The Healthcare Dilemma:

The fight against ObamaCare has just begun -- but at least it has begun.

Republicans took a giant first step in repealing ObamaCare with their vote last Wednesday in the U.S. House of Representatives. But we can't let up now.

Now more than ever, we must find ways to put the pressure on our Senators to pass a similar bill repealing all aspects of ObamaCare. If we allow this healthcare plan to continue, we will have a major problem in this country. We will be faced with a government solution to a government problem.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said, "With ObamaCare, America is in danger of a health dictatorship."

With Obamacare, we are looking at the creation of 159 new federal offices, not to mention  the nearly 2,000 new and expanded powers for the federal government, according to information released by Gingrich through his Center for Health Transformations. These federal bureaucrats will be making the decision about our healthcare -- decisions that should be made by us or our doctors.

Obamacare is not the answer. We don't have a healthcare problem in American, we have a health insurance cost problem, and mandating healthcare that many Americans already can't afford only adds to our problems. The very program that Democrats say will cut out costs, will in effect, increase the cost of healthcare.

We will certainly face a doctor shortage in this country with the mandates. Many doctors, already upset with the public system, will simply walk away. If you think you have a hard time getting into the doctor's office now, just wait.

It's time to repeal and begin again. It's time to move away from the idea of a governement-controlled healthcare system, and let free market, free enterprise address the issue of the uninsured across the county.

We need to let each individual state continue working and looking for ways to build the right business environment which allows the private sector to develop insurance plans --plans that would definitely be better than any plan pushed down on us from Washington.

We currently have over 1.7 million Georgians without health insurance. With innovative ideas and new insurance packages, we can insure about one-third of these people -- without creating more government. And by insuring those 500,000, we can boost Georgia's economy by more than $2 million.

We need to look at portability of insurance, which would help more Americans than any mandate from Washington. We need to put the ownership in the hands of the insured. Georgia lawmakers need to move forward with the idea of selling insurance across state lines. With the possible mandate that every American purchase healthcare insurance, we need to create as much competition as possible.

We have enough Washington in our lives, we don't need ObamaCare

Republicans can celebrate ruling

Anyone who believes in the Constitution should  be celebrating.

I am celebrating… I am celebrating and applauding the ruling by U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson, who declared the Obama  healthcare overhaul unconstitutional.

Vinson agreed with 26 states, including Georgia, that the new law violates people's constitutional rights by forcing them to purchase health insurance or pay a penalty. 

This is actually the fourth ruling on the ObamaCare, and evens the score at 2-2. Two Democratic appointees  ruled in favor of Obama, and two ruled against it . But this ruling by Vinson is far more forceful than the previous one.  In his ruling, Vinson declared  that because the “individual mandate” requiring people to purchase health insurance is unconstitutional, the entire law must now be declared null and void.

His ruling, handed down last week,  confirmed something that I, like many other Republicans, have known all along -- that Congress exceeded its authority requiring all Americans to carry health insurance or pay a fine to the government.

We have enough Washington in our lives already. We don’t need  any more.

As Judge Vinson wrote, “… this case is not about  whether the act is wise or unwise legislation.

 "It is about the constitutional role of the federal government.”

I’ll also add – We don’t need the federal government mandating health care.

And we don't need the insurance industry making decisions about our healthcare. Those decisions should be left up to the doctors and patients.

There is another concern – the cost to Georgia and other states if the current law stands. Just last week, the U.S. House passed a repeal of the plan that some say will cost closer to $2.6 trillion than the preliminary estimate of $1 trillion.
 
There are currently 30 million uninsured Americans. There are approximately 1.7 million Georgians without insurance. Something needs to be done.

 But I continue to stand by my belief that a  plan passed down from Washington forcing every American to purchase health insurance is not the answer.

I also believe that doing nothing is not an option. It’s time for Republicans to get to work and come up with an alternate plan.

As Congressman Lynn Westmoreland says, “Forcing Americans to buy insurance was not going to stand up in court. I hope that Congress… will go forward… to put forth a good healthcare proposal that will do the common-sense things to prepare us for lower insurance costs, and not get the federal government between the patient and the doctor.”

Yes, it’s time to celebrate. But it’s also time to roll up our sleeves and get to work.

Shame on us Republicans if  we don’t.