Posted on 03/01/2017 7:01:57 PM PST by ForYourChildren
If Republicans were trying to illustrate Reagan’s complaint about pale pastel differences between the two major parties, they couldn’t have done a better job concocting their health care plan. Otherwise, the draft of the GOP plan leaked to Politico would be an utter disaster — both from a policy and political standpoint. The sum of the GOP plan is to take everything that is bad about Obamacare — taxes, regulations, subsidies, and mandates — and leave the critical structure in place, albeit with some policy tweaks around the edges. Worse, even those tweaks don’t occur for another three years. Thus, absent a provision freezing all new enrollment in the comatose exchanges and in Medicaid expansion, a provision not mentioned in the current draft, states will have a perverse incentive to flood the rolls of Obamacare before the minor cuts and restructuring takes place.
The result of the GOP plan is that prices will not come down, choice and competition will not expand in a meaningful way, and the stress on the budget will not be relieved. Meanwhile, the perception will be that Obamacare was repealed and Republicans will then own this disastrous outcome. Stupid is as stupid does.
{..snip..}
(Excerpt) Read more at conservativereview.com ...
Is healthcare a legal power authorized to the federal government by the constitution?
I read an article recently that said instead of looking at the typical leftist "class warfare" in society, we actually have a conflict of those "protected" and those "unprotected."
Those whose lives are guaranteed, while there are those who must bear the brunt of real-world economics and the consequences of social-engineering. The "protected" of course are the largest businesses, government, its employees, its proponents, its media, its cronies, its paid supporters and its wealthy leaders. The "unprotected" are the low-wage worker, the small businessman, the self-employed, large parts of the working middle class exposed to globalism and uncontrolled borders. Health-care is a perfect example of this - if someone else is paying, you think everything is fine.
Leftists think they speak for the latter, but are part of the former. Most people working in DC are in the "protected" class.
- Allow & encourage underwriters to sell in all states
- Stop mandating policy coverages.
- Allow companies to offer policies with a la carte coverage. i.e. make things like this optional. You want them, you pay for them:
maternity
birth control
abortion
sex change
mental health treatment
drug and alcohol treatment
the list goes on and on
I read an article recently that said instead of looking at the typical leftist “class warfare” in society, we actually have a conflict of those “protected” and those “unprotected.”
Yes and the major part of the “protected group” is our public employees. They have to be separated from their “taxpayer provided” healthcare benefits as part of this Obamacare overhaul. Everyone understands that PE pensions are going into the crapper right now, but there is a lesser understanding that the parallel healthcare benefits are in the same boat. There simply isn’t enough money in the country to continue to provide these overly generous and unsustainable benefits.
I assume you would also eliminate Medicare? If so, my elderly self and elderly wife would have the choice of becoming destitute within a couple of years and either have a painful death or suicide. Ours is a common situation even with people like us who have adequately saved for retirement or those yet working.
I would hardly expect the Medical and Pharmaceutical industry to reduce their profits.
..........this sounds like the Chamber of Commerce pimping for the Medical Insurance Industry.
If I don’t hear it out of Trumps mouth, I don’t believe it.
“If I don’t hear it out of Trumps mouth, I don’t believe it.”
Your point is well taken. The article says within the first few sentences...
“..the draft of the GOP plan leaked to Politico”
So we will see.
Some liberty-minded senators have already objected to this bogus plan that was put forth by none other than the RINO in chief, Paul Ryan. If this is the best the Republicans can do, they aren’t worth a bucket of warm spit.
That's not a big deal either way, virtually no effect on premiums.
2. Re-institution of lifetime caps
True.
3. No coverage for preexisting conditions.
Not within the general "healthy pool" but rather it is done by sequestering them in High Risk Pools, funded by all carriers.
but not the benefits.
What benefits? It's welfare. It has subsidized premiums but has coverage limitations, deductibles and co-pays so high...they can't even use it. It's junk. People hate it.
I haven't heard any politician yet mention anything rational with regard to Obamacare.
Repealing it altogether sounds pretty rational. Even just going back to the way it was is a massive improvement.
The idea that allowing insurance companies to sell insurance across state borders will bring costs down significantly is a real joke.
Wrong!
The main concepts are selling across state lines and portability...Some states (like those in the Northeast) have rotten public policy, and some have excellent market conditions.
People will obviously gravitate to the best plans, and the carriers will be shouting from the rooftops who has the best plans. Just exactly like life, homeowners, or car insurance.
All it's going to do is force conservative states to accept the liberal nonsense of more highly populated Blue states, e.g. coverage for sex change operations, abortions, etc.
Yeah, that's ridiculous.
Healthy people will buy the best deals from whatever state out there, and the stupid carriers will either barely continue to exist with ultra-high premiums....or succumb to the rigors of adverse selection and go bankrupt after a long "death-spiral".
“Is healthcare a legal power authorized to the federal government by the constitution?”
You should take that up with the US Supreme Court and see if you can get them to overturn obamacare as unconstitutional.
I’ll chip in a buck if you start a gofundme page.
Yes they do, and his name is Tom Price....now Secretary of DHHS. He will also be making provider reform recommendations.
In point of fact, Congress itself doesn’t actually have the capability to draft such a complex piece of legislation.
Of course they do. Every state has public policy directing limitations on health insurance. Most in Congress have served in state legislatures at some point. Proper health insurance legislation is old hat.
See: NCOIL
Maybe.
The commerce clause.
That also barely affects premium....except mental health and chiropractic.
The cross "subsidization" between coverages for diverse individuals, virtually cancels out any premium increases. A single standard coverage plan allows the carrier to need only one basic policy, instead of a million different versions and an equal number of actuarial calculations.
That allows cheaper and quicker policy turnaround. Total underwriting is highly effective in keeping premiums low.
So we will see.
See: Tom Price plan.
Back in the’50s, actuarials showed that the average life expectancy was 65. More old people were poor compared to now and couldn’t afford to go to the hospital. The experts back then low-balled the cost of Medicare and didn’t account for the positive impact on longevity.
Prior to Obamacare, all but about 8-10 million people had some type of insurance either an individual plan or one provided by their employer, Medicaid or other local/state plan, Medicare for the old folks. Some were between jobs and were uninsured and some paid for their care out of their own pockets. The Govt. Liars inflated the number of uninsured to 40 million to create a climate of crisis that didn’t exist to railroad Obamacare through. Even after full implementation, the Feds admitted from the start that there would still be 10-20 million people uninsured.
If this ends up just being another big TWERK on the American people by the RINOs after having all these years to figure it out, two years from now I hope Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell have to find a new job where they will do less harm.
Sorry for your situation. You don't get to pick your neighbor's pocket to pay for your medical bills. That's straight up communism.
The most likely outcome, which will kick in just in time for the 2018 elections.
Why?
My pockets were picked to pay others bills. We were given no choices with the escalating and absurd medical industry costs. Your solutions cannot be immediately implemented except in an authorization situation where I and others like me have no vote.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.