# The Repeal of Obamacare/ACA: Step-bystep, Inch-by-inch **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 2, 2017, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146 "2017-01-02T17:06:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 46
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/901 "2017-07-21T15:36:53Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > So he doesn’t even understand the difference between health insurance and life insurance? > > Why am I not surprised? The sad thing is that the obvious explanation (“He saw a commercial on the teevee for one of those ‘pay for your funeral’ life insurance outfits” and it got stuck in his empty head) is the most charitable one. ---
**Author:** ![Ambrosio\_Spinola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de0a6/32.png) [@Ambrosio\_Spinola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambrosio_Spinola)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/902 "2017-07-21T15:37:27Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > For the rich, it doesn’t make sense to have health insurance. Since they have so much money, they can essentially self-insure themselves. Like all insurance, in the long run, they’ll likely save money if they can cover the losses themselves since they aren’t paying for the insurance company profit. > > So I’m not at all surprised that the rich have no clue how important insurance is to most of us, or how it even works in the first place. It’s the “Let them eat cake!” mentality. What’s the big deal if you don’t have insurance? Just tell the doctor to send the bill to your trust fund manager and he’ll take care of it. If you don’t have a bunch of spare cash lying around then it really does become a life-or-death or at least a life-or-bankruptcy situation if you have no insurance and end up with a health emergency of some kind. That’s why it’s so horrifying to me that the Senate is [apparently going to vote next Tuesday on a repeal/replace bill](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/republican-senate-leaders-wont-say-whats-in-obamacare-repeal) without actually knowing what the bill is going to be or any of its specifics. Just wing it! I’m sure that will work out fine. You’ve got to figure there’s a reasonable chance they’ll even pull it off. Never underestimate the ability for Senators to talk a good game and then vote in lockstep. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/903 "2017-07-21T15:40:04Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > [What’s the problem? You can get health insurance for $1 per month?](http://www.politicususa.com/2017/07/20/minds-blown-trump-difference-health-life-insurance.html) “I mean, it’s one [del]banana[/del] health insurance, Michael… What could it cost? Ten dollars?” ---
**Author:** ![Anduinel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Anduinel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anduinel)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/904 "2017-07-21T16:50:53Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > I am sure there must be at least one American out there who is suffering from the same kind of cancer and who will die in poverty and pain while John McCain is treated by the best cancer specialists in the world on the taxpayer’s dime. And if John McCain survives, he will vote to make sure the peasants won’t be able to enjoy such care themselves. [This story actually has been making the rounds over the last couple of days:](http://www.snopes.com/2017/07/20/john-mccain-move-healthcare/) > [@](#): > > When the brain cancer that killed my husband is “trending” because it was diagnosed in the State Senator who specifically backed the State cutting insurance for a “dying man” …. > > Time for a social media break for a bit. > > Email or Messenger if you need me. > > [We wrote to McCain in 2010 to beg him to help Wash keep his AHCCCS insurance. McCain sent us a letter back saying it might be best to move out of Arizona because he did not consider health insurance (and thus, access to healthcare itself) a human right.] ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/905 "2017-07-21T19:13:04Z")
[These Americans Hated the Health Law. Until the Idea of Repeal Sank In.](http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/these-americans-hated-the-health-law-until-the-idea-of-repeal-sank-in/ar-AAowH2W?li=BBnbcA1) > [@](#): > > When President Trump was elected, his party’s long-cherished goal of dismantling the Affordable Care Act seemed all but assured. But eight months later, Republicans seem to have done what the Democrats who passed the law never could: make it popular among a majority of Americans. > [@](#): > > Most profound, though, is this: After years of Tea Party demands for smaller government, Republicans are now pushing up against a growing consensus that the government should guarantee health insurance. A Pew survey in January found that 60 percent of Americans believe the federal government should be responsible for ensuring that all Americans have health coverage. That was up from 51 percent last year, and the highest in nearly a decade. I cannot help but read this as ‘well, now that if affects\* me\*, I care deeply about my fellow man…’ ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/906 "2017-07-21T22:13:39Z")
Dead for good? Parliamentarian rules [Senate needs 60 votes](http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/343234-parliamentarian-deals-setback-to-gop-healthcare-bill). ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/907 "2017-07-21T23:07:25Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Dead for good? Parliamentarian rules [Senate needs 60 votes](http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/343234-parliamentarian-deals-setback-to-gop-healthcare-bill). The only provisions in there that might prove really problematic are the two market stabilization portions: CSR funding and the lock-out. I can’t see conservatives not voting on the bill based on the PP or abortion language. They want it if they can get it, but it’s more like gravy. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/908 "2017-07-22T00:15:54Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > The only provisions in there that might prove really problematic are the two market stabilization portions: CSR funding and the lock-out. > > I can’t see conservatives not voting on the bill based on the PP or abortion language. They want it if they can get it, but it’s more like gravy. To be clear, because my post wasn’t: The lock-out being stripped is HUGE if these guys care the eensiest teensiest bit about the actual results of the bill. Because it will completely destroy the individual market. But I don’t know that they care at all. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/909 "2017-07-22T00:41:16Z")
They could invoke the Nuclear Option, couldn’t they? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/910 "2017-07-22T00:44:28Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > They could invoke the Nuclear Option, couldn’t they? They could. It’s so hard to predict whether they would really want to do that for this provision instead of dropping it and just torpedoing the market. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/911 "2017-07-22T03:16:09Z")
Well, Trump has been advocating the Nuclear Option for a while now ([example](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/887302632687251456)). And so is [my representative](http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/342719-conservative-senate-candidate-calls-on-gop-to-end-filibuster) who is running for Jeff Sessions’ Senate seat. (Though the same guy said just a couple weeks ago that he’d [filibuster any spending bill that doesn’t include funding for the border wall.](http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/07/12/rep-mo-brooks-budget-fight-over-border-wall-vow-filibuster-spending-bill)) ---
**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/912 "2017-07-22T05:14:46Z")
So Pence can overrule the senate parliamentarian? I felt a glimmer of hope when I heard about this, but then I realized that there would probably be some way for these assholes to get around it. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/913 "2017-07-22T14:12:28Z")
> [@Skypist](#): > > So Pence can overrule the senate parliamentarian? > > I felt a glimmer of hope when I heard about this, but then I realized that there would probably be some way for these assholes to get around it. The parliamentarian’s rulings are suggestions, basically. But the Senate has always abided by them before. They can be overridden by 60 votes (which obviously can’t happen) or yes, by Pence. But they won’t be able to put that genie back in the bottle, and I don’t know that they are looking at 2018 midterms with a lot of confidence. So if they blow up reconciliation rules, they might be in a world of pain in the not too distant future. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/914 "2017-07-22T14:50:43Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > But they won’t be able to put that genie back in the bottle, and I don’t know that they are looking at 2018 midterms with a lot of confidence. So if they blow up reconciliation rules, they might be in a world of pain in the not too distant future. Trump could just veto anything goes through reconciliation, couldn’t he? If the Dems had the votes to overturn a veto they could pass something without needing to go through reconciliation. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/915 "2017-07-22T14:54:50Z")
> [@Rysto](#): > > Trump could just veto anything goes through reconciliation, couldn’t he? If the Dems had the votes to overturn a veto they could pass something without needing to go through reconciliation. If you were a Republican, would you trust Trump? And if you blow up the filibuster, that will outlive Trump. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/916 "2017-07-22T17:39:04Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > The sad thing is that the obvious explanation (“He saw a commercial on the teevee for one of those ‘pay for your funeral’ life insurance outfits” and it got stuck in his empty head) is the most charitable one. He just wants “a win” and to shit on whatever Obama’s “legacy” is. He doesn’t give a fuck about the rest of it. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/917 "2017-07-22T17:40:16Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Dead for good? Parliamentarian rules [Senate needs 60 votes](http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/343234-parliamentarian-deals-setback-to-gop-healthcare-bill). Maybe Trump will fire her 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/918 "2017-07-22T17:59:59Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > Maybe Trump will fire her 😃 She’s not an employee of the Executive Branch, so he wouldn’t have the authority. ---
**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/919 "2017-07-22T18:06:35Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > She’s not an employee of the Executive Branch, so he wouldn’t have the authority. He’s probably looking into it anyway! :smack: I’m not sure how far ahead the Republicans are able to think or if they anticipate there being a Dem majority in the House or Senate ever again, so maybe they will just have Pence overrule. They seem to really want one of these tax cut for the rich “health care” bills. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/920 "2017-07-24T19:55:11Z")
Motion to proceed vote scheduled for tomorrow. I’m hearing 2:15. It’s completely unclear what they are voting on. It’s completely unclear who is voting for it. I think it’s likely to pass the MTP and then a final, devastating bill. This could be because I’m a realist or it could be because I’m a pessimist. Don’t ask me, IOW. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146.md?page=45) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146.md?page=47)