Still No Republican Alternative To Obamacare
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Republicans still have no plan to help millions of Americans if the Supreme Court punctures the Affordable Care Act.
The ranks of the uninsured would swell by more than 8 million, according to an estimate by the Urban Institute. The loss of so many customers would likely force insurance companies to raise premiums and withdraw altogether from some markets, affecting even those customers buying directly from insurers rather than through Obamacare’s marketplaces…
Leaders of the Republican Party have cheered on the lawsuit, in some cases filing formal friend-of-the-court briefs in support of it. They have also promised — in op-eds, speeches and interviews — to craft a “transitional” plan, or some kind of “off-ramp,” if the lawsuit is successful. The goals of such plans, Republican leaders have said, would be to minimize disruption for the people who now depend upon Affordable Care Act tax credits for their insurance, while crafting a long-term replacement scheme that would serve the public better than President Barack Obama’s health care law has.
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) was among those who made that promise back in early February, shortly after he took over as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. “We have to have a contingency plan,” Ryan said. “We think we need to have an option, a plan, for these states that might find themselves in this difficult position.”
Ryan’s committee, arguably the most powerful in the House, has direct jurisdiction over health care financing. So how many hearings has it held about these contingency plans?
Zero.
And that’s typical. Two other House committees, Education and the Workforce along with Energy and Commerce, have formal jurisdiction over health care financing. They haven’t held hearings, either.
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Carla Akins May 11th, 2015 at 11:06 am
This is because Eddie Munster has never had an original thought – ever.
crc3 May 12th, 2015 at 6:17 am
The Eddie Munster thing never gets old!
arc99 May 11th, 2015 at 11:30 am
I think the last couple of decades illustrate that the GOP plan for health was, and is to do absolutely nothing. Let the status quo be restored, so that once again, America will be free.
Yes boys and girls, freedom means that once again, insurance companies can cancel your policy at the very time you need it most. I cannot help but notice how frequently conservatives define freedom as the right to harm someone else.
Let us return to the golden days of yesteryear as reported here in a galaxy not very far away, not very long ago at all. I wish some conservative would explain exactly how allowing this to go on as business as usual, makes America more free.
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jun/17/business/fi-rescind17
Blue Cross praised employees who dropped sick policyholders, lawmaker says
Dwendt44 May 11th, 2015 at 11:53 am
Much of the ACA IS Republican ideas. The Republicans have been promising an alternative since 1993. I’m not holding my breath waiting.
Suzanne McFly May 11th, 2015 at 11:49 am
Either Pauly didn’t realize the work this new plan would entail or his underlings decided this high and mighty congressman can do his own work. I would love to see how long any of us would remain employed if we did the hours of our congressional leaders and handed in similar “work” they do.
arc99 May 11th, 2015 at 12:12 pm
Opinion pieces do not prove anything other than confirming the opinion of the author.
Having said that, I came across this recent article from conservative pundit David Frum.
On health care, American conservatives are simply out of touch with the 21st century civilized world. That is my opinion. It is also the opinion of the conservative Mr. Frum
Frankly, it is my opinion that American conservatives are out of touch with the 21st century on a host of issues. But that is fodder for another discussion.
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/05/republicans-british-election-conservatives/392852/
Center-right parties in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom have all made peace with government guarantees of healthcare for all. These conservatives do not abjectly defend the healthcare status quo; they attempt to open more space for competition and private initiative within the health sector. But they accept that universal health coverage in some form has joined old-age pensions and unemployment insurance in the armature of an advanced modern economy. In this, their American counterparts are the true outliers.
Dwendt44 May 11th, 2015 at 7:02 pm
Notice the wacky right touting the election win of ‘conservatives’ in England. Trouble is, conservatives there are equal to liberal Republicans here, if there are any of those left.
frambley1 May 12th, 2015 at 1:57 am
Although conservatives throughout the world do have one thing in common. They believe austerity and supply side economics are the path to a strong economy. No matter what the actual facts say….
frambley1 May 12th, 2015 at 1:54 am
The problem is that conservative politicians and their moneyed overlords wouldn’t stop with gutting obamacare. They will not stop until all safety nets are completely dismantled.
They want it to be like it is in India. Where there is a class with money and sewage systems. And then there are the rest of us who hire someone to sweep the raw sewage out of pipes and through the gutters of the sidewalks to the river where we will bathe in raw sewage. (sorry I watched Vice this week and couldn’t help but think that is how republicans want everyone, who is not them, to live)
Budda May 11th, 2015 at 2:21 pm
I thought the Republican plan was: get sick and die.
allison1050 May 11th, 2015 at 2:58 pm
Also reluctantly known as the Sara The Quitter Half Term Palin and Michelle With The Crazy Eyes Bachmann’s death panels.
Dwendt44 May 11th, 2015 at 7:00 pm
That’s half of it. ‘Die quickly’ was the other half.
allison1050 May 11th, 2015 at 2:45 pm
So how many times will it take for the media to ask Paul a direct question?
William May 11th, 2015 at 9:25 pm
Paul Ryans plan is pretty consistent with his plan to help the poor.
Talkin_Truth May 11th, 2015 at 9:54 pm
>> Still No Republican Alternative To Obamacare
They’ve always had a healthcare plan;
Go broke. Then die.
frambley1 May 12th, 2015 at 1:47 am
The underlying assumption that republicans want to help anybody is flawed.
bpollen May 12th, 2015 at 3:56 am
I went to the same high school as Paul Ryan, but before he was there. Something awful apparently happened after I left… as evidenced by Ryan.
Jeffrey Samuels May 12th, 2015 at 8:54 am
yeah, well I found out that I went to the same high school as Chris Christie. How embarrassing was that!
bpollen May 12th, 2015 at 3:32 pm
My brushes with fame consist of going to the same high school as Ryan and having shaken Richard Nixon’s hand… Could I have had positive “near to celebrity” moment??? Noooooooooooooooo…………
fahvel May 12th, 2015 at 5:03 am
what is the actual purpose of the republican party since, as you present it, it does nothing to enhance the lives of the population short of providing cheap labor to maintain the wealth of the wealthy?
crc3 May 12th, 2015 at 6:14 am
Repulsives have never wanted a plan so why would they start now?
craig7120 May 12th, 2015 at 9:03 am
Republicans have no plan because the dems took the the republican plan, tweaked it and made it their own. It took a democratic president to pass a republican health care plan. Now, all we need is the republicans to take the dems plan, universal health care, tweak that and call it their own and get that passed. Win Win, cept for health insurance companies, they lose, they shouldn’t be allowed or encouraged in making billions in profit off of the sick and injured in America, imo
Jeffrey Samuels May 12th, 2015 at 9:06 am
it’s difficult to formulate a plan that subsidizes the premiums for the poor and keep people with preexisting conditions from being either gouged out of the market or dropped, while not subsidizing premiums and not preventing insurance companies from excluding sick and elderly folks.
I guess that’s what is taking so long. They are trying to figure out a way to make seem like the former and in reality be the latter. They haven’t quite figured out how to do this yet, which is why they don’t have a plan.
I suggest they use Futurama’s HypnoToad:
Margie Bateman Osgood May 12th, 2015 at 4:06 pm
It would help if they would at least meet to talk about it.
Personally, I like the idea of HypnoToad, if the Dems can program him.
Foundryman May 12th, 2015 at 9:27 am
Everyone knows Obamacare was originally written by the Heritage Foundation. Since Obama usurped them and moved to make it a reality, the Republicans have moved so far away from the concept of affordable healthcare they no longer even acknowledge there is a need. Of course they don’t have a plan, they don’t want a plan. What they want is a complete repeal, they don’t care who gets hurt, how many or how bad.
Dwendt44 May 12th, 2015 at 7:45 pm
Most of the features of the ACA were originally Republican ideas. The very ones they now complain the most about.
TKList May 12th, 2015 at 2:24 pm
Get government out of the health care business as much as possible. Limit them to limited regulations and financial support to those who need it.
Obamacare, Medicaid, Medicare and VA hospitals should be abolished.
People under these programs and those who are financially below the poverty level should be given a yearly amount that they could use to purchase health insurance.
Keep the federal regulation stating that insurance companies have to cover pre-existing conditions as long as the person had previous insurance.
Allow people to purchase insurance from any state.
Deregulate state health insurance markets.
Unhinge medical insurance from employers in the tax code.
Getting government out and increasing competition in this way will lower health care costs. It cuts the bureaucracy costs, cuts the fraud costs and improves competition and quality of care.
tracey marie May 12th, 2015 at 2:26 pm
Universal HC is the best way, everyone needs and deserves HC.
TKList May 12th, 2015 at 2:29 pm
Universal – food, homes, clothes and mobile devices, everyone needs and deserves everything.
tracey marie May 12th, 2015 at 2:30 pm
so sorry that you feel only the wealthy should have HC
TKList May 12th, 2015 at 2:31 pm
Maybe you should actually read what I posted before you make such comments.
arc99 May 12th, 2015 at 2:41 pm
Maybe you should look at the universal health care in every other western industrial democracy in the world including Britain, Canada and Israel
and mobile devices? please tell me you have not fallen for the Obama-phone nonsense.
HINT: there is no such thing as an Obamaphone.
TKList May 12th, 2015 at 2:49 pm
Why do we need to do some wrong just because many others are doing the wrong thing? What is wrong with financial support to those who need it instead of government controlling the whole health care system? And no, I was not talking about Obamaphones.
arc99 May 12th, 2015 at 2:56 pm
There is nothing “wrong” with making sure all citizens have access to health insurance. Government is not controlling the whole health care system. Policies subsidized by the ACA are provided by Cigna, Aetna, Blue Cross etc.
I would ask what is “right” about health care being entirely the domain of private corporations where they can drop you whenever they feel like it, refuse to provide coverage whenever they feel like it, and where the primary objective is profit, not your health.
TKList May 12th, 2015 at 3:06 pm
She was advocating a Universal Health Care as a better option. That is government controlled heath care.
arc99 May 12th, 2015 at 3:19 pm
Please explain why universal health care is not a better option than this
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jun/17/business/fi-rescind17
Blue Cross praised employees who dropped sick policyholders, lawmaker says
TKList May 12th, 2015 at 3:41 pm
That can be dealt with by lawsuits and criminal charges. Please explain how this system would be good to expand to everyone? http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/va-hospital-scandal/va-audit-finds-100-000-veterans-facing-long-wait-health-n126401
arc99 May 12th, 2015 at 3:49 pm
So a person who is already in a difficult situation both physically and financially will have to incur the additional expense of retaining a personal injury attorney licensed by GOVERNMENT, to file suit in a GOVERNMENT court, to determine if any GOVERNMENT regulation has been broken. That is your idea of getting GOVERNMENT out of health care? You actually think it is preferable that an individual or family dealing with a serious or terminal illness should have the additional responsibility of finding a lawyer and filing a lawsuit all because of this country’s insane worship of the private sector?
Your solution requires a large additional expense from people already suffering. My solution requires only that we vote for leadership which provides the proper resources. That is why my system would be good to expand to everyone. You can get relief without being wealthy.
That would address the problems with the VA as well as problems with the hypothetical universal health care in America.
TKList May 12th, 2015 at 3:57 pm
Maybe you do not know how our legal system works. Most lawyers take cases on a contingency basis (no win no fee).
arc99 May 12th, 2015 at 4:00 pm
So as your argument gradually falls apart, you start making assumptions about what I do or do not know. I know how our legal system works. Try finding an attorney in private practice who does not require a retainer of at least a couple thousand dollars when taking on a major lawsuit that could take months if not years to resolve. Then if the person filing the suit loses in court, they owe tens of thousands in both legal fees and medical bills.
I also cannot help but notice that you did not answer the question of why returning to the old system is a better option. You only pointed out remedies which may or may not be available.
I on the other hand, very clearly stated why I thought single payer is a better option.
Dwendt44 May 12th, 2015 at 7:43 pm
And the lawyers for insurance companies know how to drag a case out for years, hoping the complainant dies before the case sees a courtroom.
arc99 May 12th, 2015 at 4:04 pm
Perhaps you are the one who needs to brush up on our legal system.
Here is what the American Bar Association has to say. Contingency lawsuits do not look like a very good fit for someone who is near bankruptcy due to medical expenses.
Numerous costs are still the responsibility of the plaintiff.
http://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/resources/law_issues_for_consumers/lawyerfees_contingent.html
A client pays a contingent fees to a lawyer only if the lawyer handles a case successfully. Lawyers and clients use this arrangement only in cases where money is being claimed—most often in cases involving personal injury or workers’ compensation.
In a contingent fee arrangement, the lawyer agrees to accept a fixed percentage (often one third) of the recovery, which is the amount finally paid to the client. If you win the case, the lawyer’s fee comes out of the money awarded to you. If you lose, neither you nor the lawyer will get any money, but you will not be required to pay your attorney for the work done on the case.
On the other hand, win or lose, you probably will have to pay court filing fees, the costs related to deposing witnesses, and similar charges.
TKList May 12th, 2015 at 4:02 pm
arc99: “My solution requires only that we vote for leadership which provides the proper resources. That is why my system would be good to expand to everyone.”
If it was that easy we would not be having the problems in the VA for years on end. No thanks.
arc99 May 12th, 2015 at 4:08 pm
Your alternative means going into tens of thousands of dollars of debt from medical bills and court costs. No thanks to you too.
Dwendt44 May 12th, 2015 at 7:41 pm
Not to mention real ‘death panels’.
Dwendt44 May 12th, 2015 at 7:38 pm
And call needed procedures ‘experimental’.
OldLefty May 12th, 2015 at 2:57 pm
And no, I was not talking about Obamaphones.
______
You mean “Reaganphones”??
Reagan started the Lifeline Program.
Or do you mean “Bushphones”??
Bush expanded the Lifeline Program to cell phones.
And by the way the government doesn’t control anywhere close to the “whole healthcare system”.
Dwendt44 May 12th, 2015 at 7:37 pm
That Republican god Ronnie Reagan started the ‘free phone’ to help the poor, for use in emergencies.
Margie Bateman Osgood May 12th, 2015 at 4:03 pm
I read everything you wrote and I agree with tracy marie. That is the typical Republican agenda and part of it is the way healthcare was. We tried some of that already and it sure didn’t work for us poor people who don’t qualify for Medicaid or Medicare and can’t afford payments that are more than what we pay for housing.
OldLefty May 12th, 2015 at 2:51 pm
Get government out of the health care business as much as possible. Limit them to limited regulations and financial support to those who need it.
Obamacare, Medicaid, Medicare and VA hospitals basically have built and will maintain the middle class.
There is really no place for a profit based middleman in healthcare.
Keep the federal regulation stating that insurance companies have to cover pre-existing conditions as long as the person had previous insurance.
______
They could jack up your premiums so that you could not afford the policy, and refuse to cover the pre-existing conditions….and that does nothing for those who don’t already have it.
[Allow people to purchase insurance from any state.]
______
Won’t work; all insurance companies will move to the state with the least regulations and they will STILL shift the cosy onto the providers and the government.
[Deregulate state health insurance markets.]
_______
Get rid of health insurance altogether.
It is a useless middleman.
[Unhinge medical insurance from employers in the tax code.]
_________
Agreed.
Getting government out will decrease competition, INCREASE costs and again shift those costs to the governments and the providers.
For profit insurance has always diminished the quality of care.
The ACA was a good start, but eventually it should be expanded.
Dwendt44 May 12th, 2015 at 7:35 pm
I’ve had ‘discussions’ with someone who moved from Michigan to Texas. He couldn’t understand why he couldn’t buy Michigan insurance in Texas (Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Couldn’t understand that insurance companies set rates for states if not zip codes. I’m betting he refused to sign up for the ACA too.
OldLefty May 12th, 2015 at 8:43 pm
Plus, a plan in one state often can’t be
sold in, other states because it doesn’t conform to the other state’s regulations.
Dwendt44 May 12th, 2015 at 7:50 pm
The insurance companies hate the ACA so much that they are lining up to get their share of the policies.