Posted on 03/07/2017 9:37:25 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Even before Congressional Republicans revealed their plan to replace Obamacare on Monday, many conservatives had expressed concerns that the bill would become "Obamacare Lite" — more a modification than a full "repeal and replace." For those unsatisfied with the health reform blueprint, President Donald Trump tweeted an answer Tuesday morning.
"Don't worry, getting rid of state lines, which will promote competition, will be in phase 2 & 3 of healthcare rollout," the president declared via Twitter.
Follow Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump Don't worry, getting rid of state lines, which will promote competition, will be in phase 2 & 3 of healthcare rollout. @foxandfriends 8:41 AM - 7 Mar 2017 8,967 8,967 Retweets 41,101 41,101 likes
Trump's suggestion that the Republican replacement for Obamacare will be a process might be a belated attempt to assuage conservative opposition to the new health plan, attacked as "TrumpCare" or "Obamacare Lite."
The attacks were vicious, and not without merit.
"The very first thing - THE FIRST THING - we were told is that we're going to REPEAL and REPLACE. The new law itself starts with 'amends,'" Joe Cunningham, a senior contributing editor at RedState, posted on Twitter. "As in, it AMENDS the Obamacare. Which is not what Republican voters have been promised all this time, now is it?"
Joe Cunningham @JoePCunningham Trying to figure out what the House ACA replacement actually fixes, because it just looks like everything is worse now. Follow
Joe Cunningham @JoePCunningham
The very first thing - THE FIRST THING - we were told is that we're going to REPEAL and REPLACE. The new law itself starts with "amends." 8:02 AM - 7 Mar 2017 31 31 Retweets 45 45 likes
RedState's Caleb Howe was even more blunt: "The House has released their plan for replacing Obamacare, and if you were expecting some kind of full repeal like what every Republican in the galaxy has been promising for the last thousand years, forget it. This isn’t that."
Daniel Horowitz, senior editor at Conservative Review, said the new health plan was even worse than "Obamacare-lite."
The first thing to understand about the GOP healthcare bill is that it is not merely Obamacare-lite or a bad “replacement” bill. It doesn’t repeal the core of Obamacare in the first place. In fact, the few parts that it repeals or tweaks within a few years will actually intensify the death spiral of Obamacare when mixed with the core regulatory structure, exacerbated by the subsidies that they do keep. And this time, the GOP will own it politically. All of it. But it wasn't only conservative bloggers attacking the bill. Three conservative Republican senators posted a message in tandem on Twitter: "2 yrs ago, the GOP Congress voted to repeal Obamacare. That 2015 repeal language should be the floor, the bare minimum.
#FullRepeal"
Rand Paul: I Will Not Vote for 'Obamacare Lite' Follow
Ted Cruz ✔ @tedcruz
2 yrs ago, the GOP Congress voted to repeal Obamacare. That 2015 repeal language should be the floor, the bare minimum. #FullRepeal 8:07 PM - 27 Feb 2017
2,171 2,171 Retweets 6,060 6,060 likes
Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Utah Senator Mike Lee, and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul each pushed the same message.
Follow
Mike Lee ✔ @SenMikeLee
2 yrs ago, GOP Congress voted to repeal #Obamacare. That 2015 repeal language should be the minimum. #FullRepeal @SenTedCruz @SenRandPauI 8:20 PM - 27 Feb 2017 1,015 1,015 Retweets 2,080 2,080 likes
This is significant, since any Republican plan could only afford to lose two Republican votes in the U.S. Senate and still pass.
Follow Senator Rand Paul ✔ @RandPaul
2 yrs ago, the GOP Congress voted to repeal Obamacare. That 2015 repeal language should be the floor, the bare minimum. #FullRepeal 8:17 PM - 27 Feb 2017 1,871 1,871 Retweets 4,455 4,455 likes
Paul joined North Carolina Congressman Mark Meadows in calling for an immediate repeal of Obamacare, and debating a replacement later. "We own repeal. We ran on it. It is our idea. We have to pass it cleanly, now," Paul and Meadows declared in a Fox News op-ed Monday night.
"We should debate all of these replacement ideas on the same day we pass Repeal, but we will have to separate the debate into at least two different bills because there is no consensus with leadership on replacement," Paul and Meadows wrote. They attacked "Republican leadership" for supporting several parts of Obamacare:
1. Leadership wants to keep ObamaCare-like subsidies to buy insurance but rename them refundable tax credits (families will be given up to $14,000 dollars of other people's money)
2. leadership wants to keep the ObamaCare Cadillac tax but rename it a tax on the top 10% of people who have the best insurance.
3. Leadership wants to keep the individual mandate but instead of mandating a tax penalty to the government they mandate a penalty to the insurance company (can it possibly be Constitutional to mandate a penalty to a private insurance company?)
4. Leadership wants to keep $100 billion of the insurance company subsidies from ObamaCare but call them "reinsurance". (Why? Because insurance companies love guaranteed issue as long as the taxpayer finances it!)
"Conservatives don't want new taxes, new entitlements and an 'ObamaCare Lite' bill," Paul and Meadows wrote. "If leadership insists on replacing ObamaCare with ObamaCare-lite, no repeal will pass."
These two Republicans called for a clean passage of the same 2015 legislation originally supported by Republicans to repeal Obamacare.
Rather than following Trump's plan of passing a "repeal and replace" bill which really amends Obamacare, and then supporting further modifications later on in "phase 2 & 3 of healthcare rollout," Senator Paul and Congressman Meadows called for an immediate repeal, followed by a robust and open debate on what a replacement should look like.
This way of proceeding might be painful and certainly will be turbulent, but it is in the best interest of the nation — and the Republican Party. Republicans attacked Democrats for secret negotiations in crafting Obamacare, and especially condemned Nancy Pelosi's infamous declaration that Congress would have to pass it to see what's in it.
In order to really replace Obamacare, Republicans need to have a transparent debate from the beginning, not pass a faux "repeal and replace," only to amend that later, as Trump tweeted.
Phase 2.....
Because a complete repeal requires a ‘replace’ that would need 60 votes in the Senate.
Besides, if “complete repeal” is taken literally it means removing those between 21 and 26 from parent’s plans.
It means not covering pre-existing conditions.
Repealing those elements is political suicide.
Let’s also be politically real, shall we? “Why not repeal?” — also, “why not World Peace?”
There is lots of concern about those that have obtained coverage under Obamacare that they will lose that. That will be a potent weapon for Democrats to use, and there is significant fear amongst establishment Republicans on that issue.
That’s political reality. So if not this current bill, they still have to make it politically palatable.
TrumpCare plan
2 year plan
5 year plan
10 year plan
15 year plan
20 year plan
Just do not get sick!
Once again the Republicans live up to expectations - the worst expectations rather than their promises. Where did “repeal” go?
Quite simply- without some sort of guarantee for people who have played the game by the rules and then in later age find themselves without coverage for pre existing conditions, it will not fly.
I know more than one person who worked steadily all their adult life, got laid off in their 50’s after having developed (and cared for) a condition like diabetes or heart disease. No coverage, no coverage available at any price because of a condition. If this is your situation the alternative is death, pretty much, which for a lot of people means that ALL other considerations fly out the window.
For a lot of people better *ANYTHING* that gives them a chance of coverage, however poor, at whatever cost to their liberties and damage to the ideal of republican, limited government, than early death. When it’s survival, nothing else matters, not the constitution, not freedom, not the honesty of dishonesty of the government- survival.
Agreed. We should “repair” Obamacare. Delete everything except the paragraph that allows junior to stay on Mommy’s insurance until age 26. That is the perfect fix to a fatally-flawed law.
This is Ryan’s plan and Trump should not have signed onto this.
Ryan is a weasel and should have been Cantorized.
He certainly should not have returned as Speaker.
The leadership in both the House and Senate are Uniparty eunuchs who will not voluntarily do what the voters want.
Rand Paul is right. Repeal. Every. Word.
Tweaking Obamacare is not what I voted for.
better do it before the 2018 elections.
Make every member of congress have this new rino-care. Not just us!
Nonsense.
Nobody cared that people lost their healthcare with Ocare.
But now we must care? Shove it!
You’ve bought into what the liberals sold and own the language. Why replace? Why not just repeal period? What was wrong with my healthcare pre Obamacare!? Why have we let libtards beat repubtards in owning the language? My healthcare was just fine ore Obamacare so repeal and not replace. And a complete repeal doesn’t require 60 does it thank to Harry Reid?
Repeal government socialized medicine and replace it with improved government socialized medicine is missing the point.
Any program that gives the government control of the citizens health is fraught with danger.
A lot of people are going to lose their coverage under this bill, too. So passing this turkey will be provide the Democrats with just as potent a weapon.
One more time.
Whatever you think you DEMAND, number one criteria is it has to pass a narrow majority in the Senate — because make NO MISTAKE about this —— The very worst thing that can happen is
“The Republicans couldn’t even pass a bill.”
AMEN!!! You notice we have some who are softening the blow for Trump when it lands on his desk. BS! The people want this full repeal now give it to us! To hell with what liberals say it’s time to fight back not just take it in the keister. This is Trumps first test. Does he pal with the establishment or send it back and tell them try again and make it more conservative getting government out of the way?
No Republicans voted for Obamacare though. Please remember that. It is not their problem if 26 year old son lose their coverage.
See above, The Very Worst Thing That Can Happen Is The Republicans Could Not Even Pass A Bill.
So be damn sure you have the votes for a Repeal with nothing else. (You don’t)
TrumpCare 2016
Rand Paul for President 2020!
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