Pence says Indiana's healthcare law is good conservative alternative

WASHINGTON, Aug. 24 (UPI) -- Indiana Gov. Mike Pence on Saturday said his state's healthcare program is a good Republican alternative to President Barack Obama's federal healthcare law.

Pence's comments came during the weekly Republican address, The Hill reported.

"The Obama administration is creating confusion in the marketplace, from its suspension of the cap on out-of-pocket expenses, to providing subsidies without verifying income, to a one-year suspension of the employer mandate, this healthcare law is weighing down our economy," Pence said. "It's costing jobs, discouraging investment and making the future bleak for too many families.

Pence said his state's program empowers patients over the government.

"But there is an alternative to waiting on Washington, D.C., to come to its senses and more Americans are realizing every day that the cure for what ails this country is starting to emerge... not in our nation's capital but in our nation's state capitals," Pence said. "Giving people in Indiana more freedom and more responsibility over their healthcare has improved outcomes and now 95 percent our plan's enrollees are satisfied with their coverage. This is a perfect example of the truth that by letting freedom and personal responsibility work together, you reduce the need for government."

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., said Thursday she believes that defunding ObamaCare is not a realistic option, The Hill reported.

"To get the entire bill repealed, or defunded, is probably not realistic," McMorris Rodgers said in Spokane, Wash. "But I do think there are provisions in the law that we can get delayed, or provisions in the law we can get defunded."

Other GOP leaders spoke up against Obama's healthcare law on Thursday, including House Speaker John Boehner.

"The delays the administration has been forced to implement in the healthcare law have given us a golden opportunity to talk about fairness: 'If big business gets relief from the president's healthcare law, families and small businesses should, too.' This message strikes a chord with Americans. When people hear it, it resonates," Boehner said during a conference call.