They are going to claim they are doing a new bill, but it will likely be the same bill with minor changes.
“Root and branch”, right, Mitch?
The effort continues, and they’re trying to get it done so fast no one has a chance to stop them: https://www.thenation.com/article/senate-republicans-hope-you-wont-notice-theyre-about-to-repeal-obamacare/
The depressing thing is that if they pass this, there’s absolutely nothing we can do to reverse it until January 20th, 2021. Even if the GOP gets crushed in the 2018 mid terms, Trump will veto any attempt to give people their healthcare back.
Elections have consequences. All the liberals who couldn’t get off their asses to vote in 2016 should be taking a long look in the mirror right now.
On the bright side, maybe the backlash from this will be what finally leads us to single payer.
Totally share your frustration on the “elections have consequences” bit. A tiny silver lining if implementation of AHCA is delayed until after 2020, but even then there’re going to be bad consequences in the insurance markets.
On the single-payer front: I’m worried that the phrase has become a left-shibboleth. It’s not the only path to the ultimate goal of universal, affordable health care, and maybe not the best (for us in the US). Have you read Scott Lemieux on this topic? Examples:
I know I’m nitpicking about a phrase people use as political shorthand for “strongly progressive healthcare reform,” but I find the details of this topic fascinating. Sorry to derail.
Trump read the House bill finally, and now decided he doesn’t like it anymore because it’s too “mean, mean, mean”. He probably should have mentioned that when he told us it was “a great plan”.
Good. Hopefully this gets the federal government out of the healthcare game entirely.
And right back into massive private profiteering like it should be? :dubious:
Yeah, why have a civilized system, like every other advanced, wealthy democracy, when you can funnel huge wads of cash into private hands and leave poor people without health care?
I really do wonder what practical effect incidents like this have on the political game.
sadly, that’s about the size of it
That’s like saying if you got rid of the coast guard the federal government wouldn’t be in the national defense game.
Damn right. Gov’t has no business in working to improve people’s lives.
Personally, I’d be happy with Obamacare. I suspect that the end result would end up being single payer anyway, as the private insurance companies found it impossible to compete with the public option, but I have enough trust in the free market (if it’s actually implemented) to give them that chance.
A substantial majority of the American public disagrees with you:
I hope that this basic issue will become “settled” within the next few years. In the same way that Canadians, British, Australians, New Zealanders, French, Germans, Danish, et cetera don’t have to worry about losing their health insurance if the conservative party wins, I hope that universal healthcare becomes a bipartisan consensus.
The alternative is that we will bicker about this endlessly. Every 4 to 8 years, we switch back and forth. When Democrats are in power, we have UHC. When Republicans are in power, we don’t.
Well, we could have a new health care system by the 4th of July… Only we have no idea what it’d be like…
You know, the Republicans really look to be influenced by Russians. Yes, Putin’s party rams laws in their Parliament, but this looks more like if the Soviets had dictated the process.
You mean we’ll have to pass the law to find out what’s in it?
I know everyone is sick of hearing me, but please take action today. The Senate has released the text it’s been working on. Huge cuts to Medicaid funding, more than the House cuts. State Medicaid directors are making clear that this will have to lead to cuts in optional Medicaid services such as HCBS/LTSS, things that keep people with limitations from having to go into nursing homes.
And they are also being clear that they will have to start adjusting eligibility for nursing homes, too, since they can’t stop spending there entirely. Raising the level of impairment needed to qualify, which just is a further blow to family caregivers.
This is old people and people with disabilities dying for lack of care territory, people. This is sharp increases to Medicare expenses as people are forced into using ERs and acute care.
If people want to shrink the cost and size of Medicaid, make it unnecessary. I can’t think of any person who wants there to be a need for poverty programs.
Oh, and pregnancy now makes one ineligible for Medicaid.
But Viagra is still covered!