Most Americans know intuitively that the best decisions are made as close to home as possible. Bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., can't possibly know what's best for your town, community, and state, and whenever they try to get involved, chaos ensues.
Case in point: Obamacare. The scheme that was supposed to lower premiums actually raised premiums for many Americans, and neither Republicans nor Democrats in Congress have shown much willingness to fix the situation.
But the states have been trying to do what our national "leaders" won't. According to a recent report from The Daily Signal, some states are opting out of certain Obamacare regulations, and the health insurance premiums in those states are dropping as a result:
Throughout much of last year, critics of the White House darkly warned that “Trump sabotage” of Obamacare would result in steep increases in premiums for Obamacare plans.
They predicted that Congress’ repeal of the tax penalty on the uninsured, coupled with an administration rule lifting federal restrictions on short-term policies, would lead to double-digit premium increases in 2019.
The good news is that none of that has happened. To the contrary, average premiums for “benchmark” plans—policies whose premiums are used in calculating premium subsidies—declined slightly (0.83%) in 2019, for the first time in the program’s history.
The better news is that this overall decline was driven by seven states (Alaska, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon and Wisconsin) that obtained waivers to deviate from certain Obamacare mandates.
Premiums in those states fell by a median of 7.48%, while premiums in the other 44 states and the District of Columbia rose by a median of 3.09% (see chart).
The message for policymakers is clear: Innovation by states is the key to more affordable health insurance.
The Washington-knows-best approach has never worked. From education to healthcare to the environment, top-down policies from D.C. have never delivered on the prosperity and positive results they promised. Instead, Americans are struck with fewer, more expensive options and, more importantly, less freedom.
We need to empower state and local governments, and the best way to do that is with a Convention of States.
An Convention of States is called and controlled by the states under Article V of the Constitution. This convention has the power to propose constitutional amendments that limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government and return that decision-making power to the states and the people.
With these amendments in place, Washington will no longer be able to regulate and spend money on whatever they want. They'll be limited to a small, specific set of issues, and everything else will be left up to the states.
It's time for the people and the states to take control of our country's domestic policy. Washington has tried -- and failed -- for long enough. It's time for a Convention of States.
Sign the Petition below to show your support!
