Money changers in Pattaya

[rooster59]

Details emerge of Republicans' plans to replace Obamacare

By Yasmeen Abutaleb

 

The federal government forms for applying for health coverage are seen at a rally held by supporters of the Affordable Care Act, widely referred to as "Obamacare", outside the Jackson-Hinds Comprehensive Health Center in Jackson, Mississippi, U.S. on October 4, 2013. REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Details of potential Obamacare replacements by U.S. House Republicans emerged in news reports on Friday, as Republican lawmakers have vowed to introduce new legislation in the coming weeks.

Republicans have yet to agree on a single detailed policy proposal to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, the signature domestic policy of former Democratic President Barack Obama.

Still to be worked out are details including the future of Medicaid, the government health insurance program for the poor that was expanded in more than 30 states under Obamacare, and how a new healthcare law would be funded.

One emerging scenario among Republicans is that the millions of people who received health coverage through the expansion of Medicaid would be "grandfathered in," according to the Washington Post. States that did not expand Medicaid could receive more money through increased federal "disproportionate share" payments used to help hospitals that serve a large number of uninsured patients.

And a draft Republican replacement plan for Obamacare, which news outlet Politico uploaded to its website, would cap the amount of money given to states for Medicaid and end tax subsidies based on income for the purchase of individual plans in 2020.

House staffers would not comment on the authenticity of the document, which was dated Feb. 10. President Donald Trump and Republicans have said they would present a plan for repealing and replacing Obamacare in the coming weeks.

It is not clear whether there is sufficiently broad support among Republican lawmakers for all of the measures in the draft proposal, or how the plans might change as they move through congressional committees.

The draft "addresses the major issues and is a serious proposal for transitioning out of Obamacare," said Ed Haislmaier, a senior research fellow and healthcare policy expert at the Heritage Foundation who was on Trump's transition team.

"Clearly the details will continue to evolve and we'll be watching as they do," he said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

U.S. health insurance executives, many of whom have lost hundreds of millions of dollars on the Obamacare individual insurance markets, are due to meet with Trump on Monday, according to a Bloomberg report. A Blue Cross Blue Shield Association spokeswoman confirmed it was invited to the meeting and will attend.

Republicans have repeatedly pledged not to "pull the rug out" from millions of Americans who gained access to healthcare under the law, and recent polls show more respondents favoring Obamacare than opposing it.

The Kaiser Family Foundation found broad bipartisan support for maintaining federal funding for the Medicaid expansion, with 84 percent of respondents saying it was important to do so, according to a survey released on Friday. The poll also found the law has record levels of support, with more Americans now viewing it favorably than unfavorably.

"Obamacare has failed. We welcome any and all efforts to repeal and replace it that put patients first," said Caitlin Oakley, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Democrats decried the draft proposal on Friday and said it would cause millions of Americans to lose their health insurance.

"The deeply harmful path House Republicans have laid out would spell disaster for families nationwide," U.S. Senator Patty Murray, a Washington state Democrat, said in a statement. "President Trump, who promised families he would provide insurance for everyone, should be the first to oppose it."

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-02-25

[Ulic]

The US needs to join the rest of the developed world and adopt a single payer system. Not popular with the Republican/Tea Party but really the best move for the population. It really is not Communism. Obama-care is terrible but the solution is unacceptable because of the spin by special interest groups. Just my opinion.

[Srikcir]

3 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Republicans have yet to agree on a single detailed policy proposal to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act

Since the beginning of President Clinton's presidency the Republicans have yet to advance a single detailed, VIABLE healthcare policy proposal. They can still gripe over ACA but as the new administration - THEY OWN IT.

[dcpo]

It's hard for the Republicans to replace Obamacare because Obamacare is already the Republican alternative to the single payer system the Democrats really want. Obamacare was essentially designed by the Heritage Foundation, and first adopted by Romney. The fact that it suddenly became Conservative anathema just demonstrates how malleable Conservative principles can be.

[1Gringo]

health care should NEVER be a for-profit business.  rid the world of this concept and suddenly health care becomes affordable.

[Jingthing]

Pretty much all more developed nations now have some kind of universal health care via government policies. Even in the USA, Medicare is that for those over 65. 

Back to the sadly regressive USA on health care, yes, Obamacare was a flawed step in the right direction but it has been resisted from day one by the right wing. Such as most of the right wing controlled states rejecting expanded Medicaid, which was a key part of the original design of the program. Ironically, the original ideas for Obamacare came from the right wing (mandates especially) but the republicans then became against it because it was being effected by democrats.

It's still too early to know where this is going to go yet as far as details. Yes, there will be changes but what exactly? The anti-trumpist RESISTANCE at town hall meetings of congresswomen is largely focused on trying to prevent the trumpists from trashing Obamacare. So the republicans OWN this now ... political hot potato. 

It turns out, darkly hilariously, that many trump voters that have benefited from expanded Medicaid and Obamacare subsidies never realized they were actually on Obamacare. A large portion think they were on ACA, not Obamacare. Tragically, they believed trump's CON MAN lies that he really had a plan to take care of them. He never had a plan.

A joke going around on Washington now is that the republicans are going to repeal Obamacare and replace it with ACA. (They are the same thing.)

 

Edited February 25, 2017 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

15 minutes ago, funandsuninbangkok said:

How is government health care not communism?

 

do you understand what communism is?

 

been tried. Don't work. Move on

We've moved beyond the days of Joseph McCarthy. Red baiting on health care issues is simply beyond silly. Is Canada a communist state? Is the UK a communist state? Is France a communist state? Get a clue. 

[Skywalker69]

Six of One - Obamacare vs. The Affordable Care Act

 

-How  do you beat stupid?

 

 

Edited February 25, 2017 by Skywalker69

[Srikcir]

25 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

We've moved beyond the days of Joseph McCarthy. Red baiting on health care issues is simply beyond silly. Is Canada a communist state? Is the UK a communist state? Is France a communist state? Get a clue. 

58 countries have universal government-sponsored healthcare systems of which only one is under a communist regime (Cuba).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_with_universal_health_care#Cuba

 

The US currently has a competitive market-sponsored universal healthcare system (ACA aka Obamacare) defined by minimum government standards and supplemented government revenues derived from taxes and fees to cover people who have affordability problems.

 

[Jingthing]

Yes, and the most severe root problem of any such mostly private system based on INSURANCE is runaway COSTS. ACA wasn't the answer to that and neither is anything the republicans have proposed in their various trial balloons. Right wingers weren't completely wrong in their assumption that democrats saw ACA as a STEP towards actual single payer health care and some kind of variation of that remains the only possible hope to really reform the system. If Clinton had won, there may  have been some fixes to ACA moving in a more progressive direction (but maybe not, the congress votes aren't there). Under trump we'll get some "fixes" in a more regressive direction. Based on campaign promises, trump has to change something about it. If Sanders had won he wouldn't have had the votes either for single payer so it's debatable whether he could have accomplished much more than Clinton. Sadly, it now looks like the USA could be 50 years from doing the right thing on this. 

 

One thing that ACA did do and resisters to trumpism are trying to KEEP is assert at least in THEORY that basic access to health care is a sort of "right" of all U.S. citizens. ACA didn't actually accomplish that, of course, but the ideology was about that. So all the resistance we're now seeing could perhaps be seen on a larger, long term perspective as at least refusing to let go of that IDEOLOGY even though it's full realization will soon be going BACKWARDS. It's interesting that a significant percentage of even republicans and trumpists are not really so against that health care as a basic right ideology. Another reason this is going to be so hard for the republicans politically ... they have opposition to radically regressive changes that are much wider than the obvious opposition party. 

Edited February 25, 2017 by Jingthing

[partington]

I smell troll.

[Scott]

4 hours ago, partington said:

I smell troll.

Numerous troll posts removed along with replies.   One suspension given.  

[ilostmypassword]

Talk about reneging on promises. On Friday, Trump said the new health care plan would offer "access" to health care. This is the line that the Republican party adopted earlier. As Nicholas Kristof pointed out, when Marie Antoinette was told that that poor had no bread, she replied "Let them eat cake." So now Trump is apparently saying you can buy a great health insurance plan. All you need to have is lots of money. Another promise about to be broken.

[ilostmypassword]

 

President Trump on Monday said Republicans are working out a “very good” plan to repeal and replace Obamacare before the party tackles tax reform, though he appeared to be caught off-guard by the magnitude of the fight.

“It’s an unbelievably complex subject. Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated,” he told governors assembled at the White House.

http://nation.foxnews.com/2017/02/27/trump-nobody-knew-health-care-could-be-so-complicated

Plenty of people knew it was complicated. That said, it's not that complicated. Anyone who can sustain an attention span for 5 minutes would get the gist of it.

[Langsuan Man]

2 hours ago, ilostmypassword said:

“It’s an unbelievably complex subject. Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated,”

Duh,  maybe that is why in 6 years the Republicans couln't come up with a replacement

 

Someone want to tell him how complex it is going to be to build his wall !!!

 

Quote

The U.S. border with Mexico is roughly 2,000 miles long and underlines four states, from California to Texas, more than half of it along the Colorado River and Rio Grande. It is a massive stretch of land — the Berlin Wall spanned just 96 miles comparatively, and it cost about $25 million to build in 1961, or around $200 million with inflation.

source: http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/09/this-is-what-trumps-border-wall-could-cost-us.html

 

[funandsuninbangkok]

On 2/25/2017 at 3:59 PM, Srikcir said:

58 countries have universal government-sponsored healthcare systems of which only one is under a communist regime (Cuba).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_with_universal_health_care#Cuba

 

The US currently has a competitive market-sponsored universal healthcare system (ACA aka Obamacare) defined by minimum government standards and supplemented government revenues derived from taxes and fees to cover people who have affordability problems.

 

 

Bet none of those 58 countries could defend themselves in war with out US. 

 

Sorry mate,  free market knows best 

 

as Maggy Thatcher said, " Problem with socialism is you run out of OTHER people's money. "

[stevenl]

 

Bet none of those 58 countries could defend themselves in war with out US. 

 

Sorry mate,  free market knows best 

 

as Maggy Thatcher said, " Problem with socialism is you run out of OTHER people's money. "

In areas where universal service is provided to people free market should not be involved.

Your Thatcher quote has no bearing at all on health care, no socialism involved, but I'm sure you think it sounds good.

sent using Tapatalk

[funandsuninbangkok]

At least Americans CHOSE to spend 19% of GDP on health care. Europeans are FORCED to only have 9% allocated to their care. 

 

The US military extensively uses PRIVATE contractors. They are good value and move faster that government. 

 

Can you say Haliburton?

 

Saw Dick Chainy at the inauguration. Looked great!

[ilostmypassword]

43 minutes ago, funandsuninbangkok said:

At least Americans CHOSE to spend 19% of GDP on health care. Europeans are FORCED to only have 9% allocated to their care. 

 

The US military extensively uses PRIVATE contractors. They are good value and move faster that government. 

 

Can you say Haliburton?

 

Saw Dick Chainy at the inauguration. Looked great!

Really, Americans choose to spend 19%? You don't think anti-competitive forces like the AMA and Big Pharma have anything to do with that? And what does it say that the Europeans have better health outcomes with spending 9% than America does with spending 19%?  That is shows the superiority of capitalism?  

[Srikcir]

9 hours ago, funandsuninbangkok said:

" Problem with socialism is you run out of OTHER people's money. "

The problem with capitalism is you never run out of people's money.

[ilostmypassword]

1 hour ago, funandsuninbangkok said:

At least Americans CHOSE to spend 19% of GDP on health care. Europeans are FORCED to only have 9% allocated to their care. 

 

The US military extensively uses PRIVATE contractors. They are good value and move faster that government. 

 

Can you say Haliburton?

 

Saw Dick Chainy at the inauguration. Looked great!

You mean the same Dick Cheney who, when he was the head of Halliburton, pushed the US government to loosen restrictions so Halliburton could sell petroleum extraction equipment to the Iranians? Such a patriot!

Edited March 2, 2017 by ilostmypassword

[lannarebirth]

On 2/24/2017 at 9:27 PM, dcpo said:

It's hard for the Republicans to replace Obamacare because Obamacare is already the Republican alternative to the single payer system the Democrats really want. Obamacare was essentially designed by the Heritage Foundation, and first adopted by Romney. The fact that it suddenly became Conservative anathema just demonstrates how malleable Conservative principles can be.

It was first proposed by Nixon, the last progressive President. Teddy Kennedy and the Democrats shot it down at that time because they were holding out for Universal Healthcare. A good example of how right wing the Democrats have now become.

[stevenl]

2 hours ago, funandsuninbangkok said:

At least Americans CHOSE to spend 19% of GDP on health care. Europeans are FORCED to only have 9% allocated to their care. 

 

The US military extensively uses PRIVATE contractors. They are good value and move faster that government. 

 

Can you say Haliburton?

 

Saw Dick Chainy at the inauguration. Looked great!

So the system is worse yet more expensive and you're applauding that?

[funandsuninbangkok]

1 hour ago, stevenl said:

So the system is worse yet more expensive and you're applauding that?

US healthcare is indisputably the best in the world. 

 

Only Burnie Sanders groupies would argue otherwise

[Jingthing]

9 minutes ago, funandsuninbangkok said:

US healthcare is indisputably the best in the world. 

 

Only Burnie Sanders groupies would argue otherwise

For a minority of Americans with access to it, yes, the best healthcare in the world can be found in the USA. 

I don't think the honorable senator Sanders would disagree with that.

But there's the rub -- access and cost. 

Edited March 2, 2017 by Jingthing

[ilostmypassword]

21 minutes ago, funandsuninbangkok said:

US healthcare is indisputably the best in the world. 

 

Only Burnie Sanders groupies would argue otherwise

https://www.forbes.com/sites/danmunro/2014/06/16/u-s-healthcare-ranked-dead-last-compared-to-10-other-countries/#1e9d96f78e9a

[ilostmypassword]

13 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

For a minority of Americans with access to it, yes, the best healthcare in the world can be found in the USA. 

I don't think the honorable senator Sanders would disagree with that.

But there's the rub -- access and cost. 

Actually, there are plenty of European nations where the health care is just as good as the best that the USA has to offer if you've got the money. 

[Jingthing]

Life expectancy in the U.S. is lower than other "first world" nations because of the poor access to health care system. That is shameful! trump ran on "America first" -- OK, how about health care access to all Americans -- PERIOD. That's called universal, single payer, nationalized, etc. 

[stevenl]

55 minutes ago, funandsuninbangkok said:

US healthcare is indisputably the best in the world. 

 

Only Burnie Sanders groupies would argue otherwise

Excellent healthcare only available to a select few, good healthcare available to many, while many others are missing out.

 

So no, not the best in the world.

[ilostmypassword]

House Republicans Announce Only Republicans Are Allowed to See New Health-Care Plan

Yesterday, House Speaker Paul Ryan boasted that his party would follow a deliberate, transparent process to repeal and replace Obamacare...

Today, House Republicans made it known that they will release their plan tomorrow and that it will only be made available to House Republicans. Representative Chris Collins tells the Washington Examiner the plan “would be made available Thursday morning to Republicans in a basement room of an office building that adjoins the Capitol.”

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/03/only-republicans-are-allowed-to-see-new-health-care-plan.html?wpsrc=nymag

How do you reconcile that basement room with transparency? Maybe the walls of the basement room are made of glass?