Republicans and Health Care Policy

Yesterday, I noted that, when it comes to Medicare, Republicans have boxed themselves into a corner by legitimizing and stoking public fear about cuts to the program. Specifically, I mentioned an op-ed by Newt Gingrinch and John Goodman offering "Ten GOP Health Ideas For Obama," which included "Don't cut Medicare" as one of its proposals. Over at the Cato Institute's blog, health policy analyst Michael Cannon offers a detailed fisk of the piece. His post is worth reading in full, but the gist is this: There are things to like about Gingrich and Goodman's proposals, but if this is the best Republicans can do on health care, they've got a long way to go. Given the GOP's middling-at-best recent history on the issue, this is hardly a surprise, but for those of us who'd prefer a serious free market alternative to endless expansions of our current broken system, it's still disappointing.