The text of Republican health care reform bill to replace Obamacare was released Monday night. Tuesday morning, President Donald Trump offered a full-throated endorsement of the legislation put forward by House Republican leadership.
The bill is “out for review,” President Trump tweeted. Well, the CR review is in, and the bill is terrible. For the last six years, the primary complaints of Republicans against Obamacare were the unconstitutional individual mandate and the insurance regulations that are driving up the cost of premiums.
Neither of those problems are addressed in the RINOcare bill. A Republican version of the individual mandate remains in place to penalize individuals who forgo insurance coverage. The insurance regulations that require insurance companies to cover individuals with pre-existing conditions and the community rating regulation — the requirement that insurance companies charge even the sickest applicants the price of the community — are still there. These regulations are the reason health insurance premiums keep going up every year.
So the structural problems of Obamacare that make health insurance unaffordable for millions of Americans are enshrined in the “replacement” bill proposed by House Republicans.
Will these problems be addressed? According to the president, there will be a phase two and a phase three of Republican health care reform.
The problem is that the Republican Party promised a full repeal of Obamacare in every election season for the last six years. They won the elections in 2010, 2014, and 2016 running on full repeal. This current bill is not full repeal.
It doesn’t matter what additional changes they make to their replacement plan. If Republicans keep the structural problems of Obamacare in place, as they have done in this draft, they will not make health insurance affordable. Breaking a promise of that magnitude will have far-reaching political consequences that will knock Republicans out of power. Health care will likely be handed back to the Democrat Party and their single-payer socialist schemes.
Conservative Review’s Daniel Horowitz was clear when he wrote “It’s time for President Trump to lead, or this is over.”
Here is a sports analogy to make this point even more clear. Obamacare is the basketball. The GOP is the team wearing the green jerseys. President Donald Trump needs to be the coach.
Right now, in this pivotal moment, President Trump is not being the coach
Poster Comment:
Its not single payer.
The original at the link includes tweets like :
Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
Our wonderful new Healthcare Bill is now out for review and negotiation. ObamaCare is a complete and total disaster - is imploding fast! 7:13 AM - 7 Mar 2017
#1: Hondo68 To: TrappedInMd (#0)
Trump and the Real Republicans (ObamaCare loving establishment azzholes) run ads against conservatives....
Hondo68 posted on 2017-03-09 15:50:39 Reply Private Reply
#2: misterwhite To: TrappedInMd (#0)
The author of the article is either stupid, ignorant, or a Democrat. The rules of reconciliation allow only certain provisions of the ACA to be changed immediately with only 51 votes in the Senate. The rest will follow in Parts II and III.
misterwhite posted on 2017-03-09 15:54:44 Reply Private Reply
#3: misterwhite To: TrappedInMd (#0)
An immediate full repeal of Obamacare would leave tens of millions of people without insurance. A full replacement of Obamacare requires 60 votes in the Senate.
How long would it take to get 8 Democrats to vote with the 52 Republicans? Two years? Five years? Eight years?
misterwhite posted on 2017-03-09 15:59:29 Reply Private Reply
#4: Stoner To: TrappedInMd (#0)
Stoner posted on 2017-03-09 16:04:02 Reply Private Reply
#5: TrappedInMd To: misterwhite (#3)
Your comments are somewhat contradictory because if they have no chance of getting 60 and part I was to get passed (hard to imagine that as a possibility right now), then there will never be a part II and III and part I would be Trump/Ryan-care, and Republicans will own all the country's health care problems, and deficits, and regulations.
TrappedInMd posted on 2017-03-10 10:36:26 Reply Private Reply
#6: A K A Stone To: TrappedInMd (#5)
You are correct imo.
A K A Stone posted on 2017-03-10 10:39:54 Reply Private Reply
#7: misterwhite To: TrappedInMd (#5)
You really should watch the Paul Ryan PowerPoint presentation.
Part I should pass without a problem -- they only need 51 votes in the Senate. Part II is regulatory reform and Congress isn't even necessary.
Part III is indeed the tough one. That consists of new laws -- buying insurance across state lines, tort reform, Medicaid reform, etc. But if Congress gets momentum from Parts I & II, and with the mid-term election next year, there's a chance.
If they can't, then hopefully Trump can convince the electorate to give him the 60 votes he needs in the Senate and we'll get it done then. We'll see how stupid the Democrats are.
misterwhite posted on 2017-03-10 11:24:14 Reply Private Reply
#8: TrappedInMd To: misterwhite (#7)
Republicans are completely at odds with each other on national health care. None of their repeal votes counted in the past (congresses) which is the only reason why so many did them. I don't see them getting anywhere near 51 in the Senate
At this point its still hypothetical but if they passed part I there is also the chance that they stir up a midterm backlash that makes it even more impossible to govern. (Trumpcare/GOPCare, etc)
And Trump with a Democrat congress?? Don't even want to think about it.
TrappedInMd posted on 2017-03-10 13:22:51 Reply Private Reply
#9: A K A Stone To: misterwhite (#7)
A K A Stone posted on 2017-03-10 13:27:51 Reply Private Reply
#10: TrappedInMd To: A K A Stone, misterwhite (#9)
I think you are talking about Republican Senators changing the rules to pass parts II+III with only 51.
If so, the problem is that McConnell would get even less Senators to vote for that, changing the rules, < 25 ??
They love the filibuster. It protects them.
TrappedInMd posted on 2017-03-10 13:39:36 Reply Private Reply
#11: misterwhite To: A K A Stone (#9)
Part III? Sure. If they change Senate rules.
misterwhite posted on 2017-03-10 13:47:32 Reply Private Reply
#12: A K A Stone To: TrappedInMd, misterwhite (#10)
They are liars.
A K A Stone posted on 2017-03-10 16:41:57 Reply Private Reply
#13: Hondo68 To: misterwhite, stinking pile of garbage (#11)
Hondo68 posted on 2017-03-10 18:14:36 Reply Private Reply
#14: misterwhite To: hondo68 (#13)
misterwhite posted on 2017-03-10 20:12:03 Reply Private Reply
#15: Hondo68 To: misterwhite, *The Two Parties ARE the Same* (#14)
Thank you, that will help him greatly.
Hondo68 posted on 2017-03-10 20:15:06 Reply Private Reply
#16: Hondo68 To: TrappedInMd (#8)
Hondo68 posted on 2017-03-11 01:36:24 Reply Private Reply