Paul: Get government out of healthcare

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said it was time for a doctor, such as himself, to fix the broken healthcare law known as ObamaCare.

“The old system before ObamaCare was not perfect, but I fear the new system with more government intervention will be worse,” Paul said to a group of ophthalmologists on Monday. “Maybe it’s time for a doctor to fix the problem.”

{mosads}Paul said that the healthcare debate in Washington has less to do medicine and more to do with economics. He blasted the U.S. government for setting healthcare prices, saying the failure of the Soviet Union proves capitalism is better.

“Every time a Washington bureaucrat sets a price, the consumer suffers,” Paul said. “Get government out of the business of setting prices.”

Paul called for the abolishment of the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR), which is used to control doctor fees.

“End the SGR, the government system that sets fees. It was wrongheaded policy from the beginning,” Paul said. “Let’s not temporarily fix SGR, let’s abolish it once and for all.”

The SGR helps control federal spending on Medicare, which is one of the largest entitlement programs. Congress regularly passes a “doc fix” to ensure physician fees are covered.