Rumblings from the left grow louder challenging republicans “Well, what are you offering for health care reform?” In a sense, trying to shift the argument back to the GOP being “the party of NO” while at the same time slyly goading the right into a debate over not whether government involvement is necessary or constitutional but to what degree of government overhaul is required.

People want some improvement to the current health care coverage system. It is flawed. And republicans must respond while they still have the momentum or else run the risk of the democrats redirecting that momentum back against them. US Congressman John Shadegg (R-AZ) has proposed a free market answer to the democrats challenge that improves the current system while avoiding private companies having to compete with the federal government:

“The Health Care Choice Act, which has forty co-sponsors, harnesses the power of the marketplace to allow Americans to compare insurance policies from across the country and pick one that best meets their needs. It would provide every American with more and better health insurance choices. The legislation would also reduce the number of Americans who have been unable to find affordable coverage. “Rather than going through fifty different regulatory processes, this bill will allow an insurance company to go through one process and sell to people in all fifty states. We can help people, not by setting up a massive new government bureaucracy, but by empowering individuals to make the best choice for themselves and their families.”

There is no doubt, in my opinion, that the current health care coverage system has problems. Costs are high, doctors should not be pressured or have to negotiate treatment for patients, people do lose coverage, payments are rejected, but on balance we have benefited from a system that has created a market for excellent general care and unmatched specialized care.

Nothing is ever perfect, in fact I would argue that nothing should ever BE perfect. But we can always attempt to make a good system better and we can do it without the federal government pricing out 16% of the US economy. This is the message republicans need to start marketing or else run the risk of losing the higher ground.