Democrats have done a good job portraying Republicans as health-care-reform obstructionists. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) gave the party line, for example, when he told Talk Radio News service, "There is no Republican health-care plan out there."

In fact, the GOP has offered several health-reform bills. And on Nov. 3, the party's leaders in the House unveiled a comprehensive reform plan, introduced as a substitute amendment by Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) -- which Democrats defeated 258 to 176 on Nov 7.

The bill, says Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), represents Republicans uniting behind "eight or 10" core principles.

One key aim is to lower health-care costs with, among other measures, medical-liability reform and the creation of an interstate health-insurance market.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the GOP plan would indeed "reduce average private health-insurance premiums per enrollee in the United States relative to what they would be under current law."

The GOP plan has several advantages over the Democrat-crafted bill that the House passed. For one, it would impose no new taxes, where the Democrats' bill hits taxpayers for another half a trillion dollars over 10 years.

The plan contains no mandates for individuals or employers to purchase insurance, where House Democrats would force every citizen to buy insurance or pay a hefty fine (plus possible jail time).

True, as The Washington Post points out, the Democrats' bill "would expand coverage to an estimated 36 million of the uninsured," while "the Republican alternative would cover only 3 million." But that is only a weakness if you accept as axiomatic that 1) everyone must have insurance, and 2) that the government should provide and/or enforce insurance ownership.

What the GOP plan does do is use market forces to lower the costs of insurance premiums so that more people who want insurance can afford it. Continued...