If you’re anything like me, you’ve had enough of D.C. You’ve heard enough promises from those who court your vote, only for them to turn around when elected, or in most cases re-elected, and stab you in the back. John McCain is the current poster boy for lying his way back into office on repealing ObamaCare…

…then doing the opposite with his pal, Lisa Murkowski, when handed the opportunity to keep his promise, or at the very least, move the ball forward:

When the Democrat-controlled Congress shoved the monstrosity known as ObamaCare down our throats seven years ago, despite most of America screaming in opposition, they did so only after giving themselves carve-outs that you and I didn’t get, including their staffers receiving taxpayer-funded subsidies for their healthcare plans of upwards of 72 percent of their premium costs. Talk about your sweetheart deal. Is it any wonder they now refuse to repeal the law that’s harmed so many of us, myself included? I think we all know they’re benefiting from the law in more ways than one.

If ObamaCare is hurting people, & it is, why shouldn't it hurt the insurance companies & why should Congress not be paying what public pays?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 31, 2017

So what’s the answer to our broken healthcare system? Well, it’s most certainly not going to come from those who (intentionally?) broke it in the first place. But could it come from the Executive Branch? Well, if Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price is right, it just might. How? Well, he claims his HHS could wave both the individual mandate and the federal punishment for not carrying an insurance policy via executive order from Donald Trump:

#TomPrice open to waiving #Obamacare individual mandate….w/intent to hobble Obamacare exchanges https://t.co/BxIi0d77Zh via @HuffPostPol

— AMC (@Truthbuster) July 31, 2017

Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said Sunday that waiving Obamacare’s individual mandate is on the table as President Trump and congressional Republicans look for a path forward on health care.

“All things are on the table to try to help patients,” Mr. Price said on ABC’s “This Week.”

“What we’re trying to do is to make it so we have a health care system that responds to the needs of the American people,” he said.

“And when the federal government gets in the way of responding to those needs, allowing the American people to actually provide coverage and care for them themselves across this land, then it’s incumbent upon us as policymakers and as individuals charged with [the] responsibility of leading to put in place a system that actually works for the American people,” he said.

My cynical side expects Congress’ next move will be the polar opposite of repeal: bailing out the insurance companies to continue artificially propping up the failing ACA, but I digress.

Now I know what you’re thinking: we railed against the illegality of most of Barack Obama’s Executive Order-writing. And we were right to do so; the man was as lawless as a Venezuelan dictator. Some have argued—and this is where I stand—that many of the fundamental changes Obama made to the ACA were blatantly illegal. See the bailout of insurance companies using taxpayer dollars never appropriated for such use by Congress. Nevertheless, as with just about everything our lazy Congress does, much of the legislation it passes leaves the implementation of said laws up to bureaucrats via regulation. Which, if Secretary Rice is correct, could include the enforcement of the individual mandate forced onto us by those who aren’t feeling its wrath. So, if it’s within his power as president, I’m all-for President Trump directing Secretary Price to provide relief from the individual mandate via executive order.

@POTUS go around congress like Obama did! Tom Price has the power to overturn several parts of Obamacare! I want gov out of my healthcare! https://t.co/zSSHAO6oPH

— Cubans for TRUMP (@mmlanz333) July 31, 2017

Me, too. Though beware the pen of Trump’s successor.

I’ll go a step further: it’s time we stop allowing the federal government to decide what’s best for us. We’ve been living in limbo, waiting for the promised repeal of the ACA, for far too long. Direct primary care providers are on the rise—there’s even one in my super-small town here in Idaho—where primary care physicians charge a small monthly membership fee that covers routine visits, where most policy holders primarily use their benefits. Direct primary care providers don’t accept any form of health insurance. None. Nada. Zip. And some studies have even shown reductions in costs, saving traditional insurance providers money, which in a truly free market should theoretically lower premiums. Pair that with a high-deductible insurance plan for emergencies or chronic illnesses—heck, today’s plans don’t cover much until you reach your deductible anyway, right?—and you just might save yourself some money, and give the federal government the proverbial finger while you’re at it.

There are also many cost-sharing plans available to pair with your direct primary care provider—most are Health Sharing Ministries…

• Altrua Healthshare – (888) 244-3839
• Christian Healthcare Ministries – (800) 791-6225
• CMF CURO – (800) 840-7471
• Liberty Healthshare – (855) 585-4237
• Liberty Healthshare’s variant program, Liberty Direct – (888) 991-4885
• Medical Cost Sharing – (866) 826-5316
• Medishare – (800) 772-5689
• Samaritan Ministries – (877) 764-2426

 …—that aren’t beholden to the overreaching requirements of the ACA. Members submit their medical bills to the group for payment in exchange for a much lower membership fee than a traditional insurance policy costs.

Let’s be brutally honest: Congress is not going to fix what it broke. That much should be patently clear given last week’s Senate fiasco starring John “Repeal ObamaCare!” McCain. So. Are we subjects? Or are we a free people with a long history of overcoming obstacles via free-market solutions? It’s far past time we stopped behaving like the former.