This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Sen. Mike Lee's extreme opposition to the Affordable Care Act might be easier to understand if he had a better alternative to offer. He does not. His plan is essentially the status quo.
When asked about health care at the Farmington town hall meeting last week, Lee said his plan offers tax credits and portability of health insurance when changing jobs.
He admitted that tax credits don't help lower income people, but did not address the issue of how portable insurance premiums might change if a person moved from one employer's group plan to another. He offered vague assurances that his plan is only a beginning and improvements will be added sometime in the future.
Lee should rethink his opposition to the current legislation. Losing the advantages of no pre-existing conditions, no lifetime caps on benefits and keeping children on parents' plans until age 26, while leaving tens of millions of Americans uninsured, may be a higher price than Utahns are willing to pay to indulge their junior senator's political tantrum.
Ann Johnson
Bountiful