Posted on 10/25/2017 9:56:57 AM PDT by Kaslin
Democrats and some Republicans in Congress are pushing for a $10 billion a year payout to insurance companies that sell Obamacare plans. President Trump calls it "bailing out" the insurance industry. Truer words were never spoken.
The politicians backing this sweetheart deal claim it will protect consumers. Don't fall for it. The money will go straight to the bottom lines of insurers -- who enjoy tremendous clout in Washington, D.C., thanks to over $85 million in campaign contributions and over $150 million spent on lobbying every year.
The deal's authors, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R. Tenn., and Sen. Patty Murray, D. Wash., have taken hundreds of thousands in insurance contributions personally and through their PACs. No surprise the deal gives insurers everything they want: an estimated $10 billion a year cash plus $100 million in Obamacare ads. No other industry gets taxpayers to pay for their advertising. Meanwhile, consumers get nothing: no freedom to buy affordable plans without Washington-mandated benefits, no escape from onerous tax penalties for not enrolling.
In 2010, the powerful insurance industry worked hand in glove with Democrats to enact the Affordable Care Act, a scheme compelling everyone to buy their product. The ACA also steered tens of billions of dollars in backdoor payments to insurers through 2016 to insulate them from losing their shirts on Obamacare. It doesn't get any sweeter -- a law making your product mandatory and forcing taxpayers to subsidize your bottom line.
The current $10 billion tug-of-war is more of the same -- the Washington swamp exploiting the public. Insurers are fighting for more taxpayer largesse -- and too many members of Congress are lining up to accommodate. But not President Trump. In the Rose Garden this week, Trump quipped that insurers "contribute massive amounts of money to political people. ... Me, I'm not interested in their money."
The ACA requires insurers selling Obamacare plans to give low-income consumers a break on deductibles and copays. Insurers claim they lose money doing that, and want taxpayers to make up the shortfall. But Congress never voted for those payments, despite providing many others to the industry. No problem, under President Obama. He paid the insurers without getting Congress's consent. But the U.S. Constitution says the president can't spend what Congress doesn't appropriate. The House of Representatives sued and Obama lost. Federal judge Rosemary Collyer ruled that the payments were illegal.
Fast forward to Oct. 12, when Trump announced he would halt the payments. Democrats howled that Trump was sabotaging the health law. Sen. Chris Murphy, D. Conn., accused the president of "health care arson," an inflammatory, untrue statement.
Trump's decision lobs the issue back to Congress, where it belongs. But tragically that's where insurers have more sway than taxpayers.
Denying it's a "bailout," Alexander claims "we have strong language in the Alexander-Murray agreement that consumers get the money, not the insurance companies." Those are weasel words. In truth, low-income consumers are already guaranteed breaks on copays and deductibles under the ACA. This agreement gives them nothing extra. The money is paid directly to insurers, going straight to profits.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, one of 19 AGs trying to circumvent Judge Collyer's ruling by suing in the left-leaning Ninth Circuit, claims that without the payments, millions of families "would be left in the cold without coverage." Nonsense. The law guarantees low-income families insurance. What it does not do is guarantee insurers a profit.
As for threats that without the payments, insurers will hike premiums, hurting consumers -- don't buy that. State regulators have the final say on premiums.
Of course, bailing out insurers will keep them participating in Obamacare, propping up the failing system. That's the Democrats' goal, to preserve Obama's legacy. But Republicans are fools to go along. It's pouring taxpayer money down the rat-hole. Why would lawmakers do that unless they're in bed with the insurance industry?
Lamar Alexander, Tennesee’s other RINO senator
It is called a VETO and Trump should let it be known that anyone who votes to bail out the insurers will be held to account. They will be named, they will be outed, they will be primaried and they will pay.
The Citizens of the United States have never wanted, supported and done everything in their power short of outright armed rebellion to kill Obamacare. It is time they got the message.
Repubs aren't "fools" , they are CO-CONSPIRATORS!!! It is THEIR goal to preserve this crap socialist B.S.!!!
Trump has already nixed for consideration anything that give the insurance companies any bailout.
Didn’t Trump say he’d veto any bailout of the ins. companies? If so, what’s the point of congress sending it to his desk, other than to try to put him in a bad light. Problem is, only the left and the MSM would be upset at this (a veto, that is). So they’d be wasting their time (and our $$$).
They give our money to the insurance companies and the insurance companies give them a percentage back as campaign donations and our rates zoom up.
“K” Street howling mad and spewing money.
It illustrates our problem is Campaign Finance and Donations buying influence. That is the DC Business Model and why grid-lock is good for both sides.
1-No PACS
2-No Corporate or Union Donations
3-Only individuals and with a annual Cap per candidate.
We shall see.
I am waiting for him to push through ANY legislation.
He is dismantling the brick wall before he can try to push anything because he knows he will get nothing through, or did you just wake up from a year’s long slumber?
This vote will sail thru both houses because it helps their true constituency - big insurance.
In the meantime, let the serfs continue to suffer under obamacare.
Most of the so called Republicans in the Senate are in reality undocumented Democrats in R jerseys.
They serve Fedzilla and Fedzilla wants to keep all the power Obamacare gives it.
Doesn’t the senate have to send the bill to his desk first before he can veto it?
Depends on how many votes they get. Vetoes can be overridden, and if they get enough votes to have a good chance at that he’ll either sign or ignore it (which lets it go into effect without his signature) to avoid the fight.
That's about as socialist a concept as I can imagine yet many here will applaud it.
Best government that money can buy. Bought and paid for by those insurance co’s.
I understand that.
I am in a wait and see mode.
Fleecing taxpayers is what they do. We’ve bailed out Texas and Florida and Puerto Rico and New Jersey and New York and God knows how many other states for hurricanes. We bailed out Savings and Loans. We bailed out the mortgage industry and the banks. And apparently Congress just bailed out Wall Street yesterday by striking down consumer protections. Why should insurance companies be any different?
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