Rep. Carter: House GOP 'Better Way' Plan Works on Healthcare Reform

The House Republicans' "Better Way" initiative marks the kinds of ideas the United States needs to get itself back on track, especially when it comes to healthcare reform Rep. Buddy Carter said in Saturday's GOP address.

"People are frustrated," the Georgia Republican said he learned in a series of town hall meetings he held this past week in his district. "They're working as hard as ever to pay the bills and put food on the table. But they're just not getting anywhere. Their problems are growing. But their paychecks aren't. And at this point, they've come to see Washington as the place where bad ideas go to take root — and where good ideas go to die."

The House Republicans' Better Way program, Carter said, is a six-part plan that tackles poverty, national security, the economy, the Constitution, healthcare and tax reform, and Carter said what he likes best is that it "isn't some top-down, Washington-imposed mandate."

"This is a plan we developed with input we got from all of our members — and our constituents — over many months," said Carter. "We put out the call for the best thinking out there, and these are the ideas that rose to the occasion.

The issue of healthcare is especially important to Carter, a long-time pharmacist.

"The healthcare law we have right now is a mess," he said. "It is destroying the healthcare system I worked in for more than 30 years — the best healthcare system in the world. This law makes some people pay less by making other people pay more."

Obamacare also tries to give more choices to some people while taking choice away from others, and the constant back and forth between bureaucrats and insurers leaves patients lost, said Carter.

"Our plan would repeal and replace Obamacare," he said. "We would clear out all the red tape and mandates that are taking away your choices, and let you pick a plan that works for you."

The Better Way plan would also help to accelerate the development of life-saving devices and therapies, he said.

"These are the kind of ideas we need to get America back on track, and this is how we can make real change in Washington: by listening to the people who sent us there," Carter concludes.