Marco Rubio is still technically in the game in the presidential primaries, despite rumors he may drop out of the race. And, with more primaries to go, including his home state of Florida, it’s still possible he could get the nomination, or be asked to run for vice-president on a winning ticket.
There is a lot of talk now about a brokered convention, where delegates would vote on the candidate they prefer, instead of the one who receives the popular vote. Rubio could do very well in this scenario. This is why it is worth considering what health care in America would look like under a Rubio presidency.
Rubio believes that America requires a comprehensive plan of health care reform that will reduce the role of the government in health care, while using the forces of market competition to keep insurance prices low and encourage innovation.
To Rubio, this means that the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) must be repealed, and then replaced with a health care alternative that is driven by the market. He also believes that Medicare and Medicaid should be reformed to better fit their roles in the 21st century.
Marco Rubio has an established track record of pushing Congress to repeal Obamacare. He has been working on it practically ever since the law was put into place.
He wants to replace this policy with a plan that is centered on the consumer and their needs, that would expand coverage to people who need it, and lower the cost of the available health policies. He believes Obamacare is a failed policy, and has stated he will make its repeal and reform a top priority in his presidential administration.
Not only does Rubio want to repeal and replace Obamacare, he has an established voting record of working toward repealing what he believes are the most harmful parts of the Obamacare law.
The things he has voted to repeal include the harsh cuts the law made to Medicare Advantage, the medical device tax that has been hurting the creation of jobs (as well as eliminating existing ones), the restrictions on care that is centered on the patient, and the new FSH and HSA taxes.
Rubio was the first person in Congress to warn the nation that a bailout of the insurance industry by taxpayers would be catastrophic, and he successfully stopped it from happening through his votes.
This saved taxpayers $2.5 billion, which is a significant amount of money, especially for taxpayers for whom taxes are a large financial burden.
As president, Marco Rubio promises to do the following things:
- Increase the public’s access to high quality, affordable health care coverage. He will do this by giving each American a refundable tax credit (that can be advanced) which can be used to buy health insurance.
- Lower the costs of health care and promote innovation in medical research.
- Make sure the most vulnerable of the population are able to access health insurance by giving them a selection of consumer-centered health care policies.
- Reform insurance regulations.
- Legalize protections for people with pre-existing conditions that will ensure they are able to get access to affordable health insurance.
- Improve Medicaid by providing the states with a per capita block grant to preserve the funding for the unique populations Medicaid serves. At the same time, this improvement will also keep states free of any mandates from the federal government when it comes to Medicaid regulations.
- He will also defend the traditional structure of Medicare and Medicare Advantage for seniors who are current customers of those programs.
- He will make Medicare stronger for seniors who sign up for it in the future by giving them a choice of different private and traditional Medicare plans.
- He also promises to put Medicare on a path to financial sustainability by encouraging competition in the marketplace within the Medicare program. The reforms he promises will ensure Medicare is available for many generations of seniors yet to come.Marco Rubio feels very strongly about the state of health care in this country and believes it can be better than what we have already been given.
With a Rubio presidency, Obamacare will be repealed, and reforms will be put in place that will make health care easier to access and more affordable for everyone who needs it, no matter what their income level, age, pre-existing condition, or employment status. Hopefully, whoever our next President is will take some of these ideas with them.
