Dr. Ben Carson began his presidential campaign as an outsider who planned to radical reform the way government worked, but he’s already abandoning one of his earliest campaign promises to scrap Obamacare and Medicare with healthcare savings accounts.
Recommended Stories
The Fiscal Times reported that Carson had been in favor of getting rid of Medicare as recently as May when he had an interview with John Hardwood of CNBC.
“When people are able to see how much more freedom they will have, and how much more flexibility they will have, and how much more choice they would have, I think it’s going to be a no-brainer,” the former neurosurgeon said during the interview.
Carson was singing a much different tune in an interview on Fox News Sunday when he was asked by Chris Wallace if he would scrap the current system. Not only did Carson deny that he would vastly alter the health system for senior citizens, he accused Wallace of promoting scare tactics.
“No, that’s completely false. And that’s a narrative that somebody’s putting out there to scare people,” Carson said.
When Wallace reminded the former neurosurgeon of his statements, Carson scoffed at the comments replying that it was an old plan that’s been gone for months now–even though he’d been promoting the plan for over two years and made no announcement of a new plan.
Carson’s campaign website still mentions Health Savings Accounts, but does not touch on the issue of Medicare.
“We need to re-establish a strong and direct relationship between patients and their physicians. For instance, I strongly support Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) which empower families to make their own decisions about their medical treatment. HSAs will also drive down health care costs while protecting patient choice and freedom. More freedom and less government in our health care system will mean lower costs, more access, and continued innovation,” reads Carson’s website.
According to the presidential candidate the new plan is middle ground that promotes health savings accounts and supports Medicare.
“What the program that I have outlined using health savings accounts starting from the time you are born until the time you die, largely eliminates the need for people to be dependent on government programs like that,” Carson continued. “But I would never get rid of the programs. I would provide people with an alternative.”
