Calling for fewer regulations and the increased use of health savings accounts, U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul will lay out his alternative to the Democratic plan to overhaul the nation’s health care system at a town hall meeting Saturday at Valley High School.
He’ll introduce his plan on the same day the House is set to vote on sweeping health care reform legislation that would create an insurance exchange to allow people to purchase insurance if they couldn’t get it on the market.
Paul, a Bowling Green ophthalmologist, has argued that federal involvement in health care has actually driven up the cost of insurance and made it unaffordable for some people.
The non-partisan National Coalition on Health Care said there are 47 million people in the country without health insurance — about 85 percent of whom are native or naturalized citizens. And the group says that more than 80 percent of them come from working families.
Democrats have argued that the health care system has failed and that there is no reason to believe it can be repaired without bold moves by government.
“I think anything and everything we can do to restore pricing flexibility, moving toward a free market model, is what he’s interested in,” said David Adams, Paul’s campaign manager. “He wants to shift away from a government-based solution to a free market solution.”
Paul argues that the problems can be dealt with by making all medical expenses tax-deductible, eliminating federal legislation, allowing doctors to join together to negotiate prices with insurance companies and making it easier for individuals to have tax-advantaged health savings accounts.
Adams said that Paul will answer questions from the audience during the two-hour town hall meeting and that he hopes that people who disagree with him will attend.
“We welcome any kind of debate with anyone,” he said.
The event will run from 10 a.m. to noon.
Reporter Joseph Gerth can be reached at (502) 582-4702.
