Politics

Rep. Paul Ryan: Health-care reform will fail even without Republican repeal

Chris Moody Chris Moody is a reporter for The Daily Caller.
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Wisconsin Republican Rep. Paul Ryan suggested Thursday the Democrats’ health-care law would fail even without legislative action.

“This health-care law will collapse under its own weight,” Ryan said Thursday during a health-care event on Capitol Hill. “I just can’t envision this law standing.”

Ryan was speaking at a panel discussion featuring a new report from the conservative Galen Institute on the budget effects of the health-care law. The paper argues that the law “is not entitlement reform” and will increase the burden on the nation’s budget through increased spending. Authored by former Bush White House budget adviser on health care James C. Capretta, the paper targets Medicare as the primary point of concern for America’s health care system, offering a solution that focuses on increasing market choice over implementing a top-down approach.

While the debate over health care has continued well past the passing of the bill, some surveys suggest that health-care reform has gained popularity since March. A Bloomberg News poll released Wednesday revealed that only 37 percent of Americans want the law repealed, while 61 percent are not interested in a repeal effort.

But Ryan said that once people see the effects of the law when it is implemented in 2014, that will change very quickly.

“The fiscal effects will be seen very soon,” he said. “The smoke and mirrors that were used to sell this will quickly evaporate and we will see this thing in the light of day.”

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