Saturday, December 03, 2016

BUMMER: GOP Plans Immediate Obamacare Repeal and Delay

By William Teach

You can’t just rip the bandaid off:

(NY Times) Republicans in Congress plan to move almost immediately next month to repeal the Affordable Care Act, as President-elect Donald J. Trump promised. But they also are likely to delay the effective date so that they have several years to phase out President Obama’s signature achievement.

This emerging “repeal and delay” strategy, which Speaker Paul D. Ryan discussed this week with Vice President-elect Mike Pence, underscores a growing recognition that replacing the health care law will be technically complicated and could be politically explosive.

Since the law was signed by Mr. Obama in March 2010, 20 million uninsured people have gained coverage, and the law has become deeply embedded in the nation’s health care system, accepted with varying degrees of enthusiasm by consumers, doctors, hospitals, insurance companies and state and local governments.

This is the wise move. No matter how bad the law is, no matter how silly it is to have health insurance that people can’t afford to use because of the high deductibles, no matter than insurance providers are dropping out left and right, no matter that the premiums are being jacked up beyond normal rates (and the taxpayers are often paying to cover these through subsidies), no matter etc and so on the problems, the time to eradicate this law immediately was in 2013. Had Republicans come out and voted for Romney, it could have been killed off easily. Now, with it being so embedded, the replacement plan needs to be slowly implemented so that those with Obamacare (let’s not forget that millions of those with Ocare plans were not new to the insurance market, but, simply people who lost their plans due to Ocare and had to sign up via Ocare) and want health insurance are able to keep it.

So the GOP will make sure that there is a transition period so that people aren’t harmed. Obviously, the Times thinks this is a Bad Idea:

But health policy experts suggest “repeal and delay” would be extremely damaging to a health care system already on edge.

“The idea that you can repeal the Affordable Care Act with a two- or three-year transition period and not create market chaos is a total fantasy,” said Sabrina Corlette, a professor at the Health Policy Institute of Georgetown University. “Insurers need to know the rules of the road in order to develop plans and set premiums.”

Would these be the same policy experts who helped write this turd of a law in the first place? The insurers don’t seem to be doing so well knowing the current rules of the road when it comes to Ocare, do they?

But in the Senate, Republicans would need support from some Democrats if they are to replace the Affordable Care Act.

The budget reconciliation rules that would allow Republicans to dismantle the Affordable Care Act have strict limits. The rules are primarily intended to protect legislation that affects spending or revenues. The health law includes insurance market standards and other policies that do not directly affect the budget, and Senate Republicans would, in many cases, need 60 votes to change such provisions.

Really? Dems used parliamentary shenanigans followed by the budget reconciliation method to pass this turd of a bill. Democrats do not get to complain if Republicans do the same. Here’s a phrase you should get used to: you lost.


Read more at The Piarate's Cove.
 

4 comments:

Doom said...

When I first heard, without understanding, I was quite unhappy. However, when details filtered in, I am satisfied. I don't like it, but I understand fully. It really is about the people. The tangle this monstrosity created is horrible. Then again, maybe people on it can't afford to use it, so it's... not really anything. I still think every politician who was involved with this should be sent to prison. The politicians who were for it AND made money off it should be shot, after a fair trial anyway. But RIGHT after. *grins*

Anonymous said...

I've never considered the law valid because of the absolute crap that was pulled in passing it and pseudo-legitimizing it in the courts. It made a complete mockery of both the legislative and judicial process. I think that's the real heart of the issue with most Americans.

Many people are completely unaware of how Obamacare was passed. If you provide them with an useful, simple analogy, instead of the obfuscated "rules" they begin to realize just why so many are "angry." The Supreme Court couldn't rule on the technical manipulations of Congress and to make matters worse Roberts threw his own manipulations in there as well.

US citizens deplore arrogant hubris and being taken, so it's understandable why the GOP is taking this approach.

Woody said...

Some one explain why we need government involved at all. Please does every one really believe that government is fixing anything when it comes to healthcare, health insurance, or basically anything it is ever involved in? Get rid of Obamacare and get out of trying to manage the healthcare or health insurance of the nation. We have laws that can be used for insurance fraud, we have laws that can be used when it comes to harm done, we don't need laws dictating what my insurance has to cover, I can handle that. We don't need laws dictating what medical equipment a given health care provider is allowed to buy and use. All of this mess was started by government and can be ended by withdrawing government. Don't get me wrong, there will still be problems, but nothing like what we have today. It always comes back to the very same argument, "but we need government because people aren't able to take care of themselves". It always boils down to a complete lack of faith in your neighbor without considering that means they think the same of you. Can YOU take care of yourself?

Eskyman said...

"Had Republicans come out and voted for Romney, it could have been killed off easily [in 2013.]"

I don't share your faith that Romney would have repealed this terrible law. He's one of the GOPe that say one thing but do quite another. Lots of GOPe promises were given: first, the House was necessary to do something about Oblablacare; then the Senate was necessary; when Republicans had both, still nothing was done.

Neither party can be trusted, which they've proven over and over. Now our medical and insurance industries are both really screwed up (yes, they are- and should be *separate* industries) and unravelling this Gordian knot will be difficult!