# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/101 "2017-01-03T19:06:56Z")
Maybe it’s “once upon a time we had a President who promised that the average family’s premiums would go down by $2500”. And some people believe in fairy tales even after they’re grown up. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/102 "2017-01-03T19:11:08Z")
Yeah, maybe. Or maybe not, given that you don’t bother to offer any facts. We already know the Party line, but keep typing if you need the exercise. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/103 "2017-01-03T19:18:27Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Maybe it’s “once upon a time we had a President who promised that the average family’s premiums would go down by $2500”. Was that before or after Democrats gave up on including a Public Option in the ACA? ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/104 "2017-01-03T19:38:33Z")
> [@Calico\_Jack](#): > > . . . repeal the 14th Amendment . . . > > If the states who gave Trump the electoral votes all rallied behind it, then they’d be right on the verge of having the 2/3rd state majority they’ll need . . . 3/4. Read the constitution. ---
**Author:** ![Calico\_Jack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calico_jack/32/7320_2.png) [@Calico\_Jack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calico_Jack)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/105 "2017-01-03T20:33:14Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > 3/4. Read the constitution. Oh sorry about that typo, either way they’re pretty close. Just don’t read the Constitution too closely though, or else you couldn’t be a liberal 😉 ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/106 "2017-01-03T20:34:38Z")
> [@Calico\_Jack](#): > > Oh sorry about that typo, either way they’re pretty close. > > Just don’t read the Constitution too closely though, or else you couldn’t be a liberal 😉 I know! It’s not like reasonable, knowledgeable, and thoughtful people can ever disagree on something. They must be either stupid or dishonest. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/107 "2017-01-03T21:04:53Z")
> [@raventhief](#): > > I think it’s “once upon a time healthcare was much less expensive, but since then healthcare has advanced in both care and in cost. If you want healthcare is be much less expensive, how far do you want to go to bring costs down?” Fair enough, are we then saying that the current private health care insurance system is a failure because advances in technology have made the cost prohibitive to some but not all? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/108 "2017-01-03T21:15:09Z")
Thelma, is your thesis that Republicans will be unable to repeal it, or that they will repeal it and the results will be unsatisfying for you? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/109 "2017-01-03T23:09:47Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Thelma, is your thesis that Republicans will be unable to repeal it, or that they will repeal it and the results will be unsatisfying for you? “Thesis” is too highfalutin a word for the mish-mash of thoughts I have on this. I guess they’ll have to go through some kind of tap-dance so it will look like they’re following through on the repeal. But any repeal will raise a cry of shocked betrayal from the Trumpsters who voted all those guys in. They’ve painted themselves into a corner. Besides, repealing the ACA isn’t like taking down the single stop sign in the middle of a one-horse town. It’s big and unwieldy and complicated. They do not have and will not be able to come up with anything at all to replace it, let alone anything satisfactory. My late husband had many health problems and could not get insurance until his kidneys failed and he went on Medicare (which you can do before age 65 if your kidneys fail). He ultimately had a kidney transplant. The boyfriend I had after he died was laid off, then needed quad bypass surgery-- no insurance. I worked for a social service agency whose clients depended on Medicaid. I’ve seen this stuff up close. I didn’t really answer your question… ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/110 "2017-01-03T23:30:11Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > “Thesis” is too highfalutin a word for the mish-mash of thoughts I have on this. . > . > . > . > I didn’t really answer your question… Well, sorta you did. I think it might be fair – not to put words in your mouth – that it’s a little from Column A and a little from Column B. That is, repeal is not as easy as the incoming administration pretends, and if by chance they succeed then both you, and perhaps also many people who voted for Trump, will be dismayed by the results. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/111 "2017-01-03T23:52:39Z")
It’s not going to be so much of a repeal as it is a “re-name”. It’ll be more or less the same - some window dressing perhaps. But the name change to “Trumpcare” will make all the difference. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/112 "2017-01-04T00:24:36Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Maybe it’s “once upon a time we had a President who promised that the average family’s premiums would go down by $2500”. > > And some people believe in fairy tales even after they’re grown up. I’ve always enjoyed the one about the superior Republican plan. How about you? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/113 "2017-01-04T00:29:43Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > I don’t get the relevance. Is it better if I’d heard plenty of people tell that lie before? Is it better if I’d never heard anyone else tell that lie before? The relevance is that the Republicans have promised you only that they’ll give you something better than the Democrats\* already have\* (as soon as they figure out what it is), but you’re mad only at the Democrats. The private insurance companies have never promised you they won’t raise rates or change coverage. Your employer has never promised you, at least absolutely certainly, that they’ll do anything either. You’re irate at the only people who have ever actually done anything for you \*but \*make the vaguest possible promises. Get it now? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/114 "2017-01-04T00:39:07Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > The difference being it would be consistent with the constitution as it should be understood. If you don’t find that important that’s not surprising. I don’t find \*your \*opinion about what it should mean as important, no, not at all. You haven’t shown any understanding that would give your opinion credibility. > [@](#): > > You’ve misunderstood. If healthcare for all were to be provided like Medicare that would not be treading new ground. And yes, principles matter to me. Agreed. But that isn’t going to happen in the near future, so you’re ready to let people suffer in the meanwhile. That’s a principle that matters to you, but again, see above. > [@](#): > > I don’t think the ACA is evil in the slightest. I think it’s well intentioned but ultimately poor public policy. But you want to get rid of it, knowing nothing is going to replace it, and let people suffer, all because of some idiosyncratic idea of what the Constitution should mean. No, it isn’t ACA that’s evil, is it? > [@](#): > > But you didn’t answer the question. Dear Og, you meant that seriously? OK, how about telling us who benefits from the increased participation in health care insurance we have now. If you try to tell me it’s Obama, I’m going to be even more disappointed in you. And then tell us how it’s different from being required to buy auto insurance. Serious questions get serious answers. Try asking one. ---
**Author:** ![eulalia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eulalia/32/457_2.png) [@eulalia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eulalia)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/115 "2017-01-04T06:07:34Z")
> [@Debillw3](#): > > I think you misunderstood what I was replying to–a comment about a hypothetical act crafted with bipartisan support that would allegedly have both sides hailed as heroes. > > As such an act doesn’t exist, no poll can accurately capture the sentiment of whether or not it would be “an unqualified success”, as was claimed. > > My point was that even if we assume that this hypothetical act had majority support, that still wouldn’t make it the “unqualified success” that was claimed. > > For the record, in such discussions, I do think it’s worth noting that, in Colorado, where Clinton received 47% of the vote to Trump’s 44% (so not even a red state), & citizens voted in favor of public marijuana use & a sugary beverage tax, a single payer healthcare amendment was downvoted so hard as to be considered obliterated. > > It’s a single data point, but if even Democrats (who voted in favor of taxing sugary beverages) vote against single payer healthcare, I find it hard to believe that it would achieve majority support. > > But, as I said, it’s strictly a hypothetical, so I provided the benefit of the doubt in my response, as it doesn’t change my meaning. The concept of single payer coverage was popular in Colorado, but the way it would be administered was problematic for some people and the fact that poor women would not have abortion coverage because the state constitution won’t allow the state to pay for it was an issue for others. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/116 "2017-01-04T06:47:40Z")
> [@eulalia](#): > > The concept of single payer coverage was popular in Colorado, but the way it would be administered was problematic for some people and the fact that poor women would not have abortion coverage because the state constitution won’t allow the state to pay for it was an issue for others. Amendment 69 (single payer coverage in Colorado) was defeated 80 percent to 20 percent. Popular is not the word I would use here. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/117 "2017-01-04T10:14:38Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > It’s not going to be so much of a repeal as it is a “re-name”. > > It’ll be more or less the same - some window dressing perhaps. But the name change to “Trumpcare” will make all the difference. This! I bet they keep the bones of the program and fix a couple of things that could have been fixed 5 years ago if they were willing to actively govern under a Democrat president. Unfortunately, that means we’ll still pay 150% of the per capita cost that other countries pay for similar care. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/118 "2017-01-04T11:55:56Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > The relevance is that the Republicans have promised you only that they’ll give you something better than the Democrats\* already have\* (as soon as they figure out what it is), but you’re mad only at the Democrats. The private insurance companies have never promised you they won’t raise rates or change coverage. Your employer has never promised you, at least absolutely certainly, that they’ll do anything either. > > You’re irate at the only people who have ever actually done anything for you \*but \*make the vaguest possible promises. Well, (a) who said they’ve “done anything for” me? You maybe want to rephrase that, and say that I’m “irate” about someone who didn’t do jack _for me_ with that lie, but maybe made some other people worse off and some other people better off? And (b) I dunno about “vaguest possible” – but I’m guessing that, if I could point to a lie I’d been told by my insurance company or my employer, I’d probably be, uh, “irate” about it; but since I can’t point to a lie from them, I can’t work up the enthusiasm to get irate about them. If and when they assure me of something they can’t or won’t deliver, I’ll be right here in this thread, all “irate” and everything. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/119 "2017-01-04T12:42:04Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Unfortunately, that means we’ll still pay 150% of the per capita cost that other countries pay for similar care. Cite for only 150% ? Wikipedia shows 236% of UK’s spending, 214% of France’s (PPP) and those countries _have universal coverage._ (Per capita figures are divided by all Americans, not just those with insurance.) ---
**Author:** ![Grim\_Render](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@Grim\_Render](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grim_Render)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/120 "2017-01-04T20:39:34Z")
> [@raventhief](#): > > Clothahump, I am genuinely curious. I have pre-existing conditions, as does my husband. He is working on disability, but it’s a work in progress. I am self employed. We could not get any insurance under the old system, and now we are covered. What, in your opinion, should we do in the event of a repeal, without replacement? Bumping this because Id like to hear too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146.md?page=7)