Posted on 07/31/2017 8:03:25 AM PDT by pgkdan
The President has the authority to eliminate its illegal exemption immediately.
President Trump, having watched the Senate writhe in protracted labor for weeks without giving birth to even the ridiculous mouse dubbed “skinny repeal,” has taken to Twitter and issued this ultimatum: “If a new HealthCare Bill is not approved quickly, BAILOUTS for Insurance Companies and BAILOUTS for Members of Congress will end very soon!” It would be unwise for Trump’s enemies — on either side of the aisle — to disregard this as bluster. The President not only possesses the authority to follow through on both threats without consulting Congress, he can do so immediately with the overwhelming support of the voters.
Public support is particularly strong for ending the bailouts for members of Congress. This refers, of course, to the special dispensation that protects every member of both houses, as well as the people who work in their teeming staff offices, from the depredations of Obamacare. This exemption was created when Trump’s predecessor directed the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to classify Congress as a small business, and unknown congressional staffers submitted a fraudulent application to the D.C. Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) exchange claiming that the House and Senate employ only 45 people each.
Among the most mysterious, not to mention suspicious, features of this legal sleight-of-hand involves precisely who submitted the fraudulent application. If you open the above link, it will become obvious why the term “unknown congressional staffers” is used here. All of the names on the application have been redacted. When the Chairman of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee attempted to subpoena the D.C. SHOP exchange for an unexpurgated copy, five Republican Senators voted with the committee’s Democrats to quash the subpoena. Who says there’s no bipartisanship in the Senate?
Voter surveys have consistently shown that a huge majority of Americans disapprove of this skulduggery. One poll conducted shortly after it came to light showed that 92 percent of voters believe “it is unfair that Congress should be exempt from buying their insurance in the health exchanges.” The President can eliminate this congressional exemption by simply instructing the OPM to rescind Obama’s directive and issue a new rule that requires members of Congress and their staff to buy coverage through an Obamacare exchange. The voters would certainly consider that to be condign punishment for congressional inaction on repeal.
Likewise, the voters won’t shed too many tears if Trump follows through on his threat to end insurance company bailouts. The particular bailouts he has in mind are the “cost sharing reduction” (CSR) payments that his predecessor illegally distributed to insurers selling coverage on Obamacare exchanges. These subsidies were never appropriated by Congress, yet the Obama administration raided the Treasury and used the money for a corporate welfare scheme meant to artificially hold down premiums. U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer ruled this scheme unconstitutional last year but the Obama administration filed an appeal.
All President Trump has to do in order to stop these bailouts is to direct his Justice Department to drop the appeal, whereupon Judge Collyer’s ruling will stand, and the CSR payments will stop. It has been within the President’s power to issue this directive since he took office but he and his advisors judged it unwise to drop this fiscal bunker buster on the exchanges while “repeal and replace” was under consideration by Congress. But, if the Republicans can’t fix the Obamacare mess alone and the Democrats resolutely refuse to cooperate, what possible incentive does the President have to continue the CSR payments? Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer seems to believe the answer is the usual disingenuous Democrat sound and fury:
If the president refuses to make the cost sharing reduction payments, every expert agrees that premiums will go up and health care will be more expensive for millions of Americans. The president ought to stop playing politics with people’s lives and health care, start leading and finally begin acting presidential.
Schumer is evidently still counting on “the stupidity of the American voter,” as Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber famously phrased it. This is not a wise strategy. The electorate may be disappointed with the Republican repeal effort, but no one has forgotten who created the problem. The voters know all too well that premiums have skyrocketed since Obamacare was launched. If Schumer and the Democrats think they’ll prosper by blaming Trump for something that began long before he was elected, they should look at their own polling where the next few elections will be won or lost. At National Journal, Josh Kraushaar reports:
Republicans hold a 10-point lead on the generic ballot (43-33 percent) among these blue-collar voters. Democrats hold a whopping 61 percent disapproval rating among these voters, with only 32 percent approving. Even Trump’s job-approval rating is a respectable 52 percent with the demographic in these swing districts.
If Schumer and the rest of the Democrats have any sense, they’ll stop trashing Trump and work with congressional Republicans to find some solution to their Obamacare problem. And it is their problem. This ill-conceived law has decimated their party and promises to do more damage still if they spend all of their time defending it against the voters. On the other side of the aisle, the Republicans would bring new meaning to the term, “stupid party,” if they pass any legislation appropriating money for cost reduction payments or any other insurer bail-out along the lines suggested by Senator Susan Collins on Meet the Press yesterday morning.
I have been posting a variation of this for YEARS!!!
I disagree, we can SAVE Obamacare, we just need to Fully Implement it and give the Uniparty exactly what they are asking for.
I believe President Trump should Call their Bluff and Force the Issue.
When and ONLY WHEN Government Lives under the Same Laws as us will anything substantial happen
OBAMACARE Can be Saved!!
There are about 22 MILLION Public Employee’s Nationwide that are Ineligible for Subsidies, this infusion of New Paying Customers will SAVE OBAMACARE. the SEIU and every other Public Employee UNION fully Endorse Obamacare and have held numerous rallies in support thereof.
Let’s Give them what they want!
I believe our Public Employees deserve the Best Health Care America has to offer, and that is the Official Government Health Care Plan, Obamacare. So why don’t you quit pussyfooting around and Proudly Proclaim your desire to see that ALL Federal Employees receive the Finest, Most Affordable Health Care the US has to offer, OBAMACARE.
All the Money currently wasted on these inferior high priced cadillac plans can be diverted to the Wall.
There is ONLY ONE WAY to make it happen:
Executive Orders or Legislation, the chance of CONgress doing it are the same as OJ Confessing, so I am choosing Executive Orders.
1. All waivers to the Affordable Care act are hereby repealed.
2. There shall be NO funds drawn from the treasury to pay for Health Insurance for ANY Federal Employee except Members of the Armed Services.
3. ALL Federal Employees except members of the US Armed Services, SHALL purchase their own personal and Family Health Insurance from the Affordable Care Exchange in the state they legally reside.
4. There shall be NO Medicaid Reimbursement funds allocated to any State that does not have 100% of their Public Employees enrolled in the Affordable Care Act.
And to make sure it is Bipartisan, President Trump should VETO it every Time and FORCE them to Override his Veto to Repeal this Monstrosity.
Sign these 4 orders and it will be FULLY REPEALED in Less than 30 days.
NOT UNTIL, Anyone want to make a BET???
When and ONLY WHEN Government Lives under the Same Laws as us will anything substantial happen
should have happened January 21, 2017
If he canceled health insurance for all members of congress and put them under Obamacare he would be guaranteed re-election!!!
We agree in principle but Trump is in for a much bigger game. To win decisively, he knows that he needs to give all of them enough rope to politically hang themselves. He knows he drives the narrative with his tweets
Show them you mean business President Trump. As they are walking out the doors to head to their taxpayer subsidized undeserved vacays pull the plug on their precious BarryCare exemptions. Let them stew on that for their getaways.
It would take about ten minutes for a Democrat judge to stop this and it would be tied up in court for years.
Trump has played nice and tried to work with congress.
It hasn’t worked.
Time to introduce the Junk Yard Dog.
Immediately yank their special privileges and also make it retro-active to Jan 1st. That is, let them pay back the portions of their self-voted subsidies in return to their Uncle Sham. Goose = gander.
1. I don’t believe he has the power or authority to alter ObamaCare.
2. Union exemptions die in 2018. They will feel the pain.
3. Fk Congress and their patronizing palaver...
He has loads of discretionary power through the offices of Tom Price. Most of the plans details were enacted to be "at the discretion of the secretary" when the law was passed.
It would take about ten minutes for a Democrat judge to stop this and it would be tied up in court for years.
I don’t think so. Rescinding Obama’s ILLEGAL EO’s might find one stupid judge but even the 9th circus isn’t that stupid.
Not sure if they are willing to risk optics of going to court.....(thinking)...nah, optics would mean nothing
Send your bills to any of your favorite actors. They seem all for obamasscare. They have the money in Hollywood.
Well Donald, Like US Grant said. The best way to eliminate an obnoxious law is through its strict and complete enforcement.
Dear Mr President. Follow the advice of those who have given it much thought.
what really surprised me this morning going on Facebook I saw a large number of people I know are left anti trumper’s calling for this exact same thing of making Congress use the same Obamacare coverage that they dictate for the rest of us there’s a surprising logic to this that crosses political ideology
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/force-congress-use-obamacare
Please sign the petition to force a response. 100,000 sigs does just that!
Sure,but when he cancels the cost sharing payments to the insurance companies there won’t be any of them left.
Then you get exactly what the democrats have wanted all along,single payer.
But if you think Obama care wrecked the democrats last 3 elections,wait to see what that woukd do.
Sure,but when he cancels the cost sharing payments to the insurance companies there won’t be any of them left.
Then you get exactly what the democrats have wanted all along,single payer.
But if you think Obama care wrecked the democrats last 3 elections,wait to see what that woukd do.
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