Obamacare repeal?
The only GOP person of prominence I hear making noises about repealing Obamacare, a promise made by Trump and a lot of GOP congressweasels, Rand Paul. And he’s not too happy:
I have been told that the House Obamacare bill is under lock & key, in a secure location, & not available for me or the public to view.
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 2, 2017
I guess you have to pass the bill so you can see what’s in it?
Seriously, GOP, you ran on this, now do something about it. Looks Paul is just about the only one trying. And apparently it gets worse:
March 2nd, 2017 at 7:14 pm
They screwed themselves by saying “replace”. There is no way to keep the pre-existing condition clause if the plan is to be sustainable. Even if they KEEP the individual mandate, it is unworkable.
Insurance can’t pay for shit that happened before you signed up, unless the deductible is the sum total of premiums you would have paid since before you were sick, or that are a metric shit load more people paying in than taking out.
March 2nd, 2017 at 9:08 pm
Yup; they can’t get past the Progressive notion of a government that “runs the country” and “takes care of” everyone. In other words; the United States, as founded, as a system of liberty and justice for all, acknowledging that all Men are created equal, endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, is unacceptable to them.
“I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.” — James Madison
There’s what, one or two Republicans alive would would agree with that? Trump doesn’t.
March 2nd, 2017 at 11:53 pm
When the House passes it, it will send it to the Senate. That’s how it works. Paul Rand (sic) is grandstanding. What’s stopping him from writing his own bill, getting it passed by the Senate, and sending it to the House?
He’s just miffed because now he doesn’t have the dorkiest hair in DC, is what I suspect.
March 3rd, 2017 at 6:03 am
For quite some time now Republicans have beeen nothing more than Democrats in more expensive suits; the suits are just as empty, though.
I’m with nk (above). Paul is free to stop his bitching, slap together a bill, and push it front and center. So it every other Republican who has chimed in on the topic.
As for “replace,” there’s no question some legislation is necessary, but “replace” ain’t it. Simple formula: remove “dead hand of government” restrictions on 50-state operations of medical insurers, and get the $@# out of the way and let the insurers assemble solutions that best suit their companies’ economics and structure. If the insurers screw that up, they’ll go out of business, which is as it should be.
A message to Washington: our lives are not something we need idiots like you messing with. Sit down, STFU, and start repealing restrictions on free, fair and open economic activities. I know that means you aren’t in control, live with it. Stay out of our way and we’ll let you continue going to each other’s cocktail parties and mutual back-slapping events on our dime (note that “dime” is a reduction from “dollar”, the operative part there being “our”).
March 3rd, 2017 at 10:30 am
One thing is apparent: Senator Paul is not privy to what the upper hierarchy of the Washington, D.C. Uni-Party has in store for us irredeemable and deplorable folks.
Senator Paul can get in line and wait with the rest of us to see what’s in the new healthcare bill. Once Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan okays it with Obama and other high ranking Uni-Party members and donors, we’ll all find out.
Of course, the simplest solution would be to repeal it and replace it with the free market. But the Uni-Party knows that would mean losing more power and control over our lives, as well as a serious revenue drop.
One has to wonder these days when the bill is finally introduced, how much Russian influence and/or hacking will be detected in it and reported on 24/7 by the Uni-Party’s media?
March 3rd, 2017 at 11:02 am
Devil’s advocate here. I’d expect a relatively small team working on the bill to keep it confined until it’s ready for a public appearance. Until it’s been polished up, it’s bound to contain more than a few gaffes that the opposition will pounce upon with loud cries of derision.
Besides, a camel is a horse designed by a committee. Keeping the committee small means it’ll probably be a one-hump camel rather than a two-hump camel. Maybe, if we’re lucky, a llama.
They better keep the bill compact, and give everybody a chance to look it over well before any votes are taken, though.
March 3rd, 2017 at 11:21 am
My understanding of “free-market” insurance is that groups, particularly employee plans, already accept pre-existing conditions after a certain period of coverage. I want to say six months but it may be longer. So that’s not necessarily a poison pill.
Now, if they got rid of the mandate, and gave “free market” incentives such as getting rid of the “conforming policy” requirement and allowing people to get the coverage they want to pay for …? all it would do is create a very large group like all the other groups and “captives” that already are out there, but require neither a particular employer nor membership in any union or other insurance co-operative association.
March 6th, 2017 at 6:28 am
What happens if Rand and two other Senators decide to no longer caucus with the republicans? No one has a majority. It would seem that those rogue three would have all the power and we’d end up with coalition governing.
March 6th, 2017 at 1:05 pm
Johnnyishootstuff, I can see McCain and Graham lighting a streak to join this. Whereupon, they will try to take over and run it counter to anything Rand wants to do.