During a recent interview on “Meet the Press,” Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance set forth a brief, but troubling, agenda for reforming our health care system. As the parent of an adult child with cystic fibrosis, based on our family’s experience, his plan would be devastating to those with chronic or debilitating diseases.

For many years, the Republicans have argued that the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) should be repealed, but never proposed a feasible replacement. This, of course, is ironic because the genesis of Obamacare (and in particular the individual mandate) originated with a 1989 paper written by Stuart Butler, then a health economist at The Heritage Foundation.

As a response to Hillary Clinton’s health care proposals during the Clinton Administration, four Republican senators devised an alternative to the Clinton plan based on Butler’s paper.

The Republican plan was built upon two fundamental components: an individual mandate and exchanges run by private insurers.

That plan was also the basis for a Massachusetts health care plan championed by former Gov. Mitt Romney. Obamacare was heavily based on the principles advocated by both Romney and the four Republican senators.

The individual mandate imposes a tax for failure........

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