The Washington Free Beacon's Ellison Barber led a panel discussion on BlazeTV's Real News Tuesday about Obamacare's latest alteration, its political implications and the Republican alternatives to the law.
The Department of Health and Human Services released a plan Friday that would allow more plans to be grandfathered.
"Basically, that means the changes the insurance companies would need to make in order to comply with Obamacare wouldn't be a deal breaker for keeping your plan," she said. "So if you had a plan from 2010, it would be more likely to be grandfathered and avoid the requirement that your plans not change at all."
The move is another "political" one, she added.
"This seems to me like a roundabout way to not have to use the state commissioners," she said. "To where insurers can say it's a modification so we're not going to touch your plans. That seems completely political."
Barber also discussed the latest conclusions by EHealthInsurance, which found premiums are on average 39 to 56 percent higher after the law passed on plans outside the exchanges and that most buyers are opting for the least amount of coverage possible.
A common and effective Democratic talking point has been Republicans have not presented their own ideas in place of the Affordable Care Act, but Barber pointed out GOP lawmakers have done so, though they have not obtained leadership backing.
Barber wrote on Republican proposals for health care reform Monday:
Republicans have had alternate plans in in the past. There were multiple from Rep. Tom Price (R., Ga.) and later the RSC and Rep. Steve Scalise (R., La.), but one has yet to be backed by leadership. Everyone seemed to acknowledge that a complete alternative would eventually be necessary, but until now there seemed to be tepid consensus on what that plan should be.
The lack of agreement provided Democrats with great talking points. They could pan Republicans for trying to destroy healthcare reform while pointing to their missing alternative as evidence that they had no desire to fix anything, rather their only goal was to stonewall the Democrats effort to improve the flawed health care system—for everyone.
The notion that Republicans had "no alternative" was always a slightly inaccurate criticism, but it was fair because leadership had not backed a plan. Now it looks like they will. That would take one of the Democrats most successful and concise talking points off the table—and it will likely put Republicans in an even stronger position for the midterms.