Let’s here yours, since you are so keen on it.
Just offering an opposing view.
Not all of us are happy with the GOP insurance plan.
(since there isn’t a GOP insurance plan)
Basically. So we’ve decided to support the one which is out there.
If the GOP would get off their duffs and actually get a plan (at least in the House) then we could support it.
The difficulty with the pre-Obamacare system is that poor individuals not part of some company group plan (1) have to buy insurance with after-tax dollars and (2) pay much higher rates than company group plans even before the company subsidy. Ultimately, insurance companies discriminate against individual purchasers of health insurance because large companies have leverage they can use against them, just because of the size of the business they bring with them. Healthcare is the one sector of the economy where price discrimination is legal. It's not just health insurance - hospital bills are the same way. Individuals paying cash end up spending more money for the same procedure than insurance companies do.
The problem with the GOP trying to come up with a solution is the institutional resistance against these changes by large corporations, which would have to pay higher premiums if premiums were required to be level for group vs individual plans. Obamacare avoids the question of premium discrimination by having the federal government pick up the difference and also buries some of the insurance premium tax deduction into the subsidy.
One right off the bat would be to allow purchase of plans across state lines, breaking the current monopolistic structure - both allows more choices and creates more competition and providers. This is also actual interstate commerce. Another is to allow purchase of insurance outside of company plans to be tax deductible to compete with the employer plans (and help level the playing field for those who do not have the option of employer-sponsored plans).