A healthcare policy expert believes that Republicans need a legitimate alternative to Medicare for All if they’re going to be successful with the issue going forward.
“President Trump has said that he is going to release another fantastic health care plan sometime this month in August, said Sally C. Pipes, President and CEO of the Pacific Research Institute and the Thomas W. Smith Fellow in Health Care Policy. “We’ll see. Nobody seems to know who is working on it or what’s in it, but I hope that happens, because I think the Republicans need to have something to run on.”
Pipes believes there are solutions the Republicans can provide.
“180 million Americans have their health care coverage through their employer,” said Pipes. “The employer gets a tax write-off and we get our health care tax free. Those people in the individual market have to go out and buy their health care with after-tax dollars. I would like to see the Republicans push for individuals to be able to get their healthcare tax free.”
Pipes would like to see health care taken back from employers and put in the hands of individuals, but that can’t happen quickly.
“I think we need to expand health savings accounts,” said Pipes. “About 25 million Americans have HSAs. Some get them through their employer. Some have them individually, but they put doctors and patients in charge of their health.”
If people are allowed to use their own money pre-tax, Pipes believes they will be more responsible with it and save money for the system overall.
