Business Insider GOP primary debate: on Health Care

Joe Walsh: Look at things like universal catastrophic care coverage

Walsh: This would probably be, if I'm elected president, the issue I would start with. There is no more important issue in this country than this. We've got the American people living longer and longer. That's a good thing. But how we pay for the health care for all of these Americans living longer? You've got Republicans out there saying nothing. Because they're afraid to talk about health care. It would be the issue I'd want to lead a discussion on.

Q: What would you do?

Walsh: We have to take care of and make sure that people in need in this country and those people with chronic health care conditions are always taken care of and never have to worry about their health care needs the rest of the American people need to begin paying for the day to day health care costs and then look at things like universal catastrophic care coverage.

Joe Walsh: 2013: engage in civil disobedience to defy ObamaCare

On healthcare:
• Walsh is a staunch opponent of the Affordable Care Act, known as "ObamaCare," and supports repealing the law in favor of a free market system.
• In 2013, Walsh suggested breaking the law and to "engage in civil disobedience" to defy ObamaCare in Chicago.
• While in Congress, Walsh supported several bills that aimed to either repeal ObamaCare in its entirety or to strip key aspects of the law.
• Back in 2010, Walsh opposed government-sponsored health insurance in a Chicago Tribune questionnaire. "I am opposed to a government sponsored health care system. We need only look to the health care systems in Canada or Great Britain to see evidence of this. I support Republican proposals such as allowing insurance companies to compete across state lines, tort reform, and Medical Savings Accounts to reduce costs. Allowing competition across state lines and eliminating these costly mandates will reduce costs for most people," Walsh wrote.