GOP Readies Swift Obamacare Repeal With No Replacement in Place

[portlander23]

GOP Readies Swift Obamacare Repeal With No Replacement in Place
Sahil Kapur
Bloomberg

“They haven’t come to a consensus in the House and the Senate about the possible replacement plans,” said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a conservative economist and former adviser to Senator John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign. “They don’t know Point B.”

Republicans are debating how long to delay implementing the repeal. Aides involved in the deliberations said some parts of the law may be ended quickly, such as its regulations affecting insurer health plans and businesses. Other pieces may be maintained for up to three or four years, such as insurance subsidies and the Medicaid expansion. Some parts of the law may never be repealed, such as the provision letting people under age 26 remain on a parent’s plan.

If Republicans stick together, repeal could happen quickly. The Senate plans to move first on a nonbinding budget resolution instructing committees to draft repeal legislation, with the House approving it next. The resulting proposals would be sent for final votes under a process known as reconciliation, which is used to bypass the 60-vote threshold in the Senate.

Some Republican aides say they may pursue a replacement through a series of small bills as opposed to one big measure. Leading Republicans such as Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas have said they want Democratic buy-in on a replacement plan. Breaking a filibuster would require the support of at least eight Democrats.

[Squinch]

1. Am I right in this thought: it doesn't really matter if they delay the ending of the

program because insurers will begin to run as soon as the ending is announced, and the program will collapse in a short time.

So the backlash the Republicans are hoping to avoid is going to come at them quickly no matter how long a lead time they plan.

Is that a reasonable assumption?

[portlander23]

2. Who knows

Depending on which state you're in, insurers are already getting out of the exchanges. I think the only prediction we can make right now is things will get worse.

[yardwork]

8. If the unpopular provisions are removed, insurers will bail.

The insurers already feel that they were lied to by Congress, who never provided promised subsidies for covering the very sick. If the program no longer requires younger, healthier people to join, it will collapse. It's not sustainable if the pool of insured is mostly very sick.

The US needs to expand Medicare and cover everybody. If Hillary had been elected and we took back the Senate, we had a chance. Democrats have to take back both houses of Congress and the White House to get us universal health care.

[earthside]

3. The Democrats should just let them do it.

The sooner and faster the better.

Sure, some token resistance from Congressional Democrats is politically necessary, but when it comes to the ACA the Republicans should be allowed to have their way. In fact, Democrats in Congress should figure out ways to make the Republicans repeal even the parts of the ACA that Republicans like -- don't let them off the hook.

What's that old saying? Be careful what you ask for because you might just get it.

There isn't going to be a true resistance or rebellion against Trumpism without some suffering, that is sad but true. The worst thing Congressional Democrats can do, in my opinion, is undertake maneuvers that will make Trumpism acceptable or comfortable.

And ... I predict that after ACA repeal within as short a time a six months the catastrophe in health care in the United States will implode the Trump regime.

On an aside, I also wish that the Senate Democrats would have enough gumption to insist that the 60 vote filibuster rule be finally dumped. If Democrats had done that in 2009, I suspect that they would have been able to pass enough reforms that the House and Senate would not have been lost. Majority should rule in this country and the party in power should have to take total responsibility for their actions.

[yardwork]

9. I hoped that would happen in 1980 and 2000.

Instead, the Republicans succeeded in blaming every bad outcome of their policies on the Democrats, and the country turned harder and harder to the right.

[earthside]

15. Congressional Democrats are just too risk averse.

I'm not bashing ... that is just my critique.

And it has gotten worse as corporate and banking money has flowed to their campaigns.

Frankly, Democrats in Congress ought to take a ruthless, cynical stance towards Trump and the Republican majorities.

However, I am afraid that they will always try and provide an escape hatch for Republicans by trying to lessen the horrible impacts of GOP policies. Then as noted, "Republicans [will] succeed[ed] in blaming every bad outcome of their policies on the Democrats." When things to bad they will point at Democrats and say that if only they hadn't let Democrats water-down their proposals they would have succeeded.

I am terribly pessimistic -- Trump and the reactionary right are good at the big lie, at brazenness, at stoking anger and fear -- almost all mainstream elected Democrats are simply outclassed in this area, too afraid to fight fire with fire.

[Kablooie]

4. Look out. The Dems will be blamed.

Trump completely controls the media's message.
Dems have no way to contradict him.

Stop relying on reality to expose the corruption. It's futile.

Pubs will get off Scott free and as people die, Dems will be held responsible, that's why they can do this.
I'm sure of it.

[yardwork]

11. I see the same. This strategy has worked for decades. People are too gullible.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

5. There better not be any Democratic "buy-in" on a replacement plan

The Democratic plan is law right as we speak and it's helping people and record numbers of people are signing up for it. If Republicans genuinely want to talk about ways to make the law better, work better, etc., then that's a fair discussion to have. If Republicans are bound and determined to destroy the law root and branch, then they should have to own the resulting catastrophe and be made responsible for coming up with the replacement plan.

[Squinch]

10. Not only that, they better be on TV every damn day talking about how Republicans are taking

away the health care that the working class American depends on. They better be screaming that Republicans are taking money from working class Americans and pulling their healthcare out from under them.

And, God help me that I had to learn this sad fact about my country, but they better have a catchy slogan for what the Republicans are doing, and what the Democrats would do if given the chance.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

12. They ought to be capitalizing on Republican governors' growing uneasiness

with repeal, as well.

[smirkymonkey]

6. Of course not.

Did anyone ever think they would?

[Xolodno]

7. I get the feeling, that a "repeal" will be in name only.

They'll repeal what they can under reconciliation then as time goes on, a rider here and there, some small legislation there and voila. They dismantle the bill only put it back together. Why?

The GOP is chickenshit. These guys care about their own jobs first and foremost and throwing a bunch of people off health care will cost them that.

So, they take credit for "repealing" it while taking credit for "fixing" it. And their dumb base will fall for it.

[Hugin]

13. Yup... Cafeteria Republicanism.

Cherry picking the parts of everything with an eye to what either makes them look good (at no or minimal cost) or makes some sponsor of their's or themselves bucket loads of cash.

They are a totality of socializing the risk and privatizing the profit... The ONLY thing they really believe in.

[uponit7771]

14. +1

[Yavin4]

16. Dems must make Republicans own healthcare if they repeal the ACA.

They have to make sure that the public knows that if healthcare fails, they blame the Republicans.