Republicans are once again playing doctor — this time with a prescription pad marked “freedom,” “choice,” and a healthy dose of “no more subsidies.” Andy Biggs and a coalition of House conservatives this week unveiled a sweeping healthcare reform framework they say will fix what the left broke.
“The time for half measures is over,” Biggs declared in his letter to Speaker Mike Johnson. “The American people deserve healthcare based on freedom, affordability, flexibility, and choice — not more subsidies, red tape, or handouts for insurance companies.” Indeed, under the plan, the enhanced subsidies from the Affordable Care Act (ACA) era — the kind that helped millions survive after the pandemic — are to vanish like last season’s fashion trend.
Supporters say the plan returns power to patients, lowers taxes, and ends what they call rampant abuse of the subsidy system. Detractors already warn that this “freedom injection” feels suspiciously like a band-aid: good PR, but may leave many Americans uninsured or scrambling for co-pays.
Meanwhile, elsewhere on the GOP bench, Scott Fitzgerald refused to get behind a one-year subsidy extension — arguing that even a temporary “bridge” is too much. “I still do not support that,” he reportedly said, suggesting that conservatives aren’t even united on whether to give Americans time to adjust between systems.
But never fear — Biggs & Co. assure voters this is not chaos, this is “choice.” Because in the GOP’s ideal clinic, you get to choose: pay more, pick cheaper coverage, or pay nothing until you’re socially responsible again. In other words — healthcare, but on conservative time. And with fewer “woke” footnotes. Punchline: ever wanted your surgery co-pay explained like a tax return? Now you’re living the dream.
