Anyone watching the weekend news shows noticed a very clear trend: Democrats in Washington are all over the map about what to do on health care.  Take a look:

ON A “PUBLIC PLAN,” WHICH IS A GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER OF HEALTH CARE: 

• On CNN’s State of the Union yesterday, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) predicted, “I don’t think the votes are there.” 
• Yet on NBC’s Meet the Press, Vice President Biden insisted, “[The President] does want a public plan.”

ON A PLAN TO FINANCE A GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER BY CUTTING HEALTH CARE DEDUCTIONS:

• On ABC’s This Week, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius expressed the President’s renewed support for “shaving” health care deductions.
• Sec. Sebelius made this assertion even as This Week host George Stephanopoulos reminded her, “All the major leaders on the Finance Committees and the Ways and Means Committee have said that’s not the way they want to go.”

ON A PLAN TO BANKROLL HEALTH CARE “REFORM” BY TAXING BENEFITS: 

• On Fox News Sunday, Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) said, “This is unnecessary.”
• Yet on Meet the Press, Vice President Biden left the door open to this tax hike.  When asked if the President wouldn’t sign a bill that taxed Americans’ health care benefits, the Vice President responded, “I didn’t say that.”

As Democrats try to sort this out amongst themselves, House Republicans are moving forward with common-sense solutions that will reduce costs, expand access, and increase the quality of care in a way that America can afford.  Led by Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO), the House GOP’s Health Care Reform Solutions Group is crafting a plan to:

• Expand access to affordable, quality care regardless of pre-existing conditions;
• Protect Americans from being forced into a government-run plan, making certain that medical decisions are made by patients and their doctors, not Washington bureaucrats;
• Let Americans who like their health care coverage keep it, while giving all Americans the freedom to choose the plan that best meets their needs; and
• Reform medical liability rules to block junk lawsuits from driving up health care costs for families and small businesses. 

The disagreements among Democrats on health care are a reflection of the Democratic leadership’s insistence on rushing legislation without a clear understanding of what the plan will do, who it will impact, and how it will be financed.  In reality, health care reform is too important to get wrong.  House Republicans believe that to make health care more affordable and accessible, it cannot deny care, raise taxes, and allow bureaucrats – rather than doctors and patients – to make key health care decisions.  And their health care solutions are a reflection of that.  Rather than wrangling with one another over a government-run plan, isn’t it time for Democrats to reach out to Republicans in support of a health care reform plan that works?