David Frum knows that ObamaCare can’t be repealed. But don’t worry, he also knows how to make it palatable to Republicans:

  1. Move up the start date of ObamaCare’s state waiver program from 2017 to 2014. As I explain here, that program will only produce alternatives to ObamaCare that are equally or more anti-market, such as a single-payer system. Frum wants that to happen sooner.
  2. Raise taxes, on everybody. I swear I am not making that up.
  3. Replace ObamaCare’s individual mandate with an equally coercive tax credit that accomplishes the same thing, but which the courts would probably uphold. Bra-vo. Frum implies it is necessary to “work around” the fact that Republicans are not “entirely rational” when it comes to the individual mandate. (True, but they’re getting more rational all the time.)
  4. Republicans should embrace government rationing of health care. Frum counsels Republicans to “unleash the cost controllers” and become the “green eyeshade party willing to do the disagreeable work of squeezing waste from the system.” How? Well, he doesn’t call for Medicare vouchers, under which enrollees would ration their own care. In fact, he has thrown cold water on that idea. But the only alternative is to have the government ration care. And Frum makes no distinctions between the elderly and non-elderly, which leads me to believe he wants Republicans to ration care to the under-65 crowd too. Slap that on a bumper sticker!

In sum, Frum’s GOP-palatable alternative to ObamaCare is … ObamaCare. But maybe more coercive. And implemented sooner. With higher taxes. And less vulnerable to legal challenges. And with Republicans playing the bad guy.


Frum laments that Republicans mistakenly threw away the opportunity to work with Democrats to implement these brilliant ideas in 2009 and 2010. But Republicans did so because these brilliant ideas hurt people. They were wrapped into a bill called ObamaCare, and Republicans rejected it. They were right to do so. And they are right that ObamaCare can’t be fixed.


(Related: Ramesh Ponnuru previously took down Ross Douthat’s ideas for fixing ObamaCare.)


(Also related: CNN has signed Frum to provide conservative commentary during the 2012 election.)