Krugman slams Rove on healthcare

The New York Times columnist writes that Karl Rove "hasn’t thought for a moment about the actual issues"

Published August 22, 2013 5:07PM (EDT)

Paul Krugman                                                                                                                                                                       (Reuters/Anton Golubev)
Paul Krugman (Reuters/Anton Golubev)

In a blog post titled "Karl Rove Shouldn’t Pretend He Understands Health Policy," New York Times columnist and Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman fired back at Karl Rove's contention that Republicans "have plenty of sensible ideas to make health coverage more accessible and more affordable."

From Krugman:

Now comes Rove, and his big idea is to make the tax break on health coverage available to everyone, not just beneficiaries of employer plans. Great! Now employers can say “Here, we’ll eliminate your coverage, but we’ll pay you more, and you can use the money to buy tax-deductible insurance on your own!” Except that employees with preexisting conditions won’t find insurers willing to offer them affordable coverage — oh, and lower-paid workers won’t be able to afford coverage even if they’re healthy.

So Rove’s “solution” would actually have a devastating effect on millions of Americans who currently have decent coverage.

"Rove has nothing but the usual catchphrases, and obviously hasn’t thought for a moment about the actual issues," he adds.

Krugman had argued that Republicans only want to "deny essential health care and financial security to millions of their fellow Americans," and don't have any ideas for what could replace Obamacare. In a column for the Wall Street Journal, Rove called out Krugman and the Washington Post's Ezra Klein, writing that "The president and his liberal posse have a fundamental, philosophical objection to conservative ideas on health care. They oppose reforms that put the patient in charge rather than government, that rely on competition rather than regulation, and that strengthen market forces rather than weaken them."


By Jillian Rayfield

Jillian Rayfield is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on politics. Follow her on Twitter at @jillrayfield or email her at jrayfield@salon.com.

MORE FROM Jillian Rayfield


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Health Care Karl Rove Obamacare Paul Krugman The New York Times