A 2006 poll, conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, ABC News and USA Today and published by FOX News in 2009, found that most Americans are satisfied with their health care plans. Nevertheless, conservatives acknowledge that the health care system needs reformed at the national level due to high costs and breakdowns in coverage. While many liberals accuse conservatives of simply being obstructionists, there are legitimate alternative solutions to ObamaCare.

There are essentially two components to most conservative plans: tort reform and industry-wide competition. Getting there will take patience and hard work.

Difficulty: N/A

Time Required: Anywhere from One to Two Legislative Sessions (depending on the level of Congressional cooperation)

Here's How:

1. Develop Bipartisan Cooperation
   Perhaps the biggest single impediment to meaningful health care reform is the people who were elected to create it. Members of the US House and Senate need to put aside political differences, forget about universal health care and analyze the problems with the existing system. Scrapping an entire system is foolish and expensive; fixing what is wrong is hard work but rewarding. Raising taxes or expanding government won't help solve the problem -- it will just create new ones. Without cooperation from lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, there can be no reforms.
2. Gather Input from Tax-Payers
   Recent shouting matches at town-hall meetings have erupted primarily because lawmakers aren't listening to their constituents. Instead of opening the floor to taxpayers and finding out what is and is not working for them, certain lawmakers are telling their communities what they are planning to do -- regardless of any input they receive. If they open their ears, these Senators and Representatives will discover that high insurance premiums, lack of coverage and costly medications are preventing people from getting the decent health care they so desperately need.

1. Treat Industry Concerns with Skepticism
   It's not that the pharmaceutical and insurance industries shouldn't have a seat at the health care reform table, it's just that any contributions their representatives offer would only be made to enrich their companies. That doesn't make them "bad" or "good," that's just how companies work. By the same token, the reasons behind these industries' concerns should be analyzed and addressed if true reforms are to move forward. Without contributions from the leaders of these industries, loopholes will inevitably be found and exploited to the detriment of the health care recipient.
2. Pass Tort Reforms
   One of the main reasons for high health care costs is the excessive awards often doled out by activist judges. A delicate balance must be struck between consumer protection and the impact court rulings have on malpractice insurance premiums. Combining reasonable financial awards with license suspensions or revocations would go far toward creating a meaningful tort reform that prevents excessive damages from having a ripple effect on the health care industry. When insurance costs are high, providers must raise their rates, and in the end consumers ultimately pay for these lopsided rulings.
3. Streamline Competition in the Insurance Industry
   Another significant impediment to reasonable health care costs is the lack of choice. Not only are people forced into the insurance company their employer has chosen, they are also often told what doctors they can see. An open-market model that permits providers to practice nationwide would weed out ineffective or negligent providers and ensure quality health care for all. Meanwhile, allowing consumers to shop for health care insurance would build genuine national markets and give consumers greater control over their own health care decisions.
4. Promote Competition Within the Pharmaceutical Industry
   High prices for medications are also behind skyrocketing health care costs. Drug manufacturers can corner the market with a specific medication and fix the price at whatever level they want. Competition within the pharmaceutical industry would force down drug prices and expand cheaper generic drug alternatives by allowing more manufacturers into the market. Establishing safety protocols would allow for the re-importation of drugs, which would keep competition in the drug industry vigorous, as well.
5. Separate Health Care from Employment
   Shopping for health care insurance should be like shopping for car insurance. Individuals should be permitted to obtain insurance privately or (instead of the government) through organizations of their choice: employers, churches, professional associations or others. Allowing consumers to shop for coverage also promotes competition between conventional and alternative care providers and enables consumers to tailor insurance plans that meet their specific needs, thus eliminating the problem of people not being able to obtain health insurance because of "pre-existing conditions."
6. Establish a Transparent Framework
   In all cases of health care competition, the consumer would be protected through enforcement of federal protections against collusion, unfair business actions and deceptive consumer practices, for which laws and penalties already exist. While keeping the government out of free-market health care is ideal, laws should be passed that force companies to operate in good faith -- this means no hidden fees or back-door costs to the consumer.
7. Fix Medicare
   Dramatic reforms in Medicare would have to supplement a free-market health care system. For example, the Medicare payment system, which currently compensates providers for treatment regarding the prevention, diagnosis and care of ailments, would have to be overhauled into a tiered system, with providers not being paid for preventable medical errors, negligence or mismanagement. Since most Medicare recipients are elderly, the overhauled system would have to be designed to favor the consumer, not the provider.