Democrats should FIX the ACA in 45 pages

[superpatriotman]

Since size is all that's important.

Let's not burn down the house because the screen door has a hole in it. Let's fix the problems. Edit and compile it into pamphlet form and present it as a real healthcare plan that Americans can rally around.

45 pages.

Fix it.

[ret5hd]

1. 45 pages? One phrase: Medicare For All

[Orsino]

10. Plus 4500 pages...

...on how to retrain/reemploy the entire private health care industry.

[briv1016]

14. A doctor would still be a doctor, a hopital would still be a hospital.

It's the insurance industry that would have to retrained and re-employed.

[Orsino]

33. Thanks. That's what I meant.

Medicare for all is a fine goal, but it's one to ease into. Slaying an entire industry at a stroke won't happen, and shouldn't even if we could.

[area51]

16. They can always sell other insurance. n/t

[Beartracks]

2. I suppose there's no reason Dems can't propose ACA-fixing legislation.

It would be something to compare the GOP's steaming pile to.

=====================

[superpatriotman]

3. My point exactly

Why haven't they produced a fix? They will definitely be accused of not doing so.

[dawg]

4. Because anything we propose will just end up being twisted and used against us?

Let the bastards twist in the wind, I say.

Governing is hard. And they *own* this issue now.

[Ms. Toad]

7. My daughter is not a bastard - and she'll be one of the ones twisting in the wind - or her grave

when she can't pay for health care because we want to ensure Republicans "own" this.

[dawg]

8. I'm sorry. But it's the best way to help your daughter and all those like her.

Giving the Republicans political cover will not help anyone.

They are trying to deny your daughter health care. And they would very much like to do so in a way that can be blamed partially on us.

Are you for that?

[unblock]

5. absolutely no f*cking way! we are not bailing republicans out of this one!

[Ms. Toad]

6. Thanks for putting party purity above my daughter's life. n/t

[dawg]

9. I respect the seriousness of your circumstances, but you raise a false premise.

There's nothing we can do about this other than, hopefully, obstruct them.

The Republicans aren't offering to provide your daughter with health care in return for us giving them some tax cuts. They aren't using her as a bargaining chip.

Cutting off your daughter, and millions of other peoples sons and daughters, is their central objective.

We can either collaborate with them or we can fight them.

I'm for fighting.

[Ms. Toad]

12. The only responsible action is to do what we can to save as much as we can,

including by proposing fixes to things we know need to be fixed, or by making proposals that might not be ideal - but which might pull enough support from moderate republicans to pass (or to prevent a disastrous replacement plan from being implemented). That is neither collaborating with them, nor obstructing for the purpose of forcing them to "own" it.

It is called responsibly governing. Refusing to do so, for the purpose of making then "own" it, in my book, is as bad as what the Republicans are doing, because we know better and purport to care about people.

[dawg]

25. Again, I'm sorry for your daughter's situation.

But being naive and playing into the Republicans' hands won't help her.

"Moderate Republicans" are not going to work with us to make things better. The world doesn't work that way anymore, and it is dangerous that some of us are still tricked into believing that it does.

"Responsibly governing" is something that only the party in power is able to do. I can assure you, if the Republicans were ever to offer a health care bill that was not a complete disaster, Democrats would vote for it.

But that is never going to happen.

They want to take away people's health care. We can't stop that.

We can either give them political cover, or we can stand defiant.

[superpatriotman]

27. Or we can fix the problems like grown ups

And let the public decide who has the better plan. The public may just surprise you and opt for our fix.

If the fix is radical, so be it. If it involves some tweaks, so be it. But fix it.

[dawg]

29. But the public doesn't get to decide. The House and the Senate decides.

Besides, we have a plan. It's called the ACA.

You seriously misunderstand the reality of the political situation we are in. I wish to God we actually lived in the kind of civics textbook world that you believe in, because it would be much better than our reality.

But in our real world, any changes we propose will be:

1. rejected

2. mischaracterized and demonized

3. used to excuse and give political cover to Republicans as they take people's health care away

And when that plan inevitably leads to the collapse of the individual health insurance market, it will have been a bi-partisan failure.

[superpatriotman]

30. I disagree

If we do nothing, we have done nothing.

Of course we won't get them to agree to our ideas. But that does not change the ideas.

What are the Democrats ideas to fix the ACA?
It's a simple, important question.

[dawg]

32. "Spend more money on it" is the easy answer.

Larger subsidies.

New subsidies for the working poor who fell through the cracks in dickish red states who refused to expand Medicaid.

But proposing that right now would be self-defeating.

It would just give the Republicans an excuse to rail at how expensive our solution would be.

Cutting coverage will always be cheaper than providing it.

We offered a real plan, the ACA, that provided coverage to millions of people at a reasonable cost to the government. They have promised to provide better coverage that will be cheaper both to the government and to the individuals purchasing the plans.

They've had eight years to criticize and sabotage our plan. Now, it's their turn to put up or shut up.

[unblock]

11. I want healthcare for everyone, so kindly direct your whining

To the republicans who have fought to restrict access to healthcare for ages. We democrats have been the ones enacting solutions. We democrats have been the ones that extending coverage.

Right now we're the minority party and our power is limited to the power to obstruct and delay and to try to build a majority in the midterms and 2020.

In the meanwhile, obstructing keeps people covered under Obamacare and other programs democrats built.

I don't know your daughter's situation but I find it odd to complain about the tactics of the minority party in trying to preserve the healthcare gains that the republicans are trying to throw out.

[Ms. Toad]

13. I'm directing it to the people in the Democratic party who are putting party purity

over people's health and lives, by suggesting that failure owned by Republicans is preferable to making proposals fix what is wrong - and that no Democrat should even attempt to salvage what can be salvaged.

Obstructing does not keep people covered, when Republicans have the votes to repeal the ACA. Suggesting changes that might gain the support of moderate Republicans, some of whom have publicly opposed some of the worst aspects of current plan, might.

This sentiment that we need to force Republicans to "own" whatever results - rather than working toward making the best of what whe can - puts party purity over people, and is reprehensible.

My daughter has a chronic progressive disease that will ultimately require at least one transplant, likely more, and that puts her at risk for a half dozen very aggressive cancers. Her billed health care costs are $40,000 - $60,000 each and every year (and will be at least a half million in the year(s) she needs a transplant - and will rise to $100,000+ each and every year thereafter). I'm going to blast anyone who thinks it is better to hope for a catastrophic failure "owned" by the Republicans than for our representatives and senators to lift a finger to try to make a difference.

[unblock]

15. only in republican fantasyland does it make sense to blame democrats here

The scenario you're objecting to is fictional, sorry to say. There is simply no way that republicans are going to advance something that covers *more* people and gives the *better* healthcare and makes it *more* affordable and then democrats nix it by being obstructionist.

Their plan will involve making things worse in every respect, and obstructionism means preserving the gains for as long as possible.

[msanthrope]

17. As one who is also facing catastrophic healthcare costs, and will be uninsured, I

can tell you that you are misdirecting your efforts.

There is no rational plan that the Republicans will adopt that will save either your daughter's or my insurance. There's no reasonable compromise, amendment, or fix that the Democrats can propose that will do this either.

That is because the goal of the Republicans is not to insure folks like me or your daughter.

That's it. In stark terms, the Republicans are completely and utterly uninvested In making sure their constituents live.

So, the goal of the Democrats at this point should be not to gild the turd, but to expose it. I agree with the Party, knowing I am screwed.

[Demsrule86]

19. You know what the GOP will never pass anything decent...never.

And not one Democrats name should be on whatever monstrosity they come up with...no 'bipartisan' bullshit...the GOP does not have the votes at this moment and that is where we work...to stop the GOP...call , call and call some more.

[Demsrule86]

21. Any plan the GOP comes up with will not help your daugther...we have to defeat it...so call.

I have two kids with pre-existing....so I get it.

[Bengus81]

24. Watch CSpan if your able to. Democrats have said 1000 times they would work with

Republicans on the ACA but we are NOT going to throw it in the dumpster because NEO CONS don't want a black guy to get credit for a successful program.

Sorry,but to Republicans this has NOTHING to do with health care and everything to do with wiping Obama's name off of everything they can plus raking in CASH for themselves,other RICH buddies and the Insurance Industrial Complex.

Hell...both myself and girlfriend will LOSE our coverage over this. Try running out and buying some policy when your over 60. No doubt I will be without coverage until I can qualify for Medicare in almost two years--if Ryan and the rest of those THUGS haven't pulled the plug on Johnson Care.

[superpatriotman]

28. So where is the plan?

You're pointing fingers about whining yet you have put forth no plan.

This is class warfare (which the regressives always accuse us of) yet we're not solving the problems with our own plan. We need it to fall back on even if it fails to make it out of committee.

I refuse to play politics with people's lives.

[unblock]

31. are you fucking kidding me?

*we* came up with single-payer
*we* came up with medicare-for-all
*we* came up with hillarycare back in the 90s
*we* came up with obamacare (well, actually, they came up with the framework, but *we* got it done, so they washed their hands of it).

the only problem right now is *their* insistance on obamacare repeal.

where's our solution?

*just fucking don't!*

[Demsrule86]

18. Sure...they can do that with their huge majority right?

[pat_k]

22. Absolutely need to put a Dem "fix' out

Put it out there and Make the Case for it NOW. Call on voters to vote Dems in to Get it Done.

That's how you get the majority you need.

And whatever that plan is, it must be connected to making the case for universal health care, the REAL goal -- the absolute necessity. (Public option "fix" is the best bet because it can be so easily connected to the ultimate goal, and is DOABLE.)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=8773578

[johnnyrocket]

20. Good point, where the hell are the Democrats on this? Just bitching and whining about Trumpcare?

Get to work DEMS! Stand for something. Medicare for all. Single payer. Actual healthcare for everyone. Turn the Reps absurd and callous statements around on them.

Make them look like the monsters they are!

[pat_k]

23. Hear, Hear!

And whatever that plan is, it must be connected to making the case for the REAL goal -- the absolute necessity -- for universal health care. (Public option "fix" is the best bet because it can be so easily connected to the ultimate goal, and is DOABLE. Voters just need to be inspired to vote more Dems in to get it done. They must be out there making the case NOW!)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=8773578

[superpatriotman]

26. Reading some of the responses upthread

And shaking my head.

We need to put out a fix plan to the public. Fix it.
Let the voters decide who has the better ideas. Let's not be martyrs for their cause.

Fix the problems. Make them simple to understand. Put it out. Talk about it endlessly. Then let them do what they will.