Simply repealing Obamacare isn't enough for Ben Carson, famed neurosurgeon and wack job presidential candidate. He wants government out of medicine completely, meaning
no more Medicare or Medicaid. The programs would be abolished under Carson's plan, replaced by health savings accounts.
Carson, who now leads the GOP field in Iowa according to the latest Quinnipiac Poll, would eliminate the program that provides health care to 49 million senior citizens, as well as Medicaid, and replace it with a system of cradle-to-grave savings accounts which would be funded with $2,000 a year in government contributions. While rivals have been pummeled for proposing less radical changes, Carson hasn't faced the same scrutiny—and his continued traction in polls has left GOP strategists and conservative health care wonks scratching their heads.
"This isn't a borderline issue. The politics of this are horrific," said Doug Holtz-Eakin, head of the American Action Forum and health care adviser to Sen. John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign. […]
Carson's position also puts him at odds with the Republican Party platform, which says the party "is committed to saving Medicare and Medicaid." In a statement, the Republican National Committee chalked up Carson's position to the diverse opinions of its candidates.
Carson apparently didn't get the memo about what Republicans aren't supposed to say out loud: That they want to get rid of these programs. What they're
supposed to say is that they want to "save" these programs. Never mind that "saving" them means killing them slowly through policies that are intended to erode both their funding and public support over time.
So far, this radical policy proposal hasn't gained too much attention. In fact, Carson is getting strong support from seniors—about a quarter of them in Iowa, according to Quinnipiac—so clearly they're not listening to what the man is saying. Not yet, anyway. While Donald Trump didn't comment for this story, he's making it an issue.