Fox News’ Special Report included a segment Thursday night about “Finding a Solution to ObamaCare.” Panelists George Will and A.B. Stoddard proposed some alternative solutions, but it was Stephen Hayes who might have made the most interesting point, arguing that if ObamaCare collapses, it “will have done Republicans a tremendous favor.”
This sounds counterintuitive, but Hayes explains that ObamaCare has actually taken people who were “casual” consumers of employer-funded health care and turned them into “active” consumers who “have been forced now to pay attention” to things like rising costs.
For decades, employer-funded health care (which began as a result of World War II wage controls) distorted the market, disconnecting consumers from providers and driving up prices. But, as Hayes points out, any conservative alternative would require consumers to begin taking an active role in managing their own health care.
That would be a tough leap for people who have been letting their company handle it. But as more and more people are forced onto the exchanges, it could be that ObamaCare (again, assuming it fails) will have ironically helped train Americans to be active consumers.
You can watch the video here: