Posted on 03/21/2017 4:52:39 PM PDT by Enlightened1
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) told Breitbart News exclusively on Tuesday afternoon that he expects House Speaker Paul Ryan will be forced to pull the American Health Care Act (AHCA) before a scheduled Thursday vote because Ryan will not get the votes to pass the legislation. The AHCA has been dubbed “Obamacare Lite” by Paul — a leading conservative critic of the plan — and by other conservatives as “RyanCare,” “RINO-Care,” and “Obamacare 2.0,” since the bill does not actually fully repeal Obamacare and keeps many of the main structures that the now-former President Barack Obama installed in the healthcare system. It has come under intense scrutiny from both sides of the Republican Party — moderates and conservatives are lining up against the bill — and Ryan, despite publicly projecting confidence, cannot find the necessary 216 votes to pass the legislation.
Paul, one of the leading senators out of more than a dozen Republicans in the upper chamber criticizing the bill there, told Breitbart News in this exclusive interview he believes there are at least 35 House Republicans ready to vote against the bill in its current form. And he predicted that, unless some major changes come to the legislation between now and the scheduled vote on Thursday, Ryan will need to withdraw the bill and Republicans will have to start from scratch with a new bill and a new strategy on Obamacare.
Paul said in the in-person interview at his U.S. Senate office in the Russell Senate Office Building:
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
Repeal and replace with an even worse version of Obamacare (e.g., covers illegals) is not what Trump promised. He promised to “replace” it with a free market solution. Instead this bill keeps all of the worst, fundamental underpinnings of Obamacare in place.
The main difference is that no Republicans voted for the 1.0 version. Now Trump is threatening to drum out of office the freedom caucus (that is, the only real conservatives in the House) for not backing Obamacare 2.0.
In order to amend the bill, Congress had to push it through the reconciliation process. The House had to tinker with the bill the Senate passed because several Dem Reps were not going to vote for it unless the bill was amended and other things as well. The bill the Senate passed with 60 votes had non-budgetary regulations because well, the bill originally came from the Senate. All bills raising revenue must originate from the House.
Without the Healthcare and Education Act of 2010, the Senate bill would of been impotent without a vehicle for subsidizing, funding, or any kind of way to raise revenue.
There is no filibuster in reconciliation, and the GOP can make the call as to what is fair game to include in a reconciliation bill.
The idea that they need 60 votes on it when they control both the House and the Senate is a big, total lie.
No, they can simply put it in reconciliation, which is immune to filibuster, and if the Democrat parliamentarian rules any of it impermissible for that—Pence can take the gavel and overrule.
The whole 60-vote excuse is a lie.
You speak with a really good working knowledge of this. Have you contacted the WH to relay your thoughts? I wonder if the members of the Freedom Caucus have relayed your same input to PDJT and if so, what his reaction was.
You’re right, WXRGina.
What’s more, this bill doesn’t even do what Obamacare 1.0 did on that count. The original Obamacare grandfathered in the existing Christian healthcare ministry programs. I got an urgent email from my program this week telling me that they aren’t covered in Obamacare 2.0.
So that major loophole for opting out is getting closed.
This bill is worse than 1.0.
No, I haven’t.
It is very unfortunate that Trump is taking this whole approach (e.g., meeting three times in person with Ezekiel Emmanuel on it!), given how he talked at so many of his rallies about replacing Obamacare with a free market approach, such as competition across state lines.
I guess the best hope now is that this bill at least gets pulled this week and they have to go back to the drawing board.
And you are probably right, that I and others could do more (other than typing here and tweeting back at Trump) to get the simple free market message out.
But it is such a shame that Trump seems to be turning to his liberal/Democrat daughter and son-in-law on policy, since they are not who we voted for and their approach is not what he campaigned on. I mean, not only did he name the Manhattan Democrat former president of Goldman Sachs as his Chief Economic Advisor, he has Cohn in there with Ivanka (very liberal) and Jared (lifelong Democrat) on these key meetings as well.
- - - The original Obamacare grandfathered in the existing Christian healthcare ministry programs. - - -
This bill is worse than 1.0.
waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa THIS IS TERRIBLE —— HORRIBLE
Has POTUS lost his mind ??? Tell me he is playing 4-D chess ?!
iF it passes watch Pence show up and take over the Senate and sort of nuke the filibuster just for this.
Here’s the full email I got, along with suggested texts for sending emails and letters:
Christian Healthcare Ministries
The biblical solution to healthcare costs
Friday, March 17, 2017
Dear CHM Member:
Your help is urgently needed to contact your U.S. Congressman and Senator to inform them that you want their support for language that protects healthcare sharing ministries in the new healthcare law being considered.
Your immediate outreach to them is needed today or over the weekend because this legislation is moving fast through the Congress. The vote is scheduled for Monday, March 20, so action is needed now! Please make contact with your U.S. Representative or Senator no later than Monday, March 20, 2017.
Here are ways to find on the internet your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator:
House of Representatives: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
U.S. Senate: https://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/
If you don’t have access to the internet you can search locally for your U.S. Representative or Senator through the phone listings under U.S. government.
A suggested email and phone script for you to use when faxing, emailing or calling their offices is available below this email and the email content is on our website (click here for a PDF version of the email). Please note that sending a letter by U.S. mail will be too late. We urge you to email, fax or call your Congressman/woman immediately.
Thank you for your help in protecting your health care sharing ministry.
Sincerely,
Rev. Howard S. Russell
President & CEO
Christian Healthcare Ministries
A suggested phone script to use when calling your U.S. Representative or Senator:
Hello. I would like to let my Congressman/woman know that I am a member of Christian Healthcare Ministries, a healthcare sharing ministry. My family relies on Christian Healthcare Ministries to meet our healthcare costs. We’ve been informed that the new healthcare reform bill does not protect our ministry. As a constituent of Congressman/woman [Insert his/her name], we urge him/her to preserve our healthcare choice. Our goal is to be able to use Health Savings Accounts, and not be penalized under continuous coverage provisions. We ask that the Congressman/woman ensure we have a level playing field with other hard-working Americans and preserve our healthcare coverage choices for our family. Thank you for your help. My personal information is as follows: [Leave your name, address, email].
A suggested email to use when emailing your U.S. Representative or Senator:
Dear U.S. Representative or Senator:
I want to personally thank you for your service to our nation as a member of the United States Congress. We know that your work is very important and appreciate your dedication as a public servant, and we have supported you as our Representative in Congress.
I am a member of Christian Healthcare Ministries, which is a ministry where members with similar beliefs voluntarily share each other’s medical expenses.
As you work with your colleagues and President Trump on the current healthcare reform bill, we seek a level playing field with other hard-working Americans in preserving our healthcare choices. The members of Christian Healthcare Ministries have been voluntarily helping share our families’ burdensome health care expenses, and we will hold you accountable to preserve this option for us.
We have been informed that the healthcare reform bill circulating in the House of Representatives does not protect our healthcare sharing ministry. We urge you to support amending the final bill to protect our healthcare options with the following provisions:
Allow and include healthcare sharing ministry members to participate in Healthcare Savings Accounts (HSAs). Several bills (H.R. 1175 and S.403) have such a provision, but the current reform bill does not.
Ensure the 30% continuous coverage penalty does not apply to healthcare sharing ministry members. Members that move into or out of Healthcare Sharing Ministries would be negatively impacted by this penalty. Under the ACA, our members are exempt from penalties. It would be a step backwards if this new bill imposed a new penalty on us. Please see that an exemption is provided.
Again, I want to thank you on behalf of my family for your service. We know you are asked to balance a lot of competing interests in your position. As your constituents, we ask that you look out for people who participate in healthcare sharing ministries. The current reform bill does not do that unless changes are made to it. Thank you for your attention to this very important matter, as we are paying close attention as it enters the final stages of the legislative process.
Respectfully,
A faithful member of Christian Healthcare Ministries
Christian Healthcare Ministries
127 Hazelwood Ave.
Barberton, OH 44203
1-800-791-6225 (M-F, 9am-5pm)
chministries.org
facebook.com/christianhealthcareministrie
the mex pay 50$...the asians pay 50$...the recently incarcerated pay 50$...the moslims pay 0 $.....where I work........old white guys pay 3-500$
Ryancare fail? ping
Prove it. I only recall Ryan doing that crap, and now we know he said he was "done defending Trump" in October 2016.
The replace is replace with HSA and free market principles like competition across state lines.
...
The only reason it does not interstate competition is the HORs have their lobbyists in their pockets and vica versa...money for reelection. They DON’T care a wit about us or our healthcare.
I agree with what you have written.
This is his first big legislative package/deal. No one is forcing him to meet with Dr. Emmanuel, and 3 times at that. I find that, and the Jared/Ivanka/Gorelick liason very disturbing. From what you have described, the conservative opposition has just cause to resist the deal.
It’s just such a disappointment, no matter which way it turns out now. If the deal passes, the people lose and the Republicans own the disaster. If the deal is pulled, it makes him look like a weak failure. This jeopardizes his success at passing future legislation.
This is one big mess that never should have been. Gov’t has NO PLACE in the health care of the citizenry. Every attempt to “fix it” will be just as problematic.
IMO, they need to repeal it and stop. During the chaos period, healthcare providers can come up with reasonable cash payment plans, and the poor will have to rely on charities, which is the way it always used to be, before Big Gov’t inserted itself into what is none of its business.
The larger problem this nation faces is, the gov’t is now filled with communists/muslims/traitors. Attempts to restore America back to its proper form will be nixed by out of control, arrogant judges who are ignorant of Constitutional principles. Half the population is actively working to overthrow the President and install their communist gov’t dream.
I don’t think things are going to end well.
I agree with all that you have written as well.
And, of course, the poor already have and will still have Medicaid.
But better to have some time of chaos/adjustment as we revert to more of a free market approach than to simply tweak (largely for the worse!) Dr. Emmanuel’s plan.
I too am discouraged about the Trump/Kushner/Ryan presidency and the future of the country.
But the filibuster can be broken by Senate rule 19 which limits speeches to 2 per senator per subject.
Bring back a clean repeal bill, delayed 4 months or so to give them time to pass single issue bills that will address immediate problems, then make the dems do a real filibuster, and hold the senate floor.
What are there, 48 dems? Many of whom couldn’t hold a thought, let alone the floor, for more than 15 minutes. They each get to speak twice for as long as they can hold out, then the filibuster is over and the bill only needs 51 votes to pass.
It may take a month, but if they had started they’d be halfway through by now.
Love,
O2
I want a straight repeal.
Follow that repeal immediately with a “replace” bill, but the repeal should be clean and the replacement separate. As for the replacement, it should be free market and designed to reduce the interference of government in our private medical decisions and our private medical insurance decisions. Reform malpractice, allow sales of medical insurance across state lines, and allow insurance companies to keep snowflakes on parental policies to age 26. Other than that, the replacement should not be a grand bargain with horse trading; it should only contain items that stand on their own.
That's the key! If the mandate and taxes go away, then you have effectively killed Obamacare. And freedom is restored.
A repeal would pass, but Ryan's bill ain't a repeal. It's not even a close call.
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