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Palin gets tough on Democrats' health care proposals

  • Story Highlights
  • Sarah Palin blasts Democrats' health care reform proposals in newspaper op-ed
  • Palin: Public outcry led Congress not to authorize "end-of-life counseling"
  • She takes issue with Obama's view that Democrats' plans will rein in costs
  • Palin says the true solution is a "market oriented, patient-centered" approach
From Alex Mooney
CNN Political Producer
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WASHINGTON -- For the second time since resigning the Alaska governorship more than a month ago, Sarah Palin is adding her voice to the fiery debate over health care.

Sarah Palin says in a new op-ed that big government is not the solution to health care reform.

Sarah Palin says in a new op-ed that big government is not the solution to health care reform.

This time, Palin is hitting the pages of the Wall Street Journal to counter President Obama's latest efforts to reform the nation's health care system.

"The answers offered by Democrats in Washington all rest on one principle: that increased government involvement can solve the problem. I fundamentally disagree," Palin writes in the 1,110-word opinion piece in Wednesday's edition of the paper.

"Common sense tells us that the government's attempts to solve large problems more often create new ones," the former Republican vice presidential candidate continues. "Common sense also tells us that a top-down, one-size-fits-all plan will not improve the workings of a nationwide health-care system that accounts for one-sixth of our economy."

Presidential address
President Obama will address a joint session of Congress on health care.  Watch live coverage of his speech tonight at 8 p.m. ET.

Palin, whose initial Facebook posting on "death panels" last month is credited with spurring heated opposition to the House Democratic health care proposal, again raises the claim -- now widely debunked -- that a government panel could determine which senior citizens receive vital treatments.

"Is it any wonder that many of the sick and elderly are concerned that the Democrats' proposals will ultimately lead to rationing of their health care by -- dare I say it -- death panels?" she writes. "Establishment voices dismissed that phrase, but it rang true for many Americans." Video Watch more on the health care debate »

Ultimately, Palin says, "Congress will likely reject a wrong-headed proposal to authorize end-of-life counseling in this cost-cutting context" because Americans made their voices heard in the contentious town halls last August.

"But the fact remains that the Democrats' proposals would still empower unelected bureaucrats to make decisions affecting life or death health-care matters. Such government overreaching is what we've come to expect from this administration," she says.

Palin also takes issue with the president's assertion that Democrats' heath care proposals will rein in costs and eliminate waste and inefficiency in the system.

Citing the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, Palin says currently proposed health care legislation will do little to bring down costs, but will instead cause the federal deficit to skyrocket by more than $200 billion over the next decade.

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"Only in Washington could a plan that adds hundreds of billions to the deficit be hailed as a cost-cutting measure," writes Palin.

Instead, Palin argues the true solution to health care lies in "market oriented, patient-centered, and result driven" measures such as providing tax benefits for those who get health care coverage from their jobs, providing seniors on Medicare vouchers to buy their own coverage, and allowing people to buy health insurance across state lines.

All About Health Care CostsSarah Palin

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