Posted on 02/16/2017 11:14:45 AM PST by SeekAndFind
During his weekly press conference Thursday, House Speaker Paul Ryan announced a bill to repeal Obamacare would be introduced next week. “After the House returns following the Presidents Day, we intend to introduce legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare,” Ryan said. He added, “It has become increasingly clear that this law is collapsing.
“Look at the events that happened this week. On Tuesday another major insurance company announced that it too will leave the marketplace. In its decision, Humana cited a lack of young people signing up, a problem that has dogged Obamacare for years now.
“And then on Wednesday, the CEO of Aetna, another large insurance carrier, said that Obamacare is in a death spiral. His words…Obamacare is not simply stuck in some kind of status quo, it is getting worse by the day and it will keep getting worse unless we act. We need to rescue people from this collapsing law.”
Ryan could have actually added some things to his list of bad news for Obamacare. In a story appropriately titled “A bad week for Obamacare” Politico noted another bit of bad news. Molina insurance, which was frequently cited as an industry success story last year, now seems to be considering dropping out of Obamacare after unexpected losses:
Molina — which had expected a $60 million profit on the exchanges for 2016 — reported a $110 million loss on Wednesday, and will assess ongoing participation at a later date. “There are simply too many unknowns with the marketplace program to commit to our participation beyond 2017,” said CEO Mario Molina.
And though it didn’t happen this week, just two weeks ago Cigna indicated that it was going to review its participation in the Obamacare market for 2018 after projecting it would continue to lose money in 2017. During a conference call, Cigna’s CEO David Cordani called the marketplaces “unsustainable.”
Here’s Ryan’s full weekly press conference. His statement about Obamacare comes at the very beginning of the clip.
Repeal is fine. It’s the replace that scares me.
Repeal is fine. It’s the replace that scares me.
Quit screwing around and do your job, Eddie.
So, what do you want to replace it with? Or do you simply want to go back to what it was? ( which a lot of people STILL complained about ).
Sounds like he got a little taste o’ Trump before the press conference.
People are gonna complain no matter what you do.
Biggest problem is currently sick people who will go back to being pre-existing conditions when it’s repealed. Insurers will drop them quicker than you can say Double Indemnity. Will have to have some kind of public risk pool to take care of them.
Just be sure to get rid of the mandate and sunset the preexisting conditions and all will be fine.
The states are perfectly capable of establishing risk pools. Feds should stay out.
Left out of the discussion is a horrible scotus decision that will remain after Obamacare is repealed. Government may still require citizens to purchase products from a private entity. There are dozens of horrid scotus opinions that are outside the reach of congress or the prez.
It is why an Article V convention of the states is needed more than ever.
I remain terrified by the thought of an Article V convention while our population remains this constitutionally ignorant.
It could easily produce Constitutional “rights” to a job, housing, health care and a college education.
You are right though, that SCOTUS decision needs to be addressed. Otherwise all the lobbyists will go berserk trying to get their product or service declared a required purchase by Congress.
Replace it with nothing, because there is nothing the government can do that won't make things worse.
Ryan talked about Obamacare falling apart and how Aetna, Humana and Molina were pulling out. Why are they pulling out? Because they losing money hand over fist. Why are they losing money? Because people taking advantage of Obamacare are the elderly and the sick. Young and healthy aren't participating. How would the Republican plan change that?
Repeal and replace Obamacare and in 6 years or less there will be similar stories about Trumpcare falling apart.
how come it’s taking so long. why is it so hard to write out:
“effective immediately, obamacare (or ACA whatever) is entirely repealed.”
let’s see the repeal bill now, ryan.
I remain of the opinion that this mess is so harmful in so many ways, that the only cure is complete repeal coupled with simultaneous passage of bills not more than five pages long and written in the Arial font with 12 pitch. (I am dreaming, right?)
These bills would salvage the few legitimate thoughts existing and address the host of ways in which government intrusion into delivery of healthcare is unreasonable. One other valuable initiative would be making it easier to pierce the corporate vail, and do away with tort laws that provide millions to lawyers in class action suits and only thousands to victims.
Anything less gives Republican and Democrat politicians (read patricians) too much power. I think replacing a 3,000 page bill with 1,000 or 2,000 pages will not get the job done. I am afraid that once again politicians of a different flavor will offer enchanting material security, while obscuring subservience to rules vastly increasing their power.
I am worried politicians so delight in power, they will retain many of these infallible bureaucracies. The regulations which guide their actions are administrative laws. As such they are the soft underbelly of our Constitution.
Pursuit of happiness always means spiritual prosperity within the hazards and uncertainties of personal freedoms. Once again, I fear politicians will offer enchanting material security, while obscuring subservience to rules vastly increasing their power. Unless Obamacare is obliterated we can end up with continued attacks on our Bill of Rights. People have capabilities to figure out problems like this that governments never give them the opportunity to use.
Where’s the betting pool?
I’m going w/ ‘repeal AND a replace’ and a bill LARGER than the original.
I’m just not confident enough to place anything on the ‘Free Market solutions’ slip though.
/wish
President Trump said today that the White House repeal/replace bill would be ready in early March. Looks to me like Ryan is just grand-standing.
Thanks to Matt Drudge. He lit the fire under Ryan’s a$$.
Good.
I absolutely agree with you. Pushers of this feel good display of theatrics straining to open Pandora’s Box, are not all realizing once it is opened, that the Left can fly out and take over some of the outcomes.
It is approached not as the real risk that it is, but as Christmas morning, where as everything goes your way and you get presents.
No such thing as Trumpcare. It will be all the insurance agencies with strong influence to carry a few things that Obamacare had. Wise up, before stupidity grabs the media and they serve that kind of horse shi!.
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