Barnett forms coalition, but where are the solutions?

Jim Barnett continues to travel across the state promoting his "health care coalition" which so far seems to have produced very few "health care solutions."

Barnett held a press conference in Wichita with a group of health care professionals saying they would produce ideas for his campaign to promote. I was certainly confused by the whole situation since Barnett has worked in health care all his life and has failed many times in the past to "fix" it. Perhaps that the reasoning behind his "coalition." Maybe he really needs the ideas.

When his campaign consultant spoke to Kansas Liberty, he seemed to have a healthy helping of criticism for Huelskamp and little to no plan for Barnett.

Barnett’s campaign consultant, Jeff Roe, didn't comment on Weber's statement other than to say the Barnett campaign was “anxiously awaiting” Huelskamp’s own plan to provide health-care solutions.

Roe said there was no current timeline of when Barnett’s reform plan would surface.

Even though Barnett isn't able to annouce a plan just yet, it's certainly interesting to examine his previous plans. The Kansas Liberty article focused on many different plans of Barnett's over the years, but the one that caught my eye was the 21 point plan produced by the Kansas Health Policy Authority and marketed by both Barnett and current HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

The report really speaks for itself:

Aggressive targeting and enrollment of children eligible for Medicaid and HealthWave. Include specific targets and timelines for improved enrollment. Inability to meet targets will “trigger” additional action by the KHPA, to include the consideration of mandating that all children in Kansas have health insurance.

Barnett says he doesn't agree with Obama's health plan, and yet just over a year ago he supported government action that is nearly identical to Obama's plan; government mandated care for every child.

Barnett says he favors market solutions for our health problems, but just like any other issue Barnett discusses, his current opinion certainly doesn't match with his previous actions.