your reading comprehension, WAW.
I’m saying that I, as a patient and a (relatively) free individual, have the right and responsibility to have the doctor / hospital in question fix what they caused and failing that, have the right to seek redress with the courts FOR THE ACTUAL COST OF HAVING THE PROBLEM FIXED.
What part of that do you NOT understand?
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
April 10th, 2012
9:41 am
“So what is the number of Americans who die each year from having no health insurance that you use in lieu of those provided in the Harvard Medical Study?”
Don’t know. And frankly don’t care. I’m sort of the “you made your bed, now lie in it” kind of guy. It’s not my job to take care of other Americans at the point of a gun.
UGA 1999
April 10th, 2012
9:42 am
Did anyone hear Obama’s speach yesterday about the failure of “trickle down economics” and the failure of free market society? Any you guys on the left do not think he is for socialism????
Inside Out
April 10th, 2012
9:43 am
Ok..Tibs here we go again…Then according to your logic, The victim of a drunk driver should only expect that their medical bills be taken care of and their car be fixed….. They should have no expectation of being made complete when their quaility of life is deminished? The Drunk should not be punished in any way right????
Inside Out
April 10th, 2012
9:45 am
UGA…..Please give us three examples when trickle down economics worked???? Like Bush 41 said, its VOODOOO Economics!!!
UGA 1999
April 10th, 2012
9:46 am
It is funny to me as well that all of the blacks are wanting to fight the stand your ground law in florida. I wonder if Zimmerman was black and Martin was white if they would feel the same way?
Oblama
April 10th, 2012
9:46 am
Recently I heard this comment at a gym I go to. “I wouldn’t be caught dead at a Repub rally. (They were wearing a “Smoke ‘mo weed” t-shirt). I replied ” If you were dead they wouldn’t want you at their rally because everyone knows only dead Dems can vote.” That is why Oblama and the Dems are opposed to voter I.D. – they want the dead Dems to vote.
UGA 1999
April 10th, 2012
9:46 am
Inside Out…..How about the entire 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. Is that good enough for you?
AmVet
April 10th, 2012
9:47 am
Don’t know.
What a shocker.
1999, do you think trickle down has worked?
UGA 1999
April 10th, 2012
9:47 am
Oblama….NICE!
Rafe Hollister
April 10th, 2012
9:47 am
I call piling on! Tiberius, you are doing a great job swatting the gnats.
Carlos, if you think Europe has the same freedoms that we enjoy, you are incorrect. Try buying a firearm in Europe legally. Try out the old freedom of speech in Europe, yes they allow most speech, but draw a carton of Muhammad or do some street preaching.
With all those great programs you libs long for, come confiscatory tax rates, which in itself is an attack on freedom.
Keep on keeping on Tiberius!
HDB
April 10th, 2012
9:47 am
Tiberius – Your lightning rod of hate!
April 10th, 2012
9:38 am
“So you are not only having Insurance Companies determine what and how much care a patient may receive from what doctor and what hospital, but you are also having these same Insurance Companies determine liability and judgement for malpractice.”
“No, I’m not. You need to brush up on your reading comprehension, WAW.
I’m saying that I, as a patient and a (relatively) free individual, have the right and responsibility to have the doctor / hospital in question fix what they caused and failing that, have the right to seek redress with the courts FOR THE ACTUAL COST OF HAVING THE PROBLEM FIXED.”
Part of the problem here, Tibby, is that there have been cases where the problem CAN’T be fixed….and limiting the awards actually denies the patient the care that he/she would require. If you limit the damages, the doctor is actually being rewarded for his mistake!! A jury not only must access the facts and the damages, a jury must also be emphathetic. For some, damage awards may seem excessive…but since many weren’t privy to the facts of the case, the jury is the best and only arbiter of the case and it should be the entity that determines the required damages…not the legislature…..
Inside Out
April 10th, 2012
9:48 am
BUt he was not…..This was an unarmed person shot by a trigger happy clown…. It should not matter what their race is…..An innocent person was killed!!!! What part of that are you having a problem with????
UGA 1999
April 10th, 2012
9:50 am
Inside Out. See that is the problem you ASSUME Martin was innocent. The fact is that he attacked Zimmerman for following him. Zimmerman defended himself. Argue all you want but for now the courts agree.
HDB
April 10th, 2012
9:51 am
UGA 1999
April 10th, 2012
9:46 am
“It is funny to me as well that all of the blacks are wanting to fight the stand your ground law in florida. I wonder if Zimmerman was black and Martin was white if they would feel the same way
If that were the case, the black guy would have been arrested, denied bail, and sentenced to death in Florida…..You wouldn’t have had the outrage….(and you know that….)
hryder
April 10th, 2012
9:51 am
People who think Obama Care should remain might benefit, as could most supporters, if they would carefully consider the definition of insurance. Secondly, logical reasoning dictates that the Constitution does not permit that Congress may by law dictate that citizens purchase given products,even when such products are deemed by most citizens to be a prudent purchase. The time is past for the majority of citizens to tacitly accept anyone uttering what a well known Clinton once publicly stated, “We know how to spend your money better than you.” VOTE OUT ALL ELECTED INCUMBENT OFFICE HOLDERS IN THE NOVEMBER ELECTIONS.
AmVet
April 10th, 2012
9:52 am
1999, please do explain your 9:46.
Real average hourly earnings (excluding fringe benefits) now stand roughly at 1974 levels. Yes, that’s right, no real increase in over 35 years.
I cannot even believe you would contend otherwise…
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
April 10th, 2012
9:52 am
“Ok..Tibs here we go again…Then according to your logic, The victim of a drunk driver should only expect that their medical bills be taken care of and their car be fixed…..”
As regards their personal costs, yes.
“They should have no expectation of being made complete when their quaility of life is deminished?”
Define “made complete”. And just what part of their “quality of life” has diminished?
“The Drunk should not be punished in any way right????”
No. Drunk driving is not a “mistake”. It is reckless endangerment. Now, if you can prove that a doctor was reckless in endangering his / her patient, you might have a case, which then could be brought to the court system.
UGA 1999
April 10th, 2012
9:52 am
HDB….Nice assumption again! And who is the racist one?
UGA 1999
April 10th, 2012
9:53 am
AmVet…Is that because you are comparing average earning to the cost of living? Like GASOLINE!
Rafe Hollister
April 10th, 2012
9:54 am
Inside Out
Trickle down is certainly possible physically, and it works much better than trickle up, which physically is impossible. Trickle up poverty is the Oblamer economic policy. Take money from the makers and give to the takers, so they can trickle it up to the middle class. Hard to get much height on the trickle. All the money given to the takers goes to paying bills, the lottery, liquor stores, the 7/11, so not much left to try and trickle up.
UGA 1999
April 10th, 2012
9:54 am
AmVet…IS that also because 8.2% of Americans are out of work or have stopped looking for work. So their income equates to 0 for all averages?
Oblama
April 10th, 2012
9:55 am
Congress at the Fed level pulls in more lobbyist money in 5 minutes than the Georgia state congress rakes in in a year. I am opposed to elected people receiving anything of value from lobbyists. Just last night it was reported that one large Fed agency had a party at tax payers expense that cost over $800,000. They should all be fired but they won’t because they support Oblama. Just to make it clear – when the Repubs rule they do the same thing. We don’t need this when the government can’t even afford to buy an artificial arm for a wounded vet.
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
April 10th, 2012
9:56 am
“Part of the problem here, Tibby, is that there have been cases where the problem CAN’T be fixed….and limiting the awards actually denies the patient the care that he/she would require.”
Actually, HDB, it does not. Juries can, and do award damages to plaintiffs for on-going care and rehabilitation every day, and not as part of any “pain and suffering” awards, which is where juries get things all screwed up.
HDB
April 10th, 2012
9:57 am
UGA 1999
April 10th, 2012
9:50 am
“Inside Out. See that is the problem you ASSUME Martin was innocent. The fact is that he attacked Zimmerman for following him. Zimmerman defended himself.”
If the police dispatcher told Zimmerman NOT to leave his vehicle (which shee DID!)…and Zimmerman followed Trayvon Martin, then Zimmerman becomes the ANTAGONIST…an ARMED antagonist!! Trayvon Martin then had the right to protect himself from being followed…there is the PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE here…but Zimmerman had already profiled this kid and judged him guilty!!
Now, an unarmed kid is defending himself against an armed antagonist and dies….those actions warrant an arrest for at minimum, manslaughter…and at worst, 2nd degree murder…..
If Zimmerman were black, he’d be in JAIL already……
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
April 10th, 2012
10:00 am
Folks, this is a blog about health care alternatives, not Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman.
Just a reminder about Kyle’s wish to not have threads hijacked.
Sheez Louise
April 10th, 2012
10:01 am
Contrary to what “Jack” and many think, a great deal of doctors don’t know squat about “healthcare”. What they DO know about is MEDICINE and the DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF DISEASES. That’s where everyone seems to get so lost in twisting up “healthcare” (in other words health INSURANCE) with politics. Case in point, I was amazed that a specialist i had seen had no idea whatsoever about how her practice billed certain treatments to insurance and that type of stuff. I expected her to know, after all she is a seasoned professional. She revealed to me that quite often while doctors are concerned about being paid for their services, they employ professional staffs for the purpose of dealing with insurnce companies and all the mumbo mumbo. Of course at it’s most basic level I know this, I was just surprised that basically she told me that she essentially does not concern herself with the insurance aspect of the business. So really, and as it should be, there has to be an interaction between the commercial entity and the government that regulates said commerce with approproriate checks and balances. Otherwise, they are left to run roughshod over the consumer. What’s so difficult about that for people to grasp? I know, they hate government so much (and what they think it represents) they cannot see straight. MEDICINE =! “healthcare”
HDB
April 10th, 2012
10:01 am
UGA 1999
April 10th, 2012
9:52 am
“HDB….Nice assumption again! And who is the racist one?”
The justice system….society in general….the guy who pulled the trigger…..too many to mention…..
AmVet
April 10th, 2012
10:01 am
I’m talking about FLAT-LINED wages (adjusted for inflation) for a huge percentage of American workers for forty years.
AmVet
April 10th, 2012
10:02 am
No. 1999. Unemployment is not a factor in calculating working wages.
Oblama
April 10th, 2012
10:04 am
There is a culture of wasteful entitlement in D.C. that needs to be broken. They will never voluntarily change their wasteful spending. Time for Term Limits in Congress on BOTH parties. Let’s clean out the trash and start over.
td
April 10th, 2012
10:04 am
Inside Out
April 10th, 2012
9:03 am
Why should a person become wealthy because a Doctor made an honest mistake? How would you like to loose a couple years salary or more every time you made an honest mistake on your job?
MarkV
April 10th, 2012
10:07 am
The part of the Broun’s proposal regarding EMTALA would be funny if it were not such a serious matter. The uninsured go now to ERs with non-emergency problem specifically because they cannot pay the regular doctors. Therefore the advice that “they should see their regular doctors” is ludicrous.
UGA 1999
April 10th, 2012
10:09 am
HDB….OH that is right a black man has never pulled a trigger! hahaha.
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
April 10th, 2012
10:12 am
td @10:04
Spot on!
Bob
April 10th, 2012
10:12 am
Deborah in athens, repubs never had 8 years in total control of congress and the exec. Total control is what dems had the first two years of the obo admin and they could have raised taxes and cut spending but they did not.
carlosgvv
April 10th, 2012
10:12 am
Rafe Hollister – 9:47
It’s true I can’t buy a firearm legally the way I can here. It’s also true I don’t have to walk down the streets there afraid every other person encountered has a gun and might decide to shoot me if somehow they feel threatened and need to “stand their ground”.
Try being white and walking down Stewart Ave. in the Southside of Atlanta with a Confederate T-shirt on. You have to freedom to do this and would be about as safe as those people drawing cartoons of Muhammed in Europe.
Ayn Rant
April 10th, 2012
10:13 am
“Tiberius” should study more and write less. In computer terms he’s all output and no input this morning.
The political dogma he expresses in obnoxious terms is the same that Romney expresses in dulcet tones. Beware! The time of political dogma has passed: fascism has been defeated, communism has collapsed, socialism has been abandoned, and theocracy has been discredited. Except for a few social antediluvians, people all over the world are turning to reason rather than dogma for their governance.
Tiberius, by the way, was a Roman Emperor who withdrew from Rome to lead a solitary life, leaving the administration of the Roman Empire unchecked in the hands of his scheming, grasping staff. He was not in the least garrulous, just quietly neglectful and incompetent.
Kyle Wingfield
April 10th, 2012
10:13 am
UGA, et al. — This thread is not about Trayvon and Zimmerman.
MarkV: Actually, one of the things most people, regardless of political ideology, agree on is that it’s not good to have people getting routine care at ERs. Now, I’m not inclined to think Broun’s proposal would work without some of the other proposals along these lines — namely, to increase the number of “urgent care” clinics in close proximity to ERs to treat these kind of non-emergency ailments. However, we also all agree (I think) that part of the excessive cost of health care, which in turn helps drive the excessive cost of health insurance, is people being treated at ERs — at ER rates — and not paying for it.
So, there’s a bit of a chicken-and-egg thing going on, and Broun’s plan just might work to change that dynamic and get the ball rolling on other changes.
UGA 1999
April 10th, 2012
10:17 am
Kyle, I agree but it is about social issues. One leads to another.
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
April 10th, 2012
10:20 am
“socialism has been abandoned”
Except, of course, in most of the countries in the European Union, China, and most especially California, Massachusetts New York and Illinois.
And look how well all of them are doing.
MiltonMan
April 10th, 2012
10:24 am
Deborah:
“And Broun, who is my Congressman…the man is a certifiable fruitcake.”
As opposed to the sacrifical lamb (a lawyer at that) the crappy dems nominated to run against him???
Maybe you bankrupt dems in this state could nominate something worth a crap to run vs. the incumbents.
AmVet
April 10th, 2012
10:28 am
Tort deform and tweaking around the edges of this horrible healthcare system is going to do next to nothing.
The GOP, and the compliant Dems like Max Baucus, are not remotely interested in fixing this debacle.
Their paymasters will not allow it.
And until we start electing men with moral courage – in lieu of the Tom Prices of this world – this catastrophe is the best we are ever gonna get in this country.
So shut up, eat your cake and let the giant HMOs and BIG pharma tell you what is best for you…
Tiberius - Your lightning rod of hate!
April 10th, 2012
10:30 am
“Tort deform and tweaking around the edges of this horrible healthcare system is going to do next to nothing.”
Yeah, ’cause fixing what causes about 30% of the additional cost of U.S. healthcare isn’t worth going after, is it, AmVet?
MarkV
April 10th, 2012
10:32 am
Kyle Wingfield @10:13 am
Kyle, I did not say anything about it being good for people getting routine care at ERs. Of course it is not, and of course it drives the excessive cost of health insurance. That is the reason behind the individual mandate. What I pointed out was, referring to what you wrote about Broun’s proposal, that simply to say that those uninsured with non-emergency problems should “see their regular doctors” was no solution.
UGA 1999
April 10th, 2012
10:36 am
It all comes down to what you feel you are “entitled” to.
Inside Out
April 10th, 2012
10:36 am
td..therre lies the rub…..In my job, an honest mistake could cost a company MILLIONS and most likely cost me my job…..In their case, It could cost someone a limb, or an organ, or the abilty to function in a “normal” manner……Because of the nature of what they do, they should be held to a higher standard…i for sure do not want my Dr. having the same level of competence as my butcher….