Softening his approach, Trump helps seal a healthcare deal

[webfact]

Softening his approach, Trump helps seal a healthcare deal

By Steve Holland and Richard Cowan

REUTERS

 

U.S. President Donald Trump waves as he leaves the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., before his departure to New York May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump, on his third try at overhauling Obamacare, sent no tweets attacking fellow Republicans, set no deadlines and issued no public ultimatums. Lawmakers who met with him said he spoke with them, not at them.

 

Some lawmakers and aides in the U.S. House of Representatives were hesitant to credit Trump or his softer approach with Thursday's 217-213 vote rolling back President Barack Obama's signature 2010 healthcare overhaul.

 

Several aides emphasized the role of House Republican leaders and Vice President Mike Pence in bridging differences between the party's moderates and hardline conservatives.

 

Others said they saw a different Trump at work this week versus March 24, when he backed a bill that collapsed and again in April when his fellow Republicans failed a second time.

 

Representative Mark Sanford, a Republican member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, said on Thursday that in March the White House threatened to work against his re-election bid if he balked at supporting the healthcare bill.

 

This time Trump, who took office in January, was "largely absent," Sanford said, adding: "They got it clear that threats were not going to work with me."

 

In White House talks with Republican Representatives Fred Upton and Billy Long, Trump helped to nail down critical moderate votes.

 

A senior White House official said Trump worked the phones this time and realized it had been a mistake to set a deadline the first time. Trump spoke with Speaker Paul Ryan, the leading House Republican, during late-night calls.

 

In conversations with lawmakers, Trump kept the focus on meeting a Republican promise from the 2016 election campaign to roll back a federal government healthcare law that they view as too costly and over-reaching.

 

Any plan to overhaul Obamacare faces a tougher battle in the 100-member U.S. Senate, where Republicans hold a slimmer majority. While Republicans control both the White House and Congress, senators are traditionally less easily moved by presidential pressure than members of the House.

 

Democrats in both houses remained firmly opposed to a bill they said would deprive millions of Americans of healthcare coverage. "The bill is going nowhere fast in the United States Senate," said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.

 

PRE-EXISTING MEDICAL CONDITIONS A KEY

 

House Republicans joined an exuberant Trump for a victory lap in the White House Rose Garden after the vote. Turning to Ryan, Trump reminded him of the criticism the speaker faced when the healthcare bill stalled in the House the first time.

 

“For the last week, I’ve been hearing, ‘Paul Ryan doesn’t have it ... Then today, I heard Paul Ryan is a genius,’” Trump said.

 

A key turning point came on Monday, when Upton and four other Republican lawmakers met to discuss how the rollback bill could be changed to better protect people with pre-existing medical conditions, a concern for Republican moderates.

 

No amendment had been hammered out by Tuesday and Upton, an influential moderate, said he opposed the bill, as did Long, a close Trump ally. Trump called them both to the White House.

 

At their meeting on Wednesday, Upton and Long reminded Trump of his promise in a weekend television interview that the Republican plan would protect people with pre-existing medical conditions. They pressed him to stand by that commitment and it worked. Trump endorsed their amendment to add some money to the Republican bill for that purpose.

 

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump had 15 to 20 meetings or calls with House Republicans ahead of the vote. She said the president was "directly engaged."

 

If Senate Republicans can pass a bill, a House-Senate panel of negotiators likely would have to iron out the differences and present a compromise version for both chambers to pass.

 

"My only concern is the U.S. Senate," said Republican Representative Dave Brat, a Freedom Caucus member. "If they come back with any big changes that will make life a little tough."

 

Brat said Trump's role will be important. "The new variable is President Trump. If he gets out there and puts a little heat on it," then a Senate-House compromise is possible.

 

(Additional reporting by Yasmeen Abutaleb, David Morgan, Amanda Becker, Ayesha Rascoe, Tim Ahmann, Roberta Rampton, Eric Walsh and Susan Heavey; Writing by Will Dunham; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh, Caren Bohan and Howard Goller)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-05-05

[darksidedog]

I wonder if Trump would have been as eager to replace a popular policy with a bad one, if it hadn't had the word Obama in its title.

[jerojero]

Good luck to the elderly with preexisting conditions. Your premiums will now skyrocket. Glad not to be living there.

[brewsterbudgen]

Not a hope of passing the Senate.

Sent from my SM-A500F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[stevenl]

I read that the new rules of pre existing medical conditions is not applicable to members of Congress and Senate and their families, anybody know if that is correct?

[Grouse]

Major retrograde step for the USA.

 

Awful

 

Should have fixed big pharma and rip off physicians instead

[Berkshire]

This is such pure political nonsense that makes us even more cynical about the US Congress...if that's even possible.  It's not even about healthcare in America anymore, it's more about "winning."  The Republicans, most especially Trump, almost don't care what's in the bill or the impact that it will have on normal Americans.  All they care about is repealing and replacing the ACA.  That's it and that's all.  They never bothered to figure out the cost of this new bill, nor the numbers who will lose coverage.  Some in the GOP who voted for the bill didn't even know what's in it.  I almost hope the Senate passes this bill in its current form so the GOP gets buried next year in the mid-terms, but it appears they will modify it to be almost unrecognizable.  The House ain't going to like it.  If I was a betting man, I'd say this thing never becomes law.       

[ilostmypassword]

 

2 hours ago, stevenl said:

I read that the new rules of pre existing medical conditions is not applicable to members of Congress and Senate and their families, anybody know if that is correct?

"In a sign of the convoluted process Republican leaders are taking to try to unwind Obamacare, the AHCA includes one provision that most members oppose: an exemption from the law's effects for members of Congress and their staffs. Though Republicans insist they don't want an exemption, technical Senate budgetary rules prohibit them from removing it without dramatically diminishing the chances of getting the bill through the Senate."

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/04/obamacare-repeal-house-vote-decision-237972

[ilostmypassword]

President Trump inexplicably praises Australia’s universal health care after boasting about House bill that decimated Obamacare

But Trump then took the wind out of his own sails by complimenting Australia’s taxpayer-funded universal heath care system.

“I shouldn’t say this to our great gentlemen and my friend from Australia ... cause you have better health care than we do.”

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/trump-inexplicably-praises-australia-universal-health-care-article-1.3138401

[attrayant]

Thanks to efforts at weakening pre-existing conditions clauses, this iteration of the bill would kill more Trump voters than anyone else.

 

 

Furthermore, domestic abuse and sexual assault claims could now be considered pre-existing conditions.

[Jingthing]

This is going to be a major test of the resistance to mobilize nationally and pressure the Senate to bury trumpcare. But this turkey may still pass. Looking at the bigger picture I predict the next two elections will be largely about pro vs. con on Universal Healthcare. That's where the US is headed but it's sure tragic so many millions have had to die prematurely in the process.

[attrayant]

Wow it just keeps getting worse the more I read.  Have you ever donated a kidney to save somebody's life?  Now, as an organ donor, you've got a pre-existing condition.

 

People Who Donate Organs For Transplants Can Have Difficulty Getting Insurance

[JHolmesJr]

5 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Not a hope of passing the Senate.

Sent from my SM-A500F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Is that another poll?

[attrayant]

It's a prediction.  Would you care to make one?

 

This was a hard vote for the House. It’s going to be even harder to pass the Senate.

 

Quote

 

Passing AHCA in the House was difficult. At times, it looked impossible. The House passed it by making concessions to the party’s conservatives, who otherwise were hell bent on stopping the bill in its tracks.

 

While this will undoubtedly be touted as a big win for the Trump administration and the Republican platform for now, the bill still has a long way to go before it is signed into law — and by the looks of it, it might still be doomed in the process. Already Republicans in the Senate have made it clear that they have a lot of changes in mind, many of which would render the bill more moderate.

 

 

Essentially, the provisions senate republicans want are unpalatable to house republicans, and vice-versa.

[Jingthing]

I have no predictions now.

Obviously, it's a fact that this isn't nearly over yet.

But I would have predicted the entire "repeal and replace" the ACA was finished until after the 2018 midterm elections. But that didn't happen. 

[sujoop]

Republicans’ health bill takes $600 billion out of health care to cut taxes for the rich

It works out to approximately $5,000 worth of tax cuts per household. Except most households aren’t going to see their taxes cut at all because of which taxes the AHCA cuts.
 

*It eliminates a 3.8 percent tax that applied to capital gains, dividend, and interest income for families with $250,000 or more in income ($125,000 for singles).
    
*It eliminates a 0.9 percent tax on wage income in excess of $250,000 a year ($200,000 for unmarried people).
    
*It eliminates taxes on health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, and medical device manufacturers.
 

The typical American, in short, isn’t going to see any money from these tax cuts. But when you take all that money out of the system, something has to give.

 

https://www.vox.com/2017/5/4/15544774/ahca-tax-cut

 

 

Edited May 5, 2017 by sujoop

[Jingthing]

Fake populist "governing" as a plutocrat which is why he got enough republican votes in the house, as most republicans are fully on board the plutocrat agenda. 

[55Jay]

53 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

I have no predictions now.

Obviously, it's a fact that this isn't nearly over yet.

But I would have predicted the entire "repeal and replace" the ACA was finished until after the 2018 midterm elections. But that didn't happen. 

That's a relief.  But The Resistance is against anything and everything.  See post #7^.  Same thing and moreover, a repeat performance of the Obama Resistance.  

[ilostmypassword]

5 minutes ago, 55Jay said:

That's a relief.  But The Resistance is against anything and everything.  See post #7^.  Same thing and moreover, a repeat performance of the Obama Resistance.  

Relief for whom? It's certainly not going to continue relief for the millions of people it benefited. I'm not surprised you just posted an emotional reaction and no facts. Because the facts are massively against this bill. 

This is not the health-care bill that Trump promised

Trump’s promise to cover everyone more broadly and for less money was always an impossibility, akin to saying that you were going to have your cake, eat your cake — and give everyone in America the same cake, which would feed them forever. But based on the comments he made at the unusual Rose Garden ceremony to celebrate the passage of the House bill, it’s still not clear that he admits that what was passed diverges from what he promised.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/05/04/this-is-not-the-health-care-bill-that-donald-trump-promised/?utm_term=.81fd3e8f03f6

 

[Thaidream]

The only thing that I have ever heard Trump say that was the truth is that Australia has a better healthcare system than America. Obamacare was flawed but Trump Care is horrid and will cause the premature deaths of many Americans if it becomes law.

 

The purpose of healthcare is to take care of the health of people- the ill and those who are not. It is totally illogical and without any merit to exclude people with pre existing conditions- they are the ill. the only healthcare system that will ever work in America is the same system that the Australians have as well as Japan, the Uk and every other country with universal healthcare- a single payer system not dependent upon insurance companies or big Pharma.

 

Healthcare is a human right not some type of commodity in which hospitals; doctors; insurance companies or the pharmaceutical industry uses to make money and the highest profit they can. Until American politicians stop taking money from the very industries that profit off the backs of sick Americans and go to a single payer system- nothing will change. Amereicans will continue to die because they cannot afford healthcare while the rest of the industrialized World takes care of its citizens.

 

Donald Trump and his minions are a disgusting example of what happens in a society in which big money has invaded the political process and  the average person is left to the devices of a corrupt establishment that would sell its soul to the highest bidder.

[55Jay]

2 hours ago, ilostmypassword said:

Relief for whom? It's certainly not going to continue relief for the millions of people it benefited. I'm not surprised you just posted an emotional reaction and no facts. Because the facts are massively against this bill. 

This is not the health-care bill that Trump promised

Trump’s promise to cover everyone more broadly and for less money was always an impossibility, akin to saying that you were going to have your cake, eat your cake — and give everyone in America the same cake, which would feed them forever. But based on the comments he made at the unusual Rose Garden ceremony to celebrate the passage of the House bill, it’s still not clear that he admits that what was passed diverges from what he promised.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/05/04/this-is-not-the-health-care-bill-that-donald-trump-promised/?utm_term=.81fd3e8f03f6

 

LOL.  Nice attempt at re-direction, but no cigar.

[Thakkar]

‘AN ACT OF MONSTROUS CRUELTY’ 

 

Paul Weldman, writing for The Washington Post’s Plum Line:

 

"Here at the Plum Line, we write a lot about the mechanics of politics — the processes of governing, the interplay of political forces, the back-and-forth between citizens and lawmakers, and so on. We do that because it’s interesting and because it winds up affecting all our lives. But there are moments when you have to set aside the mechanics and focus intently on the substance of what government does — or in this case, what government is trying to do.

I won’t mince words. The health-care bill that the House of Representatives passed this afternoon, in an incredibly narrow 217-to-213 vote, is not just wrong, or misguided, or problematic or foolish. It is an abomination. If there has been a piece of legislation in our lifetimes that boiled over with as much malice and indifference to human suffering, I can’t recall what it might have been. And every member of the House who voted for it must be held accountable."

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/05/04/every-republican-who-voted-for-this-abomination-must-be-held-accountable/

 

Includes a solid point-by-point rundown of just what’s in this bill.

 

--

 

And here's a related story on the ACA and reductions in personal bankruptcies from Consumer Reports:

 

CONSUMER REPORTS: THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT DROVE DOWN PERSONAL BANKRUPTCY 

As legislators and the executive branch renew their efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act this week, they might want to keep in mind a little-known financial consequence of the ACA: Since its adoption, far fewer Americans have taken the extreme step of filing for personal bankruptcy.

Filings have dropped about 50 percent, from 1,536,799 in 2010 to 770,846 in 2016. Those years also represent the time frame when the ACA took effect. Although courts never ask people to declare why they’re filing, many bankruptcy and legal experts agree that medical bills had been a leading cause of personal bankruptcy before public healthcare coverage expanded under the ACA. Unlike other causes of debt, medical bills are often unexpected, involuntary, and large. […]

“It’s absolutely remarkable,” says Jim Molleur, a Maine-based bankruptcy attorney with 20 years of experience. “We’re not getting people with big medical bills, chronically sick people who would hit those lifetime caps or be denied because of pre-existing conditions. They seemed to disappear almost overnight once ACA kicked in.”

 

http://www.consumerreports.org/personal-bankruptcy/how-the-aca-drove-down-personal-bankruptcy/

 

--

 

Currently this bill is not only disliked by the majority of the American people, but virtually every major group that has weighed in on it also opposes it.

 

Which includes, The American Medical Association, American Nurses Association, American College of Physicians, National Nurses United, National, Physicians Alliance, Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

(Also: American Cancer Society, AARP, American Lung Association, Heart Association, Diabetes Association, National Rural Health Association, The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, National Organization of Rare Disorders, National Coalition of women with heart disease and many many more organizations that are daily in the trenches of American healthcare).

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/08/politics/interest-groups-politicians-american-health-care-act/

 

--

 

With the ACA, which took over a year to pass after numerous hearings and analysis, Republicans constantly complained that "it was being rushed through"

 

Meanwhile with their bill, there have been no hearings, no studies, no Congressional Budget Office analysis, not even the text of the bill circulated the day before the vote. 

 

This bill gives a trillion dollar tax cut to the better off while penalizing the elderly, the poor and those unfortunate enough to suffer from pre existing conditions. 

 

The bill also specifically exempts congress people and their dependents from harshest provisions.

 

 

 

 

[F4UCorsair]

10 hours ago, stevenl said:

 

Edited May 5, 2017 by F4UCorsair
my post could possibly be seen as flaming

[F4UCorsair]

Just now, Thakkar said:

‘AN ACT OF MONSTROUS CRUELTY’ 

 

Paul Weldman, writing for The Washington Post’s Plum Line:

 

"Here at the Plum Line, we write a lot about the mechanics of politics — the processes of governing, the interplay of political forces, the back-and-forth between citizens and lawmakers, and so on. We do that because it’s interesting and because it winds up affecting all our lives. But there are moments when you have to set aside the mechanics and focus intently on the substance of what government does — or in this case, what government is trying to do.

I won’t mince words. The health-care bill that the House of Representatives passed this afternoon, in an incredibly narrow 217-to-213 vote, is not just wrong, or misguided, or problematic or foolish. It is an abomination. If there has been a piece of legislation in our lifetimes that boiled over with as much malice and indifference to human suffering, I can’t recall what it might have been. And every member of the House who voted for it must be held accountable."

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/05/04/every-republican-who-voted-for-this-abomination-must-be-held-accountable/

 

 

 

There's probably no publication that is more anti Trump than the Washington Post, so I'd take whatever it reports with a grain of salt and wait for a more reputable news source to publish the truth.

[F4UCorsair]

2 hours ago, Thaidream said:

The only thing that I have ever heard Trump say that was the truth is that Australia has a better healthcare system than America. Obamacare was flawed but Trump Care is horrid and will cause the premature deaths of many Americans if it becomes law.

 

The purpose of healthcare is to take care of the health of people- the ill and those who are not. It is totally illogical and without any merit to exclude people with pre existing conditions- they are the ill. the only healthcare system that will ever work in America is the same system that the Australians have as well as Japan, the Uk and every other country with universal healthcare- a single payer system not dependent upon insurance companies or big Pharma.

 

Healthcare is a human right not some type of commodity in which hospitals; doctors; insurance companies or the pharmaceutical industry uses to make money and the highest profit they can. Until American politicians stop taking money from the very industries that profit off the backs of sick Americans and go to a single payer system- nothing will change. Amereicans will continue to die because they cannot afford healthcare while the rest of the industrialized World takes care of its citizens.

 

Donald Trump and his minions are a disgusting example of what happens in a society in which big money has invaded the political process and  the average person is left to the devices of a corrupt establishment that would sell its soul to the highest bidder.

How do you know it's the truth?   You've studied both systems, and done a direct comparison??

 

I think the Australian system is quite ordinary in many ways, but I haven't compared with the US system.

[F4UCorsair]

2 hours ago, Thaidream said:

The only thing that I have ever heard Trump say that was the truth is that Australia has a better healthcare system than America. Obamacare was flawed but Trump Care is horrid and will cause the premature deaths of many Americans if it becomes law.

 

The purpose of healthcare is to take care of the health of people- the ill and those who are not. It is totally illogical and without any merit to exclude people with pre existing conditions- they are the ill. the only healthcare system that will ever work in America is the same system that the Australians have as well as Japan, the Uk and every other country with universal healthcare- a single payer system not dependent upon insurance companies or big Pharma.

 

Healthcare is a human right not some type of commodity in which hospitals; doctors; insurance companies or the pharmaceutical industry uses to make money and the highest profit they can. Until American politicians stop taking money from the very industries that profit off the backs of sick Americans and go to a single payer system- nothing will change. Amereicans will continue to die because they cannot afford healthcare while the rest of the industrialized World takes care of its citizens.

 

Donald Trump and his minions are a disgusting example of what happens in a society in which big money has invaded the political process and  the average person is left to the devices of a corrupt establishment that would sell its soul to the highest bidder.

"Healthcare is a human right not some type of commodity in which hospitals; doctors; insurance companies or the pharmaceutical industry uses to make money and the highest profit they can."

 

If you believe that, you believe in the tooth fairy.  They are ALL out to make the most money they can.   It's called business.....pharmaceutical companies are inbusiness, insurance companies are in business, doctors are in business, hospitals are in business.   How can you suggest otherwise?

[Jingthing]

More on the unprecedented cruelty. Resistance is crucial now.

 

Cruel Old Party

 

The GOP’s passage of Trumpcare is one of the most callous things the party has ever done.

 

 

 

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2017/05/the_gop_s_passage_of_trumpcare_is_one_of_the_cruelest_things_the_party_has.html

 

 

[funandsuninbangkok]

Massive political victory for Trump!

 

Kills the Democrats attempt to get Americans hooked on government handouts. 

 

Allows individual states to decide what type of health insurance system they want and how much they want to give indigent patients. 

 

It frees Americans from gray government clerks running their lives. 

 

Land of the free, home of the brave. 

[Andaman Al]

38 minutes ago, funandsuninbangkok said:

Land of the free, home of the brave.

Far from it. The antithesis in fact. How can you be even considered to be free?

 

The republicans have admitted that they signed in a bill that they have not even read. How can the Republicans have passed a bill before the study is complete that will tell them how many people it will effect and how much it will cost? Every single person that voted in the bill deserves to be voted out of office next year. How can it be a political victory for Trump when nothing that he promised is in the bill? Voting this massive change before all the cause/effects/consequences are known is nothing short of political gross negligence.

 

The bill will be a total disaster for the USA. However it is likely that the Senate will pass the bill once they have changed it beyond recognition to what it is now. One can only hope.

 

The hardship this will cause people is beyond belief.

 

States can now opt out of providing an Ambulance service!! Maybe people can have a sticker on their trucks and throw you in the back of a pick-up like they do in Thailand. (you know if you are in a bad way after a car accident these jokers - on the way to hospital have been known to hold the victims nose and mouth so that they die - the hospital pays them an extra 500 baht for picking up a dead body!!) All coming soon to the USA. It will have to be the home of the brave just to live there!

 

Proud not to be an American.

Edited May 5, 2017 by Andaman Al

[ToS2014]

16 hours ago, Berkshire said:

This is such pure political nonsense that makes us even more cynical about the US Congress...if that's even possible.  It's not even about healthcare in America anymore, it's more about "winning."  The Republicans, most especially Trump, almost don't care what's in the bill or the impact that it will have on normal Americans.  All they care about is repealing and replacing the ACA.  That's it and that's all.  They never bothered to figure out the cost of this new bill, nor the numbers who will lose coverage.  Some in the GOP who voted for the bill didn't even know what's in it.  I almost hope the Senate passes this bill in its current form so the GOP gets buried next year in the mid-terms, but it appears they will modify it to be almost unrecognizable.  The House ain't going to like it.  If I was a betting man, I'd say this thing never becomes law.       

Good thoughts.  Now, if you could, back up 7+ years and replace GOP and other names with those prior.  Sounds just about right!