Or they could repeal the parts that wingnuts don’t like but which are absolutely essential to its functioning, like the mandate (which is apparently un-American) and the subsidies (which are too much like communism or something, especially when black people get them) while retaining the prohibition on pre-existing conditions and coverage of young adults under their parents’ plans. They might also want to remove the prohibitions on useless crap plans that don’t actually cover anything.
The result will be the complete destruction of the principle of even nominal universality and the removal of broad risk-sharing; insurers will jack up prices to the sky while lowering benefits, and the whole thing will collapse in a steaming heap. Then Republicans can blame Obama for introducing a system that was doomed from the start, just like they always said, and scratch the whole thing.
The flip side of that is that Trump has no powerful interest bloc behind him to induce, seduce or scare Congress into giving a damn what he says. Instead, every interest group will fight anything that Trump tweets that might upset what they’ve spent decades and millions of dollars to put together.
It’s called “being an outsider.” We voted for it, and now we’re going to see what happens.
Is a repeal and replace plan passable? How many Democrats would support it? If you only have Republican votes there are some who want a substantive program providing coverage to those who have Obamacare now and want to continue health insurance (perhaps with large tax credits… varying with income). This would be expensive and the budget cutters wouldn’t vote for it. If you just have a cheap plan (keep the college student coverage addition and a few other things) but will result in millions losing health insurance coverage those who want a substantive plan wouldn’t vote it.
One thing is certain; Blaming Obama is absolutely going to happen. It is the only thing that the Republicans can agree on, and it is pretty much their only healthcare plan; Wreck the ACA, then blame Obama.
I guess from Trump’s point of view, as long as they don’t blame him, and he can see a way to make a profit, it’s all good.
Too bad about the dead people though… but remember, it’s all Obama’s fault.
He said it. His voters want it. So he’s playing to that while continuing to be clueless of reality. Those realities include working out how to manage a transition from one system to the next and coming up with a plan that can avoid a Senate filibuster.
I can’t see this as a possibility. It would require two things, both of which are unbelievable. The first is that Trump is capable of masterminding this kind of subterfuge. The second is that Trump has a core ideology that he would work this hard to advance.
I think the reality is that Trump is politically inexperienced. He’s missed what more seasoned candidates know; you get votes by promising to do things you know you would lost votes over if you actually delivered.
Republicans were fine with America’s healthcare system before the ACA. They called it the best in the world. I don’t see any reason why they would replace it with anything. “Repeal and replace” is just a phrase that sounds good because alliteration is awesome.
Can’t replace without getting past the filibuster. This is the GOP rock/hard place. They can blow it up without Democratic support, but require Democratic support to replace it.
As much a I would like Obama to receive credit for trying to move the health care system into the 21st (or 20th) century, we should ALL (especially the media) stop calling it ObamaCare. This just sticks in the craw of many of the people that voted for Trump. I think we know why.
Why not single payer, like every other civilized country has? Pay for it by bringing tax rates back to Reagan era levels. It would be a benefit to businesses now providing health insurance to their associates. It would solve the ‘mandate’ problem. It would give the government even more leverage with drug manufacturers and health care providers and put the doofus insurance companies out of business. Who has the dollars and sense studies of this?
I have great insurance (through work), but it is still FUBAR. I’m trying to get payment sorted out for two simple x-rays from September. It’s co-pay stuff, peanuts to me. But I never received a bill.
If they ding my credit rating, I’m going to be very, very pissed off.
True single payer is pretty rare - but universal coverage is like every other civilized country. Tightly regulated (often non-profit) insurance, pharma & healthcare companies are more common than single government payer.
We do. The two big things they cover that are not universally covered by the gov’t are:
Dental services
Drugs plans
There’s been talk up here on and off of switching to universal drug coverage. There are other things such as home health care (i.e. nursing), glasses, etc. that are also not covered by the gov’t.