On Thursday, the National Republican Campaign Committee worked alongside the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) to host a small rally opposing President Obama and his health care reforms. Earlier in the day, ThinkProgress caught up with a spokesman for AAPS, who explained that the group opposes any government involvement in health care and supports privatizing Medicare. Similarly, at the rally, Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) — a card carrying member of the AAPS — promised the audience that “we will not rest until we make certain that government-run health care is ended.” Asked by ThinkProgress to explain if his pronouncement included the government-run program of Medicare, Price evaded:
Q: You said on the stage that you wanted to end government healthcare, do you support privatizing Medicare?
PRICE: What government-run medicine does is forces other individuals besides themselves and their families making medical decisions. [...]
Q: You said on the stage that you want to get rid of government-run healthcare, what’s the difference between Medicare and the public option?
PRICE: No what I support is allowing patients to make independent medical decisions.
Q: So you support government health care when it’s Medicare.
PRICE: What I support is patients making independent medical decisions.
Watch it:
Earlier this year, Price celebrated the 44th anniversary of Medicare by arguing that “nothing has had a greater negative effect on the delivery of health care than the federal government’s intrusion into medicine through Medicare.”
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