Posted on 11/08/2014 8:14:37 PM PST by Steelfish
Here to Stay: Why the New Republican Congress Can't Gut Obamacare BY MAGGIE FOX
Republicans may have promised to repeal or at least do a big makeover of Obamacare now that they control both the House and the Senate, but most experts believe its lip service only.
The 2010 Affordable Care Act is in full force across the country, with internet-based health insurance exchanges up and running, expanded Medicaid in 28 states and strict new requirements for health insurers. Here are five reasons the GOP-led Congress wont be able to change much.
The veto.
This is the big one: President Barack Obama still has veto power. Republicans may have a majority in the Senate, but they dont have the 60 seats needed to override a Democratic-led filibuster or a presidential veto. And Obamas not going to allow his signature piece of legislation to be gutted.
They like it.
Republicans actually like a lot about Obamacare. Its great business for health insurance companies, which in turn give plenty of money to Republicans. Republicans have also always agreed that more Americans need to be covered by health insurance. They just havent always agreed on how to get there.
The five major national health insurers have all seen their stock price at least double one has almost tripled since the ACA was enacted, and theyve all been raising their earnings estimates, says Jay Angoff, who helped construct health reform at the Health and Human Services department before returning to private law firm Mehri & Skalet. "Republicans are not going to try to repeal a law that has been such a boon to insurers: They are still a Republican constituency group."
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
“I think they will because the Leftists on the Court see what Obamacare is doing to the Democrap party. “
Interesting thought...we don’t know who the 4 (or more) votes were to take up the wording issue, and it’s a GREAT WAY for the Dems to repeal it - say it was that damn Republican Supreme Court’s fault.
They “won’t be able to” because they won’t want to. There is just too much money to be made in the baked in corruption that comes with obamacare, corruption and vote buying opportunity tweaking the system to “benefit” this group or that.
Yup. It also avoids the Dem leadership having to deal with Captain Queeg, who could conceivably end up melting down into a puddle.
The best way to kill Obamacare is to subdivide its appropriation between several must-pass bills. That is, hook up measures stripping parts of Obamacare to bills that fund liberal government agencies.
Thus the Republicans say to Obama: “If you want the EPA to get some funding, if not at current levels, then you have to also kill off part of Obamacare. If you veto it, then you veto the entire EPA budget.” Either way, no skin off our nose.
“If you want the federal government to keep most of the lands it has taken from the states, then you must kill off part of Obamacare. If you veto it, that land goes back to the states.”
etc. Either Obama signs these budgetary laws and kills off his Obamacare monster, or liberals lose HUGE parts of their agenda.
What makes you think they they would have any problem in saying, “there was so much there, of course someone made a mistake, besides, we’re already giving them subsidies, so we can’t stop?”
It isn’t like those four actually believe in law and the Constitution.
You can’t put the baby back in the bathwater once the bathwater has been thrown out.
Let me be clear. You can’t go back and let the people who had old policies they liked reinstate them. The insurers have moved on, people’s health situations and job situations have changed, and many insurers have either gone out of the individual policy business or have ended the policy forms that were previously issued and approved by State insurance commissions.
A return to the status quo ante is simply not possible as the health insurance industry and the individual policy situation has been changed irrevocably.
Demos the first, Repubs possibly the second, it's always the most recent that people remember (recency effect).
“Here are five reasons the GOP-led Congress wont be able to change much. “
Here’s one reason Obamacare will dissolve anyway - when the subsidies are thrown out in over half of the states by the SC.
“Ive often been accused of having an Excel spreadsheet for a heart. I plead guilty.”
LOL, I’d be proud too.
“(”Who is John Galt?” by Billthedrill and Publius now available at Amazon.)”
I went there fully expecting to see your screen names as authors ;)
“End the mandate that forces everyone to buy health insurance.”
That’ll be gone as soon as the subsidies on the federal exchange are wiped out.
Someone making $30K a year cannot afford the $10K premium. And the increasing fine for not having insurance will become unaffordable as well. It will be political suicide to let that stand.
“As I mentioned in another post people are getting needed operations than dropping Obamacare ( due to cost) and shinning on the owed copays. They figure a new hip is more important than bill collectors.”
A lot of doctors are not taking Obamacare patients because they don’t think the patients will pay their copays or deductibles. (Along with the reimbursement rate being even lower than Medicare.)
(shameless plug)
“Defiance of the Court would bring demands for his resignation from his own party. He would not survive impeachment. The Court has too much prestige to be defied without dire consequences. “
Wasn’t he already rude and condescending to the justices when they were present in Congress several years back? I don’t remember the details except he was putting down the Court with the justices present.
Although I know you are talking outright defiance of their ruling, not just speaking arrogantly. But I don’t doubt Herr Obama thinks he could get away with it.
It's really simple: The Republican's don't have to REPEAL Obamacare with Obama in office, they simply have to choose NOT TO FUND IT.
The only thing necessary to NOT FUND IT is for the House of Representatives to not pass an appropriations bill for the ongoing implementation of Obamacare.
That's it. That's all they need to do.
At that point there's NOTHING Obama or the DEMOCRAT MINORITY in Congress can do other than to get on TV and once again WHINE and BLAME THE REPUBLICANS -- a tactic that backfired BIG TIME during the 2014 mid-term elections.
If Speaker Boehner had any testicular fortitude whatsoever, he'd proclaim Obamacare DEAD as soon as the new Congress is installed and refuse to write the check/pass the bill to appropriate funding.
Yes, it's that simple.
I think you give Roberts way too much credit, but I could be wrong (and hope I am.)
Andrew Jackson could defy the Court because his party had control of Congress, and he had the overwhelming majority of the American people on his side on Indian removal. Obama doesn't have that kind of political capital available to him. It would be his final mistake as president.
How, in detail, would defunding be done?
If Speaker Boehner had any testicular fortitude whatsoever, he'd proclaim Obamacare DEAD as soon as the new Congress is installed and refuse to write the check/pass the bill to appropriate funding.
Yes, it's that simple.
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Amen.
Totally disagree. Obama care can not be gutted and left at that, but it can be gutted and replaced at the same time. See Senate hopeful Gilespie plan (he almost won the Virginia senate race). We just need actual leaders.
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