Posted on 12/10/2025 1:37:26 PM PST by SeekAndFind
One of the big fights coming this January is how to reform the failing Obamacare program, aka, the Unaffordable Care Act. Without massive COVID-era subsidies, users will pay a lot more in 2026. The program itself has so many problems, beginning with the fact that many well-off people qualify, and so much money goes to directly fund insurance companies, no questions asked. It is more than past time to just let this whole mess disappear.
But many working people who don’t qualify for Medicaid need some options.
Sen. Rand Paul has perhaps the simplest and most effective answer, one that builds on the already existing ERISA plans big companies can currently offer their employees across state lines.
Many ERISA plans are cheap to run because they are largely free of costly state mandates for coverage on expensive things like mental health and drug addiction therapy; items most families don’t need anyway.
Paul’s idea is to expand ERISA to offer simple Health Savings Accounts (HSA) plans via a host of non-profit membership groups most people already have access to: Credit unions, buying clubs, professional organizations, churches, etc. Take the small tax credits we already give HSA plans and raise them. This would be a great deal for most families and save the taxpayers a lot of money.
Sadly, this idea is making little headway in Congress. Partially because big insurance companies don’t see much benefit to them. But also, because of Paul personally. He has offered this type of legislation for years without success. I am afraid he has few friends and allies in the Senate. This summer, he was the most vocal Republican opponent of Pres. Trump's BBB, the Big, Beautiful Bill.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
If the senator had understood that legislation is a team sport, he might have gotten much of what he is proposing in his Health Marketplace and Savings Accounts for All Act. Senators in a narrow majority have a lot of individual clout in appropriations bills.
Paul might have traded his yes vote to leadership for big chunks of his health care program the last several years; and then seen it up and running by now. Instead, he got nothing. None of the big budget cuts he sought took place while his HSA ideas went nowhere. Ironically, it was Pres. Trump’s BBB, the one Sen. Paul opposed, that contained the most recent HSA expansion.
I think the Congressmen do understand the transactional nature of making laws. But some of them either think they’re standing on high moral ground, or they think, “It’s my way or the highway.” The high moral ground and the highway types seem to all be republican. The Democrats are more like a hive mind. Whatever the queen tells them to do, they usually do it.
He has made himself to be the “third rail” for both parties.
Rand Paul wants pure perfection, which means nothing can be voted on, by him.
Effectively, he could find the ideal woman, but she didn’t have quite as dark blue colored eyes as he liked, and he’d say “No Way.”
If she had the right colored eyes, he’d have a problem with a single hair curl.
He’s an example of an autism disorder coupled with perfectionism.
This is a good article
Rand Paul thinks deeply about political issues, and has a strong conservative and freedom ideology. He was literally the first politician in DC to make lock-downs, vaccine mandates, and CDC/Fauci corruption a target. He’s been very strong on 2nd Amendment rights, and small government.
I suppose that is his attraction - he isn’t afraid to say where he stands
but sometimes, his rigid ideology takes things too far - for example, on Trump/Hegseth taking-out the Caribbean drug boats. Given the vast scope of America’s deep state and military ventures abroad in the last 50 years, it literally amounts to NOTHING, and is widely supported by Americans.
He needs to pick his battles better to make him more effective.
A new system using AI for diagnosis (with a human assisting helping fill out computer questions and forms and forms and forms - to make sure the diagnosis it correct), A real doctor needs to interact with the patient because doctors can still see things a machine can't... and those centers should be in several different communities...like 'emergency rooms' in the past. (NOT all in 'communities of color' but spread throughout a city).
With that as one option all people can be brought into 'what works' for them.
In short pull out a clean sheet of paper and start over. Elon Musk can assist with setting up the AI system that will become more effective and better as time and statistics are formed. Let's create the medical system of tomorrow - better, cheaper and on time...
IMHO Rand succeeds in making small govt an attractive goal much like Bernie Sanders was successful in making socialism acceptable by Dims. Bernie may have been a failure as far as making it to the WH and he's often made fun of for his shrill speeches. But he succeeded as far as moving the culture further to the left like he wants. Rand is also often made fun of and he didn't make it to the WH either. But he's been a steady voice on the right to keep us from being fooled by the GOPe.
“Costly state mandates” is vague unless specified, but would be important. I really wonder why they are prohibitive.
Regarding HSAs, we’ve avoided just because it would be a bookkeeping nightmare. If I bought a bottle of aspirin and some eyedrops while at the Dollar Store, would I pay myself with a withdrawal from the bank? Millions of cash register tapes, which, btw, fade and fade fast in storage.
Your comment summarizes Rand Paul perfectly.
This is why he cannot be trusted. Anything he is for, I am against.
He is not effective and never will be. He needs to be gone. As long as he is in the Senate, basically the democrats have another vote on most legislation.
Rand has made almost everyone hate him including people who used to support him. I warned people on FR, he would go off the rails like his kooky father and unfortunately, I was right.
Most people already have accounts with a non-profit organization called the Social Security Administration.
Paul:
“largely free of costly state mandates for coverage on expensive things like mental health and drug addiction therapy”
Mental health benefit ‘equality’ I know is required by federal law.
“The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act: A Comprehensive Overview
“In 2008, the U.S. Congress passed the MHPAEA, an essential federal law aimed at promoting fairness and equal coverage for mental health and substance use disorders. The Act requires group health plans and insurance issuers to provide benefits for mental health and substance use disorders on par with medical and surgical benefits.”
“ If the senator had understood that legislation is a team sport, he might have gotten much of what he is proposing in his Health Marketplace and Savings Accounts for All Act. Senators in a narrow majority have a lot of individual clout in appropriations bills.”
____________
That’s the problem with Paul, Massie and MTG and others like them.
It’s their way or the highway. They have no idea how to build consensus, so they lose. Sure, it looks good and stupid things like Conservative Review “Liberty Score” ratings, etc. But in the grand scheme of things, that’s meaningless unless one can garner consensus to get things done.
Stop being a stick-in-the-mud and start working with people.
Share of total health spending, by percentile, 2021
Top 1% of people with the highest health spending 24%
Top 5% 51%
Top 10% 67%
Bottom 50% 3%
“people with health spending in the top 1% had average spending of $166,980 per year”
[That’s not going to be covered by $6,000 put into an HSA for 2026.]
“Roughly 14% of the population had $0 in health expenditures in 2021”
Rand Paul’s (and a few others) main fault is that they do not know how to bargain. No party’s members are going to agree on everything every time.
RE: That’s not going to be covered by $6,000 put into an HSA for 2026.]
Up HSA to $250,000 for ANY taxpayer.
“With my plan, to provide the leverage needed to reduce the cost of premiums, nearly any conceivable membership entity, such as Costco or Amazon, would be empowered to collectively bargain on behalf of their members with health insurers to lower rates.”
“Up HSA to $250,000 for ANY taxpayer.”
Most people would be lucky to put in $6,000.
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