[Discussion] Health Policies and ACA Reform/Repeal

The existing health thread is for discussion on how changes to current policy will/have personally affected you or those you know. This thread is for more general discussion of the subject.

OG_slinger wrote:
DSGamer wrote:

Cool cool. They still have 4 days, right?

Yes. Technically, they can still try to squeeze it in under budget reconciliation until the end of the month.

But if McConnell's calling off a vote now then that pretty much means he doesn't have anywhere near the 50 votes needed and he's just trying to save face.

Of course the bad news is that there's already talk that some Republicans want to jam the ACA repeal together with cutting taxes for companies and the rich *and* the 2018 budget to ensure something happens this year.

Exactly. Don't ever exhale. They'll be at this forever. It was a dumb promise when they made it and they're going to hang themselves or the American people with it. I'll bet $1000 it's not themselves.

DSGamer wrote:

Exactly. Don't ever exhale. They'll be at this forever. It was a dumb promise when they made it and they're going to hang themselves or the American people with it. I'll bet $1000 it's not themselves.

I don't know. I kinda get the feeling that there's a quiet consensus building among Republicans that repealing and replacing the ACA is a lost cause. They don't have the legislative chops to craft a law that isn't absolutely heartless (and that the American public doesn't hate) and they are incapable of working or compromising with Democrats.

I'm sure there'll be a couple of crazy Republican hardliners who will pull together some kind of half hearted attempt to repeal and replace because their base demands it, but pretty much every Republican up for reelection next year will want to avoid voting to take away the healthcare of millions of Americans a few months before people hit the ballot box.

And, on top of all that, Republicans are getting pressure from their real masters to move on to tax "reform."

I really wonder if there is still support to repeal ACA from the Republican base. Sure, from the old people already on Medicare (since they have their healthcare), but there has been a lot of educating going on since the repeal efforts have started in earnest.

Nevin73 wrote:

I really wonder if there is still support to repeal ACA from the Republican base. Sure, from the old people already on Medicare (since they have their healthcare), but there has been a lot of educating going on since the repeal efforts have started in earnest.

You've got competing priorities. It's already been shown that a majority of individuals like the ACA. On the other side. The letter "R" means people will simply do what they're told by their representatives, regardless of if it's good for them or not....

If I was to make a guess, I'd bet that they stop trying to make big legislative pushes on health care, and focus on either sabotaging the bill (probably mostly from the Executive branch), or quietly dismantling parts of it as part of other bills.

It feels like the GOP has been going after this thing with kamikaze attacks. They don't care how it looks, or what kind of damage it inflicts on the American people, they just want this thing dead at any cost. I'm not sure how the hell you fight that.

I'm already hearing some Republican pundits saying don't worry, the President will just withhold funding for the ACA and kill it that way since Congress couldn't get its act together. Of course they were also calling for Arizona to recall McCain (which it can't do) to "reduce his stress and give him a better chance at fighting the cancer" and replace him with someone who would "uphold his campaign promises" and repeal Obamacare. So yeah, the hatred of the ACA is at such irrational levels right now that I don't think it can be fought with facts or letter writing campaigns.

Kehama wrote:

So yeah, the hatred of the ACA is at such irrational levels right now that I don't think it can be fought with facts or letter writing campaigns.

I've got 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 on conference call. They want to know if things get better and I don't know how to break it to them.

FFS... die already. (Interpret that as you wish)

Trump to sign executive order on healthcare

"I'll probably be signing a very major executive order where people can go out, cross state lines, do lots of things and buy their own health care, and that will be probably signed next week," he told reporters Wednesday. "It's being finished now. It's going to cover a lot of territory and a lot of people. Millions of people."

Never know, maybe he'll accidentally include Medicare for All as part of the "lots of things".

I won't be surprised if after the outcry, he rescinds his own executive order while blaming the original one on Obama.

So he's going to sign an Executive Order that allows something that the ACA already allows, that six states passed legislation to allow as well, but no insurance provider has decided to actually do?

OG_slinger wrote:

So he's going to sign an Executive Order that allows something that the ACA already allows, that six states passed legislation to allow as well, but no insurance provider has decided to actually do?

He didn’t become the most accomplished president in US history by sitting on his hands. /s

OG_slinger wrote:

So he's going to sign an Executive Order that allows something that the ACA already allows, that six states passed legislation to allow as well, but no insurance provider has decided to actually do?

If I had to bet, I'd say it will also include some sh*t to sabotage the ACA at the same time.

The Trump Administration Just Confirmed That It Is Sabotaging Obamacare

Earlier in the day, BuzzFeed News revealed that the Trump administration had instructed the Health Department’s ten regional directors not to participate in state-based events promoting ACA enrollment, as they had for each of the past three years. After multiple outlets asked the agency for a comment on the move, HHS press secretary Caitlin Oakley offered the following:
"Marketplace enrollment events are organized and implemented by outside groups with their own agendas, not HHS. These events may continue regardless of HHS participation."
 

"Obamacare has never lived up to enrollment expectations despite the previous administration’s best efforts. The American people know a bad deal when they see one and many won’t be convinced to sign up for ‘Washington-knows-best’ health coverage that they can’t afford. For the upcoming enrollment period, Americans are being hit with another round of double-digit premium hikes and nearly half of our nation’s counties are facing Obamacare monopolies. As Obamacare continues to collapse, HHS is carefully evaluating how we can best serve the American people who continue to be harmed by Obamacare’s failures."

So: Asked to respond to the allegation that it is deliberately undermining ACA-enrollment efforts — in defiance of its legal responsibilities — the Trump administration released a written statement explicitly discouraging Americans from enrolling in the program.

What the heck are "Obamacare monopolies"?

Kehama wrote:

What the heck are "Obamacare monopolies"?

A fictional talking point.

Kehama wrote:

What the heck are "Obamacare monopolies"?

The name of my Taxpayers cover band.

Kehama wrote:

What the heck are "Obamacare monopolies"?

Regions were only one provider is available on the exchange.

OG_slinger wrote:
DSGamer wrote:

Exactly. Don't ever exhale. They'll be at this forever. It was a dumb promise when they made it and they're going to hang themselves or the American people with it. I'll bet $1000 it's not themselves.

I don't know. I kinda get the feeling that there's a quiet consensus building among Republicans that repealing and replacing the ACA is a lost cause.

Oh, good, another lost cause. I'm gonna be tearing/melting down Mitch McConnell statues when I'm 80.

This thread by Andy Slavitt is worth a read. He lays out what he thinks the GOP's next attempt to kill the ACA is going to look like, based on the last few days on the Hill. It doesn't look pretty:

https://twitter.com/ASlavitt/status/...

The tl;dr version:
1) Use and EO to allow no-prexisting condition plans, and turn the ACA into a big high risk pool.
2) Massive medicaid cuts in the form of their tax plan.
3) Sabotage the rest using all the levers the ACA allows.

The best part for them is that 1 and 3 don't need Congressional approval, and 2 can get disguised as a tax cut instead of health care cuts. 1 might even be celebrated because premiums for the healthy person pool might actually be lower at first.

This seems like a frighteningly likely scenario.

And here comes the other half. He's now stopping premium subsidy payments on ACA plans. So unless Congress passes something saying payments have to continue, this is basically it for a lot of people being able to afford insurance. f*cking lovely.

It is impressive how much you can do through EO. Guess he isn't anti-Obama in all regards.

Shadout wrote:

It is impressive how much you can do through EO. Guess he isn't anti-Obama in all regards.

You always become the thing you hate the most. I mean except minorities, he can't actually become one of those.

Mixolyde wrote:
Shadout wrote:

It is impressive how much you can do through EO. Guess he isn't anti-Obama in all regards.

You always become the thing you hate the most. I mean except minorities, he can't actually become one of those.

Despite his best efforts with the spray tanning. When you add it all up, it really seems like as far as Trump's opinion on Obama goes, he hates him because he anus.

Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray announce deal to extend health insurance subsidies

Democratic and Republican leaders in the Senate announced they have reached a bipartisan deal to shore up the Affordable Care Act health insurance markets for two years while Congress continues to grapple with GOP efforts to replace the law.

Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., the leaders of the Senate health committee, said Tuesday they have struck a deal for a two-year extension of subsidies for insurance companies to cover low-income clients — subsidies that President Trump canceled last week.

Obviously a positive thing if they can save the healthcare system from being destroyed by Trump.
But seems extremely negative if they confirm to Trump that he gets what he want when he destroys stuff.

It plays out in my head like this: Trump clearly knew this was coming (he's been calling Alexander to 'urge him to reach a deal with Murray' -per farley's link). I think he just wants to score point with the base. He gets to talk big, notch a 'win' in the scrap heap that is anti-ACA. So he ends the subsidies, knowing that a deal on the subsidies is about to be announced and is likely to pass. Now when the deal comes through he can claim (like he's trying to on the Dreamer Act) that it was his actions that prompted them to reach a deal after failing with Repeal/Replace. He gets a win and he gets to be the dealmaker (at least to his base), all because as President he is privy to the details before they become public.

Jolly Bill wrote:

It plays out in my head like this: Trump clearly knew this was coming (he's been calling Alexander to 'urge him to reach a deal with Murray' -per farley's link). I think he just wants to score point with the base. He gets to talk big, notch a 'win' in the scrap heap that is anti-ACA. So he ends the subsidies, knowing that a deal on the subsidies is about to be announced and is likely to pass. Now when the deal comes through he can claim (like he's trying to on the Dreamer Act) that it was his actions that prompted them to reach a deal after failing with Repeal/Replace. He gets a win and he gets to be the dealmaker (at least to his base), all because as President he is privy to the details before they become public.

Meanwhile those of us with anxiety who are worried about our future get one step closer to an actual hear attack due to being constantly threatened / gaslit by the president.

"These were great ideas, but Obama used EOs to put them in place. We can push them through via Congress and take the credit."
"DO IT!"

When you're already at rock bottom, what's the risk in doing something like this in an attempt to look legitimate? (I don't mean the risk to everyone who isn't the assholes doing this. I doubt they care about that.)