The "Patient-Centered Health Care Movement" sounds great, doesn't it? It's a movement, which is nice. It involves health care and health care is important, so that's nice too. And it's patient-centered. I'm a patient. Anything "patient-centered" must be something I'm in control of or by default an advocate for.

In actuality, the "Patient-Centered Health Care Movement" is a Republican coined term used to frame the health care debate in their favor. You see, if their idea for reform is "patient-centered", then the oppositions can be framed as "government-centered" - and we all know the government is merely a collection of incompetent boobs incapable of doing anything right.

Republican's really need to get a new playbook. For as long as I've been alive, the GOP's primary argument has been that all of societies ills can be traced to government incompetence. Which I've always found ironic considering they're complaining about a system they're a part of. It's like hating baseball, but joining the team. The GOP's argument is quite literally the equivalent of going into work and telling your boss you think the company would be better run if there was no company.

Naturally, the argument the Republican party is making about health care reform is that the health care industry can be fixed by doing nothing. Well, not exactly doing nothing. They want to control costs by allowing the insurance industry to run free.

You really need to read ridiculous talking points memo. It's first four pages are an Orwellian doublespeak how-to guide instructing their members what to say in order to appeal to their constituents without ever explaining what their policies are. They concede the policy debate right on page one: "We cannot compete with their cause v. our policies. We must compete with their cause v. our cause". Not only is the GOP aware their own policies can't win in a debate, they openly admit it.

In the remainder of the memo, the GOP is instructed to offer the following solutions to the health care crisis:

1) Force doctors to post the prices of their services.
2) Make insurance companies have one-page contracts.
3) Protect doctors from malpractice lawsuits.
4) Cut out the "Washington Middle Man"
5) Tax cuts for updating IT systems
6) Emulate Wal-Mart
7) Individual tax deductions to help pay for premiums.
8) No lifetime health care benefits for congressmen.
9) Eliminate pre-existing condition descrimination.

Really? That's not reform, that's a complete joke. #9 is the only measure that actually might benefit the average citizen. The other GOP suggestions for reform are either handouts to the insurance industry (tax benefits that go straight to in insurance industry's pockets) or protection for or deregulation of health care industry players. Again, the free market (and subsidies) will save everything.

Let's really apply the free market approach to health care. If you need to see a doctor, you go to the hospital and pay them directly for whatever service they provide. If the GOP were to stick to their ideals, that should be their solution. No more insurance companies. No more insurance brokers. No more insurance. Just the consumer paying the person performing the service - capitalism at it finest. Quite honestly, I'd feel better in that system knowing that my dollar was going to pay for actual heath care instead of being divided up 20 different ways before it actually gets to the person who told me to cough.

If the GOP used that stragegy instead of the vapid, hollow and meaningless notion of a "Patient-Centered Health Care Movement" at least I'd respect them for truly sticking to their core beliefs. Instead the Republican party is forced to fabricate a "Patient-Centered Health Care Movement" in order to conceal that they have nothing to offer at all.