Ann Coulter: 'Give Us The Free Market' For Health Care
Philadelphia (CBS) - Following the failure last week of a Republican bill that would have repealed and replaced the Affordable Care Act, conservative author and columnist Ann Coulter called on Congress to allow the free market to regulate the health care industry during an interview with Rich Zeoli on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT.
"We buy all of our other products on the free market. Why can't I buy health insurance on the free market? Well, the answer is because this particular welfare program, Obamacare, in some cases [is] welfare, is paid by through our insurance premiums, as opposed to most welfare programs. Whether you're poor or, in the case of health, you're just unlucky or you have kid or you, yourself, have some very expensive medical problem, OK, you can't buy insurance on the free market. That's a welfare case. I say that with no animosity," Coulter said. "At least with some of them...Those are separate cases, the pre-existing conditions ones. But why do the rest of us have to pay for all of that through insurance premiums? Which ends up meaning our premiums are through the roof, the deductibles are through the roof, we can't go see doctors we want."
Coulter said politicians could do more to allow for competition if they really wanted to.
"Give us the free market. It's very simple, just one sentence saying there shall be a free market in health insurance, which Congress, of course, has full constitutional authority to do," Coulter said. "The Constitution says you regulate interstate commerce. Just let us have a free market...that's really all you need. Keep the rest of Obamacare, so that no one protests."
She pins most of the blame for the GOP plan never even reaching a floor vote on House Speaker Paul Ryan and suggested that President Donald Trump turn his attention to the issues she thinks secured his election.
"I think Trump was just being nice to Ryan. I know I'm a little starry-eyed but I am holding the Emperor-God Trump harmless on this. Every president only has a few big issues that he can push through," she said. "The reason Trump won this astonishing victory, despite never being in politics before and not really being, until now, anybody's idea of a president was because of immigration, trade, jobs, putting Americans first. He should be building the wall."
