HEALTH

There are two competing visions for health care in America. One centralizes control in Washington DC, through federal legislation commonly referred to as Obamacare. The other seeks to empower the American people, through local and state representatives, to choose the best health options in a market where competition can breed excellence.

Tea Party Patriots on

KEY POINTS
We believe Americans should have more, not less, control over our health more liberty over our life. That is why we oppose the federal takeover of health care, against the will of the people, commonly referred to as Obamacare. The majority of Americans agree with the Tea Party Patriots on health care:

The majority of Americans do not support Obamacare. The majority of states (27) have filed lawsuits against Obamacare. Half of judges who have ruled on Obamacare have ruled against it. The majority of Americans (57%) now favor repealing Obamacarewhich is a greater majority than the 52.9% that voted to elect President Obama in 2008.

We believe in empowering the American people, not concentrating more power in Washington DC. Thats why we support state-level health care solutions like the Health Care Compact, which returns power where it belongs: to the people, and to the states in which we live. The Health Care Compact restores authority and responsibility for health care regulation to the member states. It will save money (nearly $3 trillion over 10 years) and will keep health care dollars, and decision-making

power, closer to we the patients and farther away from wasteful politicians in Washington DC. More liberty over our health. More liberty over our lives. The majority of Americans are with us repeal Obamacare now.

BACKGROUND
THE PROBLEM In March of 2010, over the objections of the American people, the Democratic-controlled House and Senate passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as Obamacare. The law seeks to give the federal government unprecedented new powers and reach into our lives, and into personal health care decisions that are best made by patients, families and doctors. The laws stated purpose was to expand health insurance access to millions of Americans. But the primary vehicle through which Obamacare expands coverage is by expanding Medicaid; an ailing federal entitlement program that is already an unsustainable burden on state and federal budgets. Key features of Obamacare: Individual Mandate: Obamacare mandates that every U.S. citizen and legal resident buy governmentapproved health insurance. The Department of Health and Human Services would decide which plans are approved. Those American citizens who choose not to buy government-approved health insurance would be forced to pay a punitive fine on their annual income tax returns. This Individual Mandate has been ruled unconstitutional, and is the subject of a multi-state lawsuit.

Expansion of Medicaid: significantly expands Medicaid enrollment.

Expansion of the federal government: Obamacare gives the federal government unprecedented new authority over our lives. Misuse of the Constitutions Commerce Clause: Obamacare misuses the Commerce Clause as the basis for the federal governments authority to require Americans to purchase health insurance. The Commerce Clause only gives Congress the authority to regulate interstate commerce, not the authority to require Americans to engage in commerce. In other words: it cannot make us buy something we do not want to buy. New taxes: Obamacare contains a series of new taxes and fees that would be levied against both individuals and corporations. A complete list of taxes can be found here: http://healthcare-coalition.org/tax_burden Staged implementation: Obamacare was signed into law in March of 2010, but was crafted in such a way that much of its punitive impact would only be felt by American citizens after the 2012 elections. Here is a timeline of the dates for implementation: http://healthcare-coalition.org/timeline Kills jobs: Heritage analysis has found that Obamacare will destroy job creation with costly tax hikes, and employer mandate fines and compliance costs, resulting in less opportunity for low-income workers and penalizing business growth and success.

ONE SOLUTION One possible solution to the health care crisis inflamed by Obamacare is the Health Care Compact (HCC); an interstate compact now introduced in 13 states, and passed in Georgia, Oklahoma, Missouri and Texas. The Health Care Compact allows states to join together in a contractual agreement (interstate compact). The member

states agree to administer all of their own health care programs. The Health Care Compact is a way of transferring health care decision-making authority away from the federal government to the states. In contrast to Obamacare, the Health Care Compact is not some new, grand one-size-fits-all policy. Instead, the HCC is about governance reform and changing the paradigm of who decides. Supporters of the Health Care Compact understand that the Constitution puts specific limitations on the power and authority of the federal government, and they hope to restore a Constitutionally-limited federal government through the use of compacts. MORE RESOURCES http://www.healthcarecompact.com/ http://healthcare-coalition.org/ http://www.heritage.org/Initiatives/Health-Care