# 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:** 64
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/1261 "2017-09-19T21:01:48Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > To the extent that Republicans were reporting counts of calls for and against ACA repeal earlier this year, the balance was heavily against repeal/replace. So unless there’s been a more recent upsurge, I’d say this hasn’t been happening. This is purely speculation on my part without any cite to back it up, but it could be both. Angry constituents who want their senator to fulfill Trump’s promise to repeal Obamacare and replace it with something great, but who don’t like any of the current bills. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/1262 "2017-09-19T21:04:22Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I apologize if this has been addressed, since I haven’t been keeping up with the thread, but I have a question to ask, and this seemed an appropriate place to ask (rather than starting a new thread). > I’ve heard that the reason the GOP is reviving this zombie one more time is because when they went back home to their districts they got an earful about how they have not delivered on their pledge to repeal ACA. > > really? Who has been chiding them thus? I’ve seen much news coverage about angry constituents telling their senators and reps NOT to repeal ACA, but I don’t recall any rallies of angry voters begging their congressmen and women to please, please repeal ACA, as they’d promised. > > Did I miss something? is the media truly biased in its coverage, and these events simply didn’t make the news? Or was this all “quiet”, in the sense of them receiving lots of angry phone calls, e-mails, and letters from voters who want them to stick to their word? > > Or is it on a wholly different level, not grass-roots groups calling for this, but influential big-donor groups calling for it, or conservative pundits or think tanks that are putting on the pressure? > I can imagine any or all of these scenarios, but which, if any, is true. I’m not looking for opinions – I’m wondering if anyone can tell me and back it up with cites. There are a lot of people in deeply red districts who want anything with Obama’s name on it to fail – there is a reason that Trump got elected. Are they the ones going to the town halls to complain about anti-Obamacare legislation? Of course not. They’re sitting back and expecting it to happen. But since repealing legislation doesn’t require one to think beyond just repeal, there’s really nothing for GOP activists to get upset about – except the fact that Obamacare still exists. People tend to complain less visibly when they’re confident about their grip on power. The real anger that the GOP is getting is probably coming from big party donors, political action committees, and party organizers at the local and regional level who want to see fundraising come in. The Senate in particular is probably getting some really nasty phone calls from these people, and some I would imagine are being threatened with some serious primary challenges. It’s political pressure but of a different variety. It’s a matter of whom the current incumbents in congress fear more: their potential in-house nemeses in a possible primary, or their liberal opposition in a general election. Psychological studies show that the human brain is wired to deal with threats that are right in front of us and to ignore more serious longer-term consequences that might come as a result of decisions made in the short-term. This is why I suspect that the GOP senators feel more pressure to deal with their right-wing critics now, even if it has potentially devastating long-term political consequences in 1-3 years. ---
**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:** [September 19, 2017, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/1263 "2017-09-19T21:05:57Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > This is purely speculation on my part without any cite to back it up, but it could be both. Angry constituents who want their senator to fulfill Trump’s promise to repeal Obamacare and replace it with something great, but who don’t like any of the current bills. There are polls that show that Trump voters want a repeal of the ACA. But the calls into the offices are, from the accounts we’ve had from staff, incredibly lopsided away from the GOP bills. But then orgs fund big attacks/ad buys on those who voted against AHCA/BCRA/ORRA/skinny. ---
**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:** [September 19, 2017, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/1264 "2017-09-19T21:08:05Z")
And there’s this: [Koch network 'piggy banks' closed until Republicans pass health and tax reform | Koch brothers | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/26/koch-network-piggy-banks-closed-republicans-healthcare-tax-reform) ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/1265 "2017-09-19T21:39:31Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > There are polls that show that Trump voters want a repeal of the ACA. But the calls into the offices are, from the accounts we’ve had from staff, incredibly lopsided away from the GOP bills. > > But then orgs fund big attacks/ad buys on those who voted against AHCA/BCRA/ORRA/skinny. I think that Trumps campaign promises have the Republicans boxed in. Yes, I believe that most Trump voters really want ObamaCare repealed and replaced. But they want it replaced with that secret plan that covers more people for a lot less money that Trump touted on the campaign trail. So maybe the Pubs are getting pushed hard to repeal and replace ObamaCare - mostly by donors , I haven’t seen any large groups of people rallying round and demanding that the government take away their healthcare - but I think there will be consequences if any of these horrid evil plans get implemented. That’s why I especially hate the bills with a delay in implementation , if they’re going to do this I want them to do it right away so everyone can realize how bad it is before the mid-terms next fall. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/1266 "2017-09-19T23:16:16Z")
Ugh, how I hate to see this [very useful] thread come back to life. I’m just going to have to put Senators McCain and Flake on speed-dial. ☹ ---
**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:** [September 20, 2017, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/1267 "2017-09-20T00:41:10Z")
> [@koeeoaddi](#): > > Ugh, how I hate to see this [very useful] thread come back to life. I’m just going to have to put Senators McCain and Flake on speed-dial. ☹ Hit McCain hard on process and partisanship. Just yell at Flake for being a Trump pawn. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2017, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/1268 "2017-09-20T00:45:09Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > And there’s this: [Koch network 'piggy banks' closed until Republicans pass health and tax reform | Koch brothers | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/26/koch-network-piggy-banks-closed-republicans-healthcare-tax-reform) And there you have it. Underreported like a motherfucker by our own press, because they’re corporate controlled, too. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2017, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/1269 "2017-09-20T02:05:15Z")
As I posted earlier, there must be some people in the GOP who can understand that this is going to cost votes in a lot of states that have become pretty red or at least purple over the past 10 years. This bill is going to murder much of Appalachia. It seems like some Republican governors are quite aware of this, but congress is worried about being primaried. The Rethuglicans who vote for this bill, fully aware of its consequences, will do so hoping that they will have won an election or two by the time the full effect of this bill goes into effect. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2017, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/1270 "2017-09-20T06:44:02Z")
[Moderating] **jsgoddess** , links to petitions and calls to action are against the board rules. I’ve removed the loins from your post. No warning issued. [/Moderating] ---
**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:** [September 20, 2017, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/1271 "2017-09-20T12:01:05Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > [Moderating] > **jsgoddess** , links to petitions and calls to action are against the board rules. I’ve removed the loins from your post. > > No warning issued. > [/Moderating] Oh dear, I didn’t know I was exposing **them**! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2017, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/1272 "2017-09-20T13:03:42Z")
Jimmy Kimmel blasts Sen. Bill Cassidy for lying “right to my face” about healthcare reform: [Jimmy Kimmel takes on new health care bill, says Sen. Cassidy lied 'right to my face'](http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/20/media/jimmy-kimmel-health-care/index.html) ---
**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:** [September 20, 2017, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/1273 "2017-09-20T13:09:22Z")
Trump put Price in charge of HHS. It’s apparently gone to Price’s head: [Price’s private-jet travel breaks precedent - POLITICO](http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/19/tom-price-chartered-planes-flights-242908) He gives me the creeps. He’s like a vicious marshmallow in vaguely human form. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2017, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/1274 "2017-09-20T13:31:53Z")
Lindsey Graham says that the ACA is merely a step on the slippery slope leading to single-payer, which is “socialism” and will “bust the budget.” Meanwhile, Republicans in the Senate (the place where Graham has his job) agreed to move forward with a budget that will balloon the federal deficit in order to hand the 1% a $1.5 TRILLION dollar tax cut. Because it will “stimulate economic growth” and make magic dollars rain from the sky. (The New York Times ran these two stories side by side on this morning’s front page) Dudes really got to get their stories straight on how they feel about the deficit. ---
**Author:** ![Kearsen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kearsen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2017, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/1275 "2017-09-20T13:59:30Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I apologize if this has been addressed, since I haven’t been keeping up with the thread, but I have a question to ask, and this seemed an appropriate place to ask (rather than starting a new thread). > I’ve heard that the reason the GOP is reviving this zombie one more time is because when they went back home to their districts they got an earful about how they have not delivered on their pledge to repeal ACA. > > really? Who has been chiding them thus? I’ve seen much news coverage about angry constituents telling their senators and reps NOT to repeal ACA, but I don’t recall any rallies of angry voters begging their congressmen and women to please, please repeal ACA, as they’d promised. > > Did I miss something? is the media truly biased in its coverage, and these events simply didn’t make the news? Or was this all “quiet”, in the sense of them receiving lots of angry phone calls, e-mails, and letters from voters who want them to stick to their word? > > Or is it on a wholly different level, not grass-roots groups calling for this, but influential big-donor groups calling for it, or conservative pundits or think tanks that are putting on the pressure? > I can imagine any or all of these scenarios, but which, if any, is true. I’m not looking for opinions – I’m wondering if anyone can tell me and back it up with cites. Not that I know who or why, but I’d imagine that the group that was hit the hardest, and is also the biggest voting block, are the ones that want it repealed. The middle class are bearing the brunt of the Affordable care act, those are the policies that are skyrocketing, they are also the ones that feel it more than most. The poor are getting coverage, the rich don’t care, but those middle class folks, they want the affordable care they had before. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2017, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/1276 "2017-09-20T14:05:35Z")
> [@Kearsen](#): > > Not that I know who or why, but I’d imagine that the group that was hit the hardest, and is also the biggest voting block, are the ones that want it repealed. The middle class are bearing the brunt of the Affordable care act, those are the policies that are skyrocketing, they are also the ones that feel it more than most. The poor are getting coverage, the rich don’t care, but those middle class folks, they want the affordable care they had before. Ah yes, a return to that idyllic time before the ACA when premiums and deductibles weren’t increasing faster than inflation. I’m not sure when that time was, but I’m sure it existed at some point. ---
**Author:** ![Kearsen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kearsen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2017, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/1277 "2017-09-20T14:08:03Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > Ah yes, a return to that idyllic time before the ACA when premiums and deductibles weren’t increasing faster than inflation. I’m not sure when that time was, but I’m sure it existed at some point. And you are asserting that the premiums have stabilized and have not gone up faster than even before? ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2017, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/1278 "2017-09-20T14:16:25Z")
> [@Kearsen](#): > > And you are asserting that the premiums have stabilized and have not gone up faster than even before? Certainly no claim of stablilization - as to the [rate of increase](http://time.com/money/4503325/obama-health-care-costs-obamacare/): > [@](#): > > These increased costs for employers and employees alike may seem steep—up around 50% over the past eight years—but they could have risen far higher had the Affordable Care Act never passed. The Kaiser study shows that average family premiums rose 20% from 2011 to 2016. That rate of increase is actually much lower than the previous five years (up 31% from 2006 to 2011) and the five years before that (up 63% from 2001 to 2006). > > Pointing to data from Kaiser, a White House press release recently stated, “The average premium for a family with employer coverage is now almost $3,600 lower than if premium growth since 2010 had matched the decade preceding the Affordable Care Act.” ---
**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:** [September 20, 2017, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/1279 "2017-09-20T14:51:00Z")
Lindsey Graham has explicitly come out and said that Graham Cassidy is punitive to four states: CA, NY, MA, and MD. If you are in those states with GOP US Reps (I think MA doesn’t have any), call them and tell them that Lindsey Graham is targeting the people of your state. It’s a pretty funny attack, really. He complains that these states get more Medicaid money because they chose to expand Medicaid. Whodathunkit? ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2017, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146/1280 "2017-09-20T15:00:08Z")
Any word from Murkowski? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146.md?page=63) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-repeal-of-obamacare-aca-step-bystep-inch-by-inch/776146.md?page=65)