If the Republicans repeal Obama's HCR bill, is that a good thing or bad thing?

[geek tragedy]

The centerpiece of the Republicans' legislative agenda next year is repealing 'Obamacare.'

Now, they won't have the votes to do this in a frontal assault, but they can do it by refusing to pay for the subsidies and by defunding the regulatory bodies. Kill those, and the whole thing unravels and would need to come off the books--you can't have an individual mandate without subsidies and increased regulation. Kill the mandate, and the prohibition on pre-existing conditions would need to be repealed, because otherwise no one would pay for insurance while healthy--only sick people would pay for it after they'd get sick.

So, this is a very real possibility. But, would this be a defeat for the American people or for the insurance industry?

[Ozymanithrax]

1. In order for them to repeal the law, it has to pass the House and Senate...

then by signed by the President. If he Veto's, they need a 2/3rds majority.

The whole repeal Obamacare thing is just blatant pandering the the idiot right and others who oppose the bill. What they would do is just defund it. No money, no health care.

And for the record, it would be monumentally bad.

[geek tragedy]

5. Republicans will control every dime of federal spending.

They can kill it by simply refusing to appropriate money for it.

[Ozymanithrax]

18. Exactly. Calling for repeal is a subtle way of making a Blazing Saddles Declaration.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcZ9ku_wInw">Blazing Saddles Declaration

[denverbill]

6. +1. Obama would obviously veto it and they won't have the votes to override it.n/t

[geek tragedy]

8. As I said, they wouldn't need to pass legislation

repealing it. They could just refuse to fund it, which would have the same effect.

[denverbill]

11. They don't have to fund the elimination of pre-existing condition exemption or lifetime limits.

And not funding the subsidy for low-income people without eliminating the mandate to buy insurance I would think would be illegal, since it is the law of the land. I would think that the government could be sued to force the funding.

[geek tragedy]

16. Courts won't force the government to implement a giant

social insurance scheme.

[Ozymanithrax]

20. The congers has the power for fund or not fund things granted by the Constituiton

So, they can simply choose to defund any program, as Democrats once chose to defund the Vietnam war.

[Ozymanithrax]

19. There are parts that do require funding...

Republicans won't do it.

[daleanime]

2. Far too few choices....

it is possible to make a bad thing worse, and I sure that repug's will find a way to do it.:banghead:

[geek tragedy]

7. The Republicans wouldn't pass additional legislation.

They'd just kill the legislation that was passed by defunding it.

[daleanime]

17. Which would leave the bad part....

insurance companies locked into place, while removing any thing remotely resembling a good part(some oversight of this deal with the devil). Trust me, there is nothing that Democrats mess up that can't be made worse by Republicans.:evilfrown:

[shotten99]

3. If such a thing happens, HCR is dead forever.

[lumberjack_jeff]

4. Everyone who voted good thing is an idiot. No exceptions. n/t

[sinkingfeeling]

12. I truly believe that those who hold that belief have either never had to really use insurance to

pay for extraordinary medical expenses or have never had insurance at all. I've 'bitched' for years about the annual increases to my insurance premiums, but shut up after developing cancer in 2009. I really think having $123,000 in medical expenses paid for was worth the cost.

[mmonk]

34. I'm one but I can't show my face, just my typeset.

I did not vote that way for the reason given though. I think it would really pave the way for a backfire on the Republicans. Then maybe we would regain power across the board the next time and possibly do it right.

[TheMuse]

9. I think it would be a bad thing

But I am no fan of what eventually became of the health care bill. I think they weakened it to the point that it does not address the crux of the problem: insurance companies. Sure, we got no pre-existing conditions, and this is great, but there is nothing to keep costs in line. A public option would have been awesome (single payer would be the top choice, but unfortunately that was never going to happen).

If the Rethugicans either defund the bill, or outright repeal it (unlikely), it will be another 20 - 30 years before this is attempted again. Our politicians don't have the stomach for this kind of fight. They barely put up with this one.

[LoZoccolo]

10. No "good thing" voters dare show their faces, I noticed. n/t

[geek tragedy]

15. One did have the courage to articulate his reasoning.

But, he's a lone wolf, so to speak.

[T Wolf]

13. Personally, I'm waiting for the "next steps" in the master plan for improving health CARE. Now that

such progress has been made, the public option and single payer are right around the corner, right?

Now, if that does not happen (as so many supporters have promised would), we will be stuck with this turkey for the rest of my life. In that case, repeal (by anyone) would be a good thing.

[geek tragedy]

14. The choice will be 'as is' or 'repeal' for the

next Congress.

So, we'll mark you down as "Republican efforts to repeal should be supported."

[kctim]

21. Seeing how it is a mandate

it would be a good thing.

[Dappleganger]

22. If they repeal it, healthcare will NEVER be fixed!

All they want to do is break down and take away, never fixing things for anyone but the corpoRATS. That is why it's essential that the Dems fix whatever is broken NOW.

[librechik]

23. Um--Obama will veto that repeal bill.

[geek tragedy]

24. He can't force Congress to pay for it. nt

[Vinca]

25. I thought it was a Republican bill . . . sure seems like one.

The thing is little more than a welfare program for big insurance. Even when the subsidies kick in there will be tens of millions who cannot afford it. I really don't care what they do with it at this point. After discovering the pre-existing condition pool is for the moneyed, I'm resigned to the possibility of an early death. 3 1/2 years until Medicare.

[geek tragedy]

26. You thought incorrectly. nt

[Feron]

27. Republicans won't repeal the bill.

Sure they will campaign on repealing the bill, but they won't repeal it because that would risk losing their health insurance company $$$.

"Follow the money."

And don't forget that the bill that passed was a Republican health care proposal in the past.

Not to mention that if Romneycare is a failure, then why do you believe that a similar plan will end differently?!

It's hyperbole to say that we'll never ever get health care if this bill is repealed. All the current law does is prop up a collapsing industry and keeping it around longer than it normally would have. It certainly doesn't address issues that affect ordinary Americans such as cost, reducing/eliminating medical bankruptcies, and broadening access to medical care.

Now uninsured people will be forced to buy insurance that they cannot afford to use. That's not progress.

The bill also sets up the stage to pass other undesirable things such as the Republican proposal to buy insurance over state lines. Sticker shock and a mandate will give Democrats an easy excuse to join them.

[geek tragedy]

28. So, you should hold the Republicans accountable and DEMAND

that they honor their commitment to repeal Obamacare.

[Canuckistanian]

29. Obama would simply veto it

And the public would not have any sympathy for trying to override the President's veto.

HCR is what he campaigned on and was voted into office to do.

They wouldn't dare.

[TheKentuckian]

30. I didn't support passage of the Wealthcare and Profit Protection Act so killing it is better than

being stuck with it for a generation or more.

I don't believe it can reasonably be repaired so that it will control costs and provide high quality care to all Americans.

As is, is a fucking epic debacle but of course the TeaPubliKlans have no desire to repeal the industry written bill but rather to suck what little marrow is left in those dry bones by killing the subsidies and what little resources are there for oversight so the pukes only agenda is to keep the crapper and make it still worse.

So, essentially we are well screwn around these parts either way.

[CakeGrrl]

31. Why would ANYONE vote that it would be a good thing?

If anyone thinks that Republicans would repeal something implemented by a Dem so they can make it more Progressive, then they're not thinking clearly IMO.

...or maybe anti-Obama sentiment is so strong some people just don't care what Republicans do as long as it tears down whatever Obama's tried to build up. Because I can't think of anything else that comes close to making sense about any Republican-initiated repeal being a positive thing.

[bvar22]

32. Stupid Poll...Didn't vote.

There is no simple answer.
The HCR bill contains a few good crumbs that will actually help some people.
The increases to Medicaid funding are good,
BUT the PRICE we paid, enshrining the For Profit Health Insurance Corporations as the gateway to Health Care for ALL Americans for the foreseeable future, was NOT worth the few good crumbs in this bill.



Those who insisted that this bill can be "built upon" (Fixed Later) are seriously mistaken.
The foundation of this bill, Mandates without a Public Option, will have to be undone BEFORE any real reform to the system will be possible.

[geek tragedy]

36. It sure sounds like you support repeal. nt

[dflprincess]

33. They won't repeal it - but they will "fix" it

by doing things like allowing insurance companies to sell across state lines to "increase competition". Which means they'll all pretend to move to the states with the least regulation (I say pretend to move because you won't see their CEOs relocating to Mississippi or South Dakota).

[ibegurpard]

35. mandates aren't going anywhere

bank on that

[HopeHoops]

37. All the GOP wants to do is oppose and obstruct anything Obama wants & repeal anything he has gotten.

They don't give a flying fuck about what's good for the country. They just hate having a black Democrat in the White House.

It SHOULD have been a cranky white geriatric patient with his Depends in a bunch.