The G.O.P. Campaign to Repeal Obamacare Hits a Wall

[wildeyed]

Source: NYT

WASHINGTON — Congress’s rush to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, once seemingly unstoppable, is flagging badly as Republicans struggle to come up with a replacement and a key senator has declared that the effort is more a repair job than a demolition.

“It is more accurate to say ‘repair Obamacare,’” Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee and chairman of the Senate health committee, said this week. “We can repair the individual market, and that is a good place to start.”

The struggles and false starts have injected more uncertainty into insurance markets that thrive on stability. Republican leaders who once saw a health law repeal as a quick first strike in the Trump era now must at least consider a worst case: unable to move forward with comprehensive health legislation, even as the uncertainty that they helped foster rattles consumers and insurers.

snip....

The end game is perhaps predictable. In the Senate, Republicans will need help from Democrats to replace the health law because they hold 52 seats but will need 60 votes. Several Republican senators, like Susan Collins of Maine and Bob Corker of Tennessee, say they will not vote to repeal the law unless they have a clear picture of what will replace it. And Democrats will not support any replacement unless Republicans scrap the idea of an outright repeal, which conservatives have been demanding for years.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/02/us/politics/the-campaign-to-destroy-obamacare-hits-a-wall.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0

---

Can't repeal actually repeal because people SAY they hate Obamacare, but they don't and will be mad when their healthcare goes away. Can't get rid of individual mandate or cost-sharing subsidies without spooking insurance companies.



This is the fun part, where they have to actually do all the stupid, unrealistic stuff they have been promising their voter, but they can't BECAUSE MATH. This is the ONLY good part about having zero power in government. Zero responsibility too. It's all you GOP! Have fun, assholes.

[Docreed2003]

1. There was a time when Lamar was considered a plainspoken, moderate, former governor...

Of the state of TN...then, he was ask how much a gallon of milk cost while running for president and flubbed so badly the veil came falling down on his "common man" image. That being said, there are times when Ole Lamar shows signs of his former self, despite his willingness to cowtow to the GOP message time and again. This is one of those times.

[wildeyed]

2. Well they are going to need to do something to walk back expectations.

They cannot actually repeal Obamacare. It's not perfect, but it is better than nothing. It could have been a great deal better if GOP had participated in writing the legislation in the first place. But they didn't. And they demonized the legislation to their constituents so mightily that they are going to have a very difficult time explaining why they have to keep it after all. Plus they don't have the votes for full repeal without some Dem support. Morons.

[Docreed2003]

9. Agree a 100%

[Bernardo de La Paz]

3. Some people love the Affordable Care Act but hate ObamaCare. Go figure. . . nt

[davekriss]

7. Incredible, isn't it?

And "keep government hands off of our Medicare!" The stupid is strong out there. Unfortunately.

[J_William_Ryan]

4. Well...

"Republicans struggle to come up with a replacement..."

That's because the ACA is the Republican plan.

[wildeyed]

6. Right?

They are morons. Most would prefer to repeal, let people die in the street like before, but know the voters will hold them accountable. Bush had EIGHT years to address the problem himself, but couldn't be bothered. GOP has no ideas. They just like to burn shit down.

[Xolodno]

12. Yeap.

But could you imagine if a GOP lawmaker came out against the ACA and demanded Single Payer? Stating that everyone needs to pay their fair share, its unfair to larger businesses who help pay for their employee's while some fly by night guy siphons business away because they treat their workers poorly, it would promote a fair shake in the work place, etc. Overall, a pro business message for Single Payer....

But they won't, because they can't think themselves out of a paper bag and know they would get bipartisan support....and Rush, Hannity, etc. would go ape shit as anything bipartisan is code word for Repubs caving.

So here they are, railing against a plan they proposed and don't know what to do.

[msongs]

5. repubs/trump voters will just blame obama lol. its all his fault he was so crafty as to make ACA

demolish-proof.

[wildeyed]

8. MATH!

Math is the culprit! #AlternativeMath

[BumRushDaShow]

10. "Obamacare" WAS their plan

a scaled-up version of "Romneycare". I remember they had looked at a couple state plans at the time to use as a template and Tennessee also had something that was looked at in addition to Massachusetts.

In general, the idea came out of the Heritage Foundation that they are beholden to and it took alot of effort to get it somewhat liberalized to what we see today (although one of the major liberal items - mandatory expansion of Medicaid - was struck down by the SCOTUS).

So since it was built using "THEIR "principles" (many of which they have now thrown under the bus - Because. Obama.), they really have nothing left that they can do with it other than keep proposing lame "health savings accounts" that if one could afford such, the amount in there would barely cover 1 day of a hospital stay (the generic procedure "single day" costing upwards of $10,000). A typical 4-day stay can run $30,000 - $40,000.

[wildeyed]

11. They just got rid of the earned income credit in my state.

That was a Republican thing, right? The took it, added sales tax to car repairs and the like, cut income tax a fractions and told their their voters they "lowered" taxes! And they seem to buy it! Don't realize that they only people who got a cut are really rich, but most working people got a raise. It's hard to help people who don't want to be helped.

The "new" GOP is so nutty and mean. They just hate and burn things down. They are letting F'ing white nationalists running the White House, so what else can I say?

[BumRushDaShow]

15. The irony being

they always wanted and demanded that "our side" adopt their original Reaganomic policies, but when a particular one - President Obama - said "ok, let's try a few of these", they went bat-shit crazy and had to oppose his doing that because their own RACISM trumped everything else. Their suddenly rejecting the use of some of THEIR policies (or slightly modified versions of them) by one black man over an 8 year period, forced them into the extremist version of themselves that we see today. There was no other place for them to go except to run into the arms of the fascist white nationalists and adopt those views. Thing is, their "moderates" just sat there and went along with it and those who "complained" eventually sat down and shut up and went along for the ride anyway.

[wildeyed]

17. For many, the goal really is to let people die in the street because Ayn Rand said so.

Paul "Granny-Starver" Ryan being one. They will pare back ANY type of protection, even those conservative in nature, for the American people as long as they allow it.

Well they broke it, they own it now. I hate that it happened this way, but now that it has, I will enjoy my popcorn and schadenfreude.

[Aimee in OKC]

13. But Ryan's crafted a well-hidden rules change to kill the ACA ...

It has to do with manipulating/degrading the CBO's responsibility to report on the fiscal effects of 'a bill or joint resolution reported by a committee (other than the Committee on Appropriations), or amendment thereto or conference report', specifically the PPACA.

From 'Angry Bear' = "PPACA Repeal and How to Make Reconciliation Work for You."

... There is reason to why Congressman {Ryan} wants to block the CBO from reporting on this. It deals with making it more difficult 10 years down the road to change the repeal.

. . . Bush’s tax cuts were passed using Reconciliation and the CBO did a cost analysis showing it would create a deficit. Using Reconciliation to pass a bill, the legislation passed and creating a deficit must expire in 10 years. Bush’s tax cuts did create a deficit and a big one much of which was reversed by Obama.

For sure, Congressman Paul Ryan knows the repeal of the PPACA will create a deficit and Republicans know the repeal will create a large deficit. To make sure no one else knows, Mr. Ryan has blocked the CBO from analyzing it before repeal. Also unbeknownst to many, if the CBO does not do its typical independent analysis of the costs (if any) created by the PPACA repeal and how much it increases the deficit, there is no requirement for the legislation to expire after 10 years. Republicans would have repealed the PPACA as they have wanted to do since 2010, and would have blocked it from ever coming back after 10 years. "

http://angrybearblog.com/2017/01/38918.html

[ZM90]

14. This image is appropriate so every time I hear they are having trouble repealing I am using it.

[nikibatts]

16. Yes, it hit the Trumps Wall with Mexico. Can't fund everything.

People will soon forget about building that wall if their health insurance is taken away.
So much of what Trump is doing is just for public consumption so that he can say he kept his promises. Once the spotlight is on, he and the Congress will forget about most of what he has signed or promised but his base will believe that the stuff actually happened. If the job numbers do not improve bigly they will soon tire of his bloviating and turn on him.

[wildeyed]

18. The wall seems to be largly symbolic for many who support it.

They just want someone to do something about immigration RIGHT FUCKING NOW!!!11!!! Trump said he would so they voted for him. They don't really care about the actual wall, per se. But they do expect quick action of some sort. And he won't be able to do that. He over promised, bigly.

From my small understanding of the issue, the real problem is insane back-ups in the courts which makes it impossible to process the migrants streaming across the border in a timely fashion. So the "wall" money would be better spent on judicial infrastructure. But that requires patience and the ability to govern, both in very short supply with GOP. and it expands government, which they hate on ideological grounds unless it involves guns.