Indiana's Pence: Obamacare Is 'Stifling Our Economy'

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence says Obamacare is stifling the economy across the country and that states should be given more flexibility to implement their own healthcare reforms under the law.

"There is no question that Obamacare is stifling our economy here in Indiana, and all over the country. I think the answer is to give states more flexibility and more freedom to innovate in a broad range of areas, including healthcare," the Republican said Wednesday on "Fox & Friends."



Pence said Indiana's healthcare program, called the Healthy Indiana Plan, is "consumer-driven healthcare" that creates "power accounts" on top of traditional Medicaid.

"They operate like health savings accounts. The state makes a contribution. The individual makes a contribution. And then there is a high deductible that backs it up. It's been incredibly successful, incredibly popular," he said.

Pence said the federal government should look to the success of the Indiana program for healthcare solutions.

"I really do think this is part of the long-term solution. Give states more freedom, more flexibility. Allow them to compete for the best ideas, and you're going to see ideas like the Healthy Indiana Plan pop up all over the country," he said.

Pence said the program serves as an incentive for people to take ownership of their healthcare, which in turn leads to better coverage and more control over costs.

"Most people know, consumer-driven healthcare, getting people to take more ownership of their healthcare, is the way that we bend the cross curve and provide better healthcare coverage," he added.