Posted on 03/30/2010 6:58:51 PM PDT by RobinMasters
The drive to “repeal and replace” the newly enacted health care-reform law has already bumped into a bit of Beltway conventional wisdom: Entitlements are never repealed. Even if Republicans somehow summoned the political will to try, they would first need to win the presidency and a filibuster-proof majority in the U.S. Senate.
That would be a tall order, to be sure. And no one should underestimate the difficulty of reversing what Washington has wrought—in a welfare state, the ratchet effect usually works only one way. But those who say it has never been done before are forgetting about the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988.
Unlike President Obama’s recent health care handiwork, the 1988 law was a genuinely bipartisan achievement passed by lopsided margins. It was signed into law by a Republican president, Ronald Reagan. It offered all kinds of new benefits, including expanded coverage of hospital stays, at-home care, and prescription drugs (the act was in some respects of a forerunner of Medicare Part D).
The Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act was nevertheless repealed a year later. No change in partisan control of Washington was necessary—the repeal was passed by a Democratic Congress and signed into law by another Republican president, George H.W. Bush. The repeal turned out to be most popular with the elderly voters who had demanded the new benefits in the first place.
Why? In addition to creating new benefits, the reform also imposed staggering new costs. Those costs fell most heavily on the senior citizens who were supposed to be the program’s biggest constituency. But, congressional Democrats were astonished to learn, many of these seniors were happy with their existing coverage and resented having to pay a new tax to fund this expansion of government—costs which kicked in before many of the benefits.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailycaller.com ...
Ping
I mentioned this a few days ago! I just couldn’t remember when it was passed and repealed or what it was called. It didn’t last long!
The difference between then and now is that the Medicare Cat Care was passed with a bipartisan congress and a bipartisan congress repealed it. Or, more clearly, Republicans were involved. Then as now, citizens complained. Then, they complained after they found out about it. Today, we complained, (and complained, and tea partied, and went to town halls, etc., etc., etc.) before it passed. But the difference is the Democrats DO NOT LISTEN TO THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE.
I would say that we have a fair chance at repeal, thou not while Obama’s president, as he will surely veto anything congress passes to undo his government monstrosity.
Unfortunately 2013 is the earliest possible date of any repeal. So this program will be in place for at least 3 years if the court doesn’t do the right thing, as many expect it wont due to the corrupt nature of our Federal court being a rubber stamp on just about what ever its Federal masters want in terms of a power grab.
Constitutional Federal Government my ass.
Very interesting. Thanks for the post/ping.
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