Putting this in its own thread because I'm interested in learning more about it and don't want to derail the Trump thread.

GOP Obamacare Replacement

So far it seems to me to be only a little less bad than the Obama version.

Just illustrates that once you give free shit to people, it is nearly impossible to take it away. Health care is now a right that the federal government has to provide to everyone. Once the GOP accepted that premise, it was game over.

Sucks donkey balls from what I've seen.

Time to start holding Congress accountable.

-Rob

quote:

Originally posted by BurtonRW:
Sucks donkey balls from what I've seen.-Rob

That's certainly possible. What elements stand out to you?

Doomed right out of the gate, IMHO.
Where is state lines?
Where is co-op-type group purchasing?
Drug prices?
Nope, don't confuse motion with action.

I don't understand it. Seems it will please nobody! In politics, they usually are trying to please SOMEbody??

quote:

Originally posted by FRANKT:
Doomed right out of the gate, IMHO.
Where is state lines?
Where is co-op-type group purchasing?
Drug prices?
Nope, don't confuse motion with action.

It will please the commies as it appears to be Obamacare II.

Gets rid of the mandate. That's the main thing I was looking for.

http://www.foxnews.com/politic...eplacement-bill.html

Here's a look at some of the major components:
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PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE

-- Provides tax credits for people purchasing their own health insurance. The subsidies would be keyed primarily to age, rising as people get older. Financial assistance would be phased out for individuals making more than $75,000 and married couples earning more than $150,000. Subsidies could be used to buy any plan approved by a state.

-- Eliminates cost-sharing subsidies in Obama's Affordable Care Act that helped people with modest incomes meet the costs of insurance deductibles and copayments. States, however, would have the option of providing similar assistance with federal financing.

-- Greatly expands contributions to health savings accounts, which allow people with high-deductible insurance to cover expenses that their plans don't pay for.

-- Protects people with pre-existing health problems from being denied coverage. However, consumers must maintain continuous coverage -- otherwise, they would face a flat 30 percent surcharge on top of their premiums. States could use federal money to create high-risk pools as insurers of last resort.

-- Preserves ACA provision that let young adults stay on parental coverage until they turn 26.

-- Allows insurers to charge their oldest customers up to 5 times what they charge young adults. The ACA limits that to 3 times.

-- Prohibits use of tax credits to purchase any plan that covers elective abortions. Currently if a health plan covers abortions it must collect a separate premium to pay for such procedures.

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MEDICAID

-- Maintains the ACA's higher federal financing for expanded Medicaid through the end of 2019. After that, states can only continue to receive enhanced federal payments for beneficiaries already covered by the expansion, which has mainly helped low-income adults with no children living at home. But for newly enrolled beneficiaries, the federal government would provide a lower level of financing.

-- Overhauls the broader Medicaid program to end its open-ended federal financing. Instead, each state would receive a limited amount based on its enrollment and costs. That federal payment would be increased according to a government measure of medical inflation.

-- Denies federal funding for one year to Planned Parenthood, a major provider of women's health services, including abortion.


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PENALTIES & TAXES

-- Repeals the ACA's tax penalties on people who remain uninsured and on larger employers who do not offer coverage. The repeal is retroactive to 2016.

-- Repeals the ACA's taxes on upper-income earners, investors, health insurance plans and medical device manufacturers. Repeals 10 percent sales tax on indoor tanning.

Thank you for starting the new thread. I agree with you.

A simple repeal would take one page....

Why not just repeal the disaster and start fresh with some market based, simple reforms like allowing health insurance to be sold across state lines?

A "Republican welfare entitlement"? Really?!?

How will the conservative Republicans react? They're the ones who threatened to vote against anything less aggressive than the 2015 repeal bill, which this definitely is. Freedom Caucus chairman Mark Meadows said on Hannity last night that "we're making progress," but other early signs aren't good: Rep. Jim Jordan reportedly doesn't like it, a Republican Study Committee memo calls it a "Republican welfare entitlement," and Rep. Justin Amash tweeted that it was "Obamacare 2.0."

Will there be a Medicaid backlash?
That looked like a serious danger after four GOP senators from states that expanded Medicaid said they wouldn't support the changes they saw in an early draft. But they softened their tone after a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Monday night, Caitlin Owens reports. "It's moving in the right direction," said West Virginia's Shelley Moore Capito, one of the worried senators.
How many people would be covered?
Normally, the Congressional Budget Office would tell them that. But not this time — because the committees are plowing ahead without waiting for the cost and coverage estimates.
No Congressional Budget Office score?
Really? They're going to take a lot of heat from Democrats for that decision — Democrats are already accusing them of trying to hide the likely losses of coverage. The key, though, is how many Republicans are uncomfortable with it too. "That seems problematic." Sen. Bill Cassidy told Caitlin, adding: "I'm trying to be diplomatic."

Do they actually know how to pay for it?
Here's what House Republicans answer the "how will you pay for it" question in their FAQs: "We are still discussing details, but we are committed to repealing Obamacare and replacing it with fiscally responsible policies that restore the free market and protect taxpayers."

A bigger picture question is how long will the entire process of repeal and replace take?

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/...ppens-next-one-chart

A few things to look at:

Individual 'mandate' to purchase insurance...

the pre-exisiting condition component (which is what is making insurance under Obamacare so expensive)...

expansion of tax credits and income thresholds...

how much is actually required to be covered by an offered plan (contraception, mental health, addiction, gender reassignment surgery, wellness BS, etc)...

just off the top of my head.

If I were in charge - I would figure out a way to entice providers to take 'cash payors' more readily / frequently to keep more healthcare paid by individuals vs. insurance carriers / pools.

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quote:

Originally posted by chellim1: simple reforms like allowing health insurance to be sold across state lines?

I know very little about the way insurance companies work, but hear this all the time. What is it that makes selling across state lines such an advantage? Don't most companies have a presence in multiple states already?

quote:

Originally posted by MNSIG:

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1: simple reforms like allowing health insurance to be sold across state lines?

I know very little about the way insurance companies work, but hear this all the time. What is it that makes selling across state lines such an advantage? Don't most companies have a presence in multiple states already?

Increased pricing competition.

quote:

Why not just repeal the disaster and start fresh

How about the government mind it's own business?

Figures. Should've known better than to expect an actual repeal.

quote:

Originally posted by tanksoldier:

quote:

Why not just repeal the disaster and start fresh

How about the government mind it's own business?

Well... yes! That's really what I mean.
A "Republican welfare entitlement" is not a good idea. Even if "Obamacare 2.0" is slightly better than the first version.

Not just no, but fuck no. I'm burning up Twitter.

quote:

Originally posted by stoic-one:

quote:

Originally posted by MNSIG:

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1: simple reforms like allowing health insurance to be sold across state lines?

I know very little about the way insurance companies work, but hear this all the time. What is it that makes selling across state lines such an advantage? Don't most companies have a presence in multiple states already?

Increased pricing competition.

This.

As I understand it-

You see it from time to time where insurance companies petition the state insurance commission - it happens pretty much annually - to be able to raise prices.

They get approval from the insurance commissioner to raise prices 4.2% or whatever and - miraculously - they all raise prices 4.2%.

You have no choice but to buy a plan offered through your state. What if you could buy a plan elsewhere that was cheaper and had the coverage you wanted?? That would be great.

So there are many insurance companies - BCBS, Aetna, Kaiser, Humana, etc that offer insurance in many states - but what they offer in individual State A vs State B and the price varies greatly.

--------------------------------

quote:

You have no choice but to buy a plan offered through your state. What if you could buy a plan elsewhere that was cheaper and had the coverage you wanted?? That would be great.

So there are many insurance companies - BCBS, Aetna, Kaiser, Humana, etc that offer insurance in many states - but what they offer in individual State A vs State B and the price varies greatly.

Yep... and it's both pricing and marketing which aids competition. You see lots of car insurance ads on TV but none for health insurance. To do a big ad campaign takes a lot of money and you aren't going to do it unless you can target a big audience.

Last year i had a kidney stone and went to the E.R. to get treatment. I forgot my insurance card and the clerk advised me as she tried to verify my insurance that the MRI would cost $3100. It would only be $700 if I had no insurance and had to pay cash.

Why do we allow hospitals to gouge insurance companies which In turn jack up their rates and gouge us?

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:

Why not just repeal the disaster and start fresh with some market based, simple reforms like allowing health insurance to be sold across state lines?

Exactly. A clean repeal bill. One sentence: "ACA is hereby repealed."

Then debate alternatives and pass some reforms.

Instead we get the free shit crowd and there backers in the GOP saying "Well, we have to have subsidies so people can buy insurance. We also have to make sure that people with preexisting conditions can't be turned down. We also have to make sure people can stay on their parents' insurance until they are eligible for AARP membership" and so forth and so on.

The people who want all this crap didnt vote Republican before...and they aren't going to vote for Republicans after. So I don't know why the GOP is so damn hellbent on preserving a giant entitlement.