Posted on 07/19/2018 10:20:44 AM PDT by yesthatjallen
House Republicans are trying to blunt Democratic attacks over rising ObamaCare premiums, an issue that’s poised to play a key role in the November midterm elections.
The House is planning to vote next week on several GOP-backed health-care measures that supporters say will lower premiums, and passing them could give a boost to some vulnerable Republicans.
Blaming Republicans for rising premiums is a top priority for Democrats heading into the midterms, and Republicans do not want to leave the attacks unanswered.
“At least we’re taking some action, and rightfully so, because to do nothing I think is just, one, it’s not the right thing to do,” said Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.), a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which advanced many of the health-care bills last week. “And second, politically to do nothing is not a [good idea].”
The bills slated for votes in the House next week include measures expanding health savings accounts, a tax-free way for people to save for health-care costs. Sources say other measures include a repeal of ObamaCare’s medical device tax and a delay of the health insurance tax, which some members of both parties have criticized for driving up premiums.
Democrats say passing these bills doesn’t come anywhere close to repairing the damage Republicans have done, namely repealing ObamaCare’s individual mandate for coverage, a move that the Congressional Budget Office says will raise premiums by 10 percent on average next year.
“Seniors and families across America are suffering from higher health costs because of Republicans’ blatant health care sabotage, and House Republicans have absolutely no intention to make it right,” said Henry Connelly, a spokesman for House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.). “Nothing Republicans have planned can fix that.”
Ford O’Connell, a GOP strategist, said “it’s clear that the Democrats see an advantage here over voter anxiety over rising health-care costs.”
He advised Republicans to focus instead on criticizing Democratic calls for single-payer health care.
Polling this year shows Democrats have the edge on health care. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that 61 percent of respondents thinks Republicans are responsible for problems with the Affordable Care Act going forward, while 27 percent said the blame will lie with Democrats.
In addition, a Pew Research Center poll in June found that 48 percent of respondents thinks Democrats do a better job dealing with health care, while 32 percent said Republicans do.
In another sign of the danger Republicans see from rising premiums, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) said this week that GOP lawmakers are exploring ways to restart key ObamaCare payments that the Trump administration abruptly suspended earlier this month. The suspension of the payments, known as risk adjustments, prompted insurers to warn that premiums would rise even more without those funds.
“The administration wants to restore those payments, so we’re looking at ways that we can help them do that,” Brady said, leaving open the possibility of a legislative fix.
The bills on the House floor next week could give victories to the bill sponsors who are also vulnerable in November. Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.), a subcommittee chairman on Ways and Means who is facing a tough reelection race in his suburban Chicago district, is sponsoring several of the bills on expanding health savings accounts.
Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.), who also faces a tough race, in suburban Minneapolis, could get a boost from passage of a bill he has championed repealing the medical device tax.
But overall, the measures slated for consideration are minor and won’t make a major dent in premiums, according to Joe Antos, a health-care expert at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute.
“They’re all little adjustments; there’s really not much to them,” Antos said, while noting that the bills could prove valuable politically by generating good headlines.
After last year’s repeal failure, Antos said, “this characterizes what Republicans will even be able to consider in health policy for the rest of the year.”
Reed, the New York congressman, acknowledged he would also like to do more by taking steps such as funding ObamaCare payments known as cost-sharing reductions that President Trump canceled last year.
Still, he said the upcoming bills are “a legitimate effort to try to offer some relief, recognizing the situation we see with premiums going up.”
But the effort, he added, is “obviously not the cure-all for all the health-care woes.”
Obama told them they should start low and have a couple 'lost litters' years.
After that, insurers would be free to keep raising costs each and every year.
4% increase this year. 6% next year. 5% the year after next.
My premiums have increase a lot more than 4-6% per year.
The first time in my life, I’m considering dropping it.
High deductibles, insane premiums, and all my expenses are out of pocket anyway due to the deductible.
If I were younger, it would be a no brainer to drop.
We tried to tell the Democrats, that Obamacare would bankrupt people. Now that it's happening, the Democrats are trying to blame it on the people who warned them.
Sadly, at least some members of the public who weren't fallowing along, will sucker for it.
That’s interesting considering zero Republicans voted for this quagmire.
Did anyone ever get punished for not paying the personal mandate fine/tax?
Amazing that they can pass a shit bill then blame Republicans when it doesn’t pan out.
Rising premiums are the democrats responsibility. 0bamacare was structured for increasing premiums (among other built in failures).
Not one Republican voted for 0bamacare.
The Rats own it lock stock and barrel.
5.56mm
Well -- no, moron.
The Democrats see an advantage here because the GOP promised to repeal ObamaCare for SEVEN YEARS ... and then failed to fulfill this promise when it was in a position to do so.
Everyone know who did this...Obamacare. It has his name all over it.
There's a 'LOW LOW INTRODUCTORY PRICE!'
Each successive year there's a percentage increase.
It was all coordinated with insurers which is why the initial rates were relatively low.
Yes, true...
Sadly the Democrats will make the case we screwed it all up by changing things.
Some folks will fall for it.
Don’t sweat it. They’ll be the folks who are beholden to the Democrat’s freebies, and would have voted for them anyway.
They just need to explain what the premiums would be if they hadn’t dropped the mandatory purchase.
Republicans control the White House and both houses of Congress. During the campaign Trump promised better healthcare insurance with lower costs and more options. They own it now.
That's politics for you.
And Democrats have succeeded in their promise of blocking any major reforms - unless of course they’re targeting John McCain, Rand Paul and Mike Lee - none of whom are up for reelection this year.
Think of it like the story of the Three Little Pigs ...
The little pig with the house made of straw had his house blow away every week, only to have it rebuilt by the insurance company. The little pig with the house made of sticks had his house burn down every month, only to have it rebuilt by the insurance company.
The little pig with the house made of bricks never had a claim ... but his insurance premiums kept rising to cover the insurance company's losses on the other two houses.
So he finally said: "Screw this!" and canceled his policy.
So now the other two pigs have even HIGHER insurance premiums ... because they have to cover all the costs of rebuilding the two homes by themselves.
Yeah. The one thing that democrats are truly good at is misplacing blame. Thank God we have a President that will stand up to them.
And do what? Say, "It's all Obama's fault?" How does that help those struggling to pay premiums and wondering why the GOP hasn't done anything to make it better?
This is all the Republicans fault. If only they had burned down the Capitol and prevented the democrats for voting for Obamacare, then none of this would be happening.
See, this is a typical example of the GOP accepting the inside the Beltway’s premise. The second they try to do anything to repeal Obamacare, Chuckie Schumer feeds talking points to his cohort in crying, Jimmy Kimmel.
Now, now, they have the chuptazh to blame Republicans for a bill that they passed without a SINGLE GOP vote. The GOP should be harping on this all day long. WE DIDN’T PASS IT, WE HAVE TRIED TO REPEAL IT, THE DEMOCRATS HAVE STOOD IN OUR WAY.
PERIOD!!!
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