Posted on 10/10/2018 10:21:46 AM PDT by yesthatjallen
The Senate on Wednesday defeated a Democratic measure to overrule President Trump’s expansion of non-ObamaCare insurance plans as Democrats seek to highlight health care ahead of the midterm elections.
The Democratic measure would have overruled Trump’s expansion of short-term health insurance plans, which do not have to cover people with pre-existing conditions or cover a range of health services like mental health or prescription drugs.
It was defeated on an extremely narrow, mostly party line 50-50 vote, with Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) voting with Democrats in favor of overturning the short-term plans. Republicans argue the short-term plans simply provide a cheaper option alongside more comprehensive ObamaCare plans.
Democrats forced the vote ahead of the midterms in an attempt to put health care front and center in the campaign. Democrats said Republicans voting to keep in place these “junk” insurance plans that do not have to cover pre-existing conditions was another example they can use to paint the GOP as wrong on health care.
“In a few short weeks the American people will head to the polls where they can vote for another two years of Republican attempts to gut our health-care system, or they can vote for Democratic candidates who will safeguard the protections now in place and work to make health care more affordable,” Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) said on the Senate floor Wednesday.
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the chairman of the Senate Health Committee, forcefully pushed back, saying short-term plans provide a cheaper option than ObamaCare and if people want full ObamaCare plans with all the protections, they can still have them.
With short-term plans, Alexander said the message is “you can pay less with less coverage and at least you will have some insurance.”
“But our Democratic friends will say, ‘Oh no, we don't want to do anything that will lower the cost of insurance,’” Alexander added.
Health-care experts say the short-term plans pose a risk of siphoning healthy people away from ObamaCare plans, leading to an increase in premiums for those remaining in the ObamaCare plans.
“The rule threatens to split and weaken the individual insurance market, which has provided millions of previously uninsured people with access to quality coverage since the health care law went into effect,” a range of patient groups, including the American Cancer Society and American Heart Association, said in a joint statement this week opposing the Trump administration's short-term plans rule.
The rules that Democrats seek to overturn, which the Trump administration finalized in August, lifted a three-month restriction on short-term plans, allowing them to last up to a year. Critics say this makes the plans not really “short-term” at all.
“Our constituents deserve more options, not fewer,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Wednesday. “The last thing we should do is destroy one of the options that’s still actually working for American families.”
You cannot be civil to the enemy, Senator Alexander. Haven't you heard Shrillary?
I think healthcare is one of the least important issues for Americans.
Why don't the Repubs use this to say the Dems are against expanding healthcare insurance options?
This is why we need more Trump senators, to make these RINO Senators irrelevant.
Shhhh. Nothing to see here. Collins is the hero of the Senate!
Because it makes the politicians' industry cronies rich?
I think that one of the factors that drove up medical insurance costs prior to Obamacare is the fact that most people expected "insurance" to cover everything, and would not pay for minor items themselves. Obamacare double and tripled down on that premise... yet does not cover anything, given the sky-high deductibles.
Because they are IDIOTS chasing this FAKE OPIOID CRISIS.
One of the Pacs is running the closed rural hospital ads, blaming the Republican Blackburn who is running for Corker’s seat. She hasn’t come out nor any one else to say it was PART OF OBAMACARE she didn’t vote for.
The other is a fat woman B. about no maternity coverage in Medicaid but congress got Platinum care. DEM passed along with the auto pay raise.
Nor will she take advice from published authors on PAIN, believes the crapola put out by the Fake numbers from the Biased CDC Director whose own Street Junkie 37 yr old son OD on Heroin/Fen. Has Illicit drug charges pending in MD.
He’s declared war on prescription Pain meds. Man is a HIV questionable published Virologist. Kolodney owns Suboxone clinics. Intractable Pain patients are not addicts. Now Cancer patients can’t get pain meds with out jumping through many hoops and 20-30 pharmacies, CVS, Walmart, Walgreen’s are the worst about not filling their scripts from the Oncologist not even phone calls from them work.
Several years ago, post ACA passage, I was in a social media argument with a ditz about “pre-existing conditions”. She insisted that simply changing the law about “pre-existing conditions” would cause people to die.
I reminded her that under the current law (back then), anybody who had a lapse in insurance that would cause a condition to be labelled “pre-existing” was a criminal for not having insurance at some point. Obama’s law. It was illegal to not have insurance.
Everyone should have the option of catastrophic care. The terms should be upfront and very clear that this is basically provided so you don’t go bankrupt. Sort of like liability on an old car...it’s up to you to know the limits of these plans.
The brief conservative love affair with Susan Collins is now over. Mark your calendars.
Tell that to the Medicare/Tricare Life who have a DICTATORSHIP plan. We have no right of appeal. And if they say they don’t cover a med, or treatment YOU pay for it out of pocket. No hearing, dental, or vision unless it is disease related. Then they are picky what they cover. No hardware stuff like dentures or hearing aids even if it’s a medical condition caused.
Seen those Hep C commercials for seniors? $85K for treatment. Now they are pushing Gardasil 9 for those over 45. Unless you are doing multiple partners, no need. It’s a D. STD that only covers 8 out of 30 strains, not a anti-cervix cancer vaccine, it’s a sexually transmitted disease.
The Demagogic Party is scheduled for a major procedure in early November.
Note to Susan Collins: So choice for thee, but not for me, eh?
Commie-Care don’t like competition? How bout dat
Never saw a dictator that liked competition.
The Marxist Dems want every single American citizen on the federal dole, like a crack dealer wants everyone in the neighborhood addicted to crack. And neither of them like competition.
Because the Dems think you are too stupid to know what you need and they like getting piles of cash from big business.
“with Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) voting with Democrats in favor of overturning the short-term plans.”
Well, that didn’t last very long. Was truly thinking of contributing to her. Just went out the window.
You can see a noticeable change in the Democrat congress critter ads here in our television market in the last few days.
It was the normal "I will be an independent voice for Pennsylvania" which is code for "I'll vote with the Rs once in a blue moon when my party gives me permission to do so."
The new theme is "I'll fight to keep insurance companies from charging more for pre-existing conditions" which is really code for "I'll force healthy young people to subsidize people with pre-existing conditions by cutting off their access to affordable health insurance which they can actually afford."
IOW, we glorious Democrats are going to keep ObaMaoCare. They are hoping young people will be too dense to figure it out and more older people will vote "D" to keep their free stuff even if the real result will be more people going uninsured.
Collins has not redeemed herself. We need 5 more conservatives just to counter the BS GOP left Rinos.
It seems like the success of the American economy and the security of America relies heavily on Trump’s executive orders. I find this a dangerous situation when Trump leaves office. Congress should be busy drafting legislation to enshrine these executive orders.
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