Pray that our leaders would seek God’s wisdom in revamping health care.

Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious that rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her. (Pr. 8: 10-11)

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The draft legislative texts that will make up the American Health Care Act cleared two House committees this week amid vociferous complaints about the legislation, seemingly from all quarters. At some level this is understandable. After all, nobody expected the Democrats to stand up and applaud a replacement for the Affordable Care Act. And for Republicans, three other factors contribute. First, health-care reform is hard, and there are widely varying views of the best policy. Second, these are draft bills, not final legislation. The markup process is supposed to identify and modify unpopular provisions. Finally, the bill’s scope is limited by the budget reconciliation rules that fast-track Senate consideration. It is simply not possible to embody the full range of policy issues in a reconciliation bill, and some disappointment directly follows from what has had to be left out.

Given these circumstances, any bill designed to achieve 218 votes in the House and 51 votes in the Senate is going to generate some dissatisfaction for all involved. Nevertheless, the bill is an important step away from the ACA and a clear step forward on health-care policy.

Some broad themes are clear. The ACA was a one-size-fits-all, top-down approach to policymaking. In contrast, the AHCA moves decision-making to the grass roots by providing funding, but permitting states flexibility in how to deal with costly preexisting conditions, provide reinsurance and other stop-loss protections that permit insurers to function effectively, and trusting state insurance regulators to run their markets. Even the significant Medicaid reform needed to ensure the program’s long-term sustainability carries enormous freedom for states to tailor their programs to their populations. (Contributor: By Douglas Holtz-Eakin for The Washington Times – Douglas Holtz-Eakin is president of the American Action Forum and former director of the Congressional Budget Office.)