quote:

Dude, what is up with that link? My antivirus went nuts over it.

Apparently it's Google's cache of the original article. But I posted the full article above so you can read it without clicking.
I hope this link is better:
http://www.politico.com/magazi...macare-repeal-214854

quote:

Originally posted by BamaJeepster:
The reality is this:

Could it be repealed? Sure, it could. Total chaos as companies plans are instantly terminated and 20 million people have their plans cancelled with no alternatives to get insurance, as the co-ops go away with the repeal as well.

Instantly Terminated? Can someone expand on this....I've heard this 'the sky will fall' prediction from multiple sources, but it makes NO sense to me!

Obamacare mandated coverage, set minimum benefit requirements for health insurance, and set up the 'Obamacare Marketplace' for those that either did not have health insurance through their employer, or could not obtain health insurance otherwise. Further, subsidies were offered for those that 'qualified' due to inability to afford insurance mandated by the 'Affordable Care Act'.

That said, consumers have purchased a product from the insurance companies for a specific term, and as such, the Insurers are contractually committed to their plans for 2017.

And, while there is an escape clause that allows carriers to exit the market if they don’t receive certain payments from the government that reduce insurance costs for lower-income consumers, does ANYONE think the Trump administration would not act so that the U.S. Treasury continues to make such payments to carriers? This would certainly be a logical component of the Obamacare Repeal / wind down process, correct?

Why is everything we hear, from virtually everyone that the system instantly collapses, total chaos will ensue, people will die, the sky will fall, etc?

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:

quote:

Dude, what is up with that link? My antivirus went nuts over it.

Apparently it's Google's cache of the original article. But I posted the full article above so you can read it without clicking.
I hope this link is better:
http://www.politico.com/magazi...macare-repeal-214854

Thanks. I only opened it cause I wanted to keep the article in a separate tab so I could read it later.

As I see it now the House bill doesn't do anything to lower my insurance premium and increase better available healthcare.

My employer currently pays most of our premiums and I appreciate that; however, I would rather half of it be put in a HSA and the other half be put toward a catastrophic policy; quite frankly, quite a few Americans, if given the chance would go for it. I could also see people buying insurance to cover the deductible for catastrophic policies, like say $300/yr for $20,000 deductible coverage.

quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:
Instantly Terminated? Can someone expand on this....I've heard this 'the sky will fall' prediction from multiple sources, but it makes NO sense to me!

Obamacare mandated coverage, set minimum benefit requirements for health insurance, and set up the 'Obamacare Marketplace' for those that either did not have health insurance through their employer, or could not obtain health insurance otherwise. Further, subsidies were offered for those that 'qualified' due to inability to afford insurance mandated by the 'Affordable Care Act'.

That said, consumers have purchased a product from the insurance companies for a specific term, and as such, the Insurers are contractually committed to their plans for 2017.

And, while there is an escape clause that allows carriers to exit the market if they don’t receive certain payments from the government that reduce insurance costs for lower-income consumers, does ANYONE think the Trump administration would not act so that the U.S. Treasury continues to make such payments to carriers? This would certainly be a logical component of the Obamacare Repeal / wind down process, correct?

Why is everything we hear, from virtually everyone that the system instantly collapses, total chaos will ensue, people will die, the sky will fall, etc?

Sure, let me help you...Those plans were set up and mandated under the rules put forth under Obamacare. When you repeal Obamacare, those regulations, along with subsidies, the mandate, etc. all go away. No, you can't 'wind it down' if you repeal it - those payments from the Treasury were done under rules put forth in Obamacare - there is no mechanism in place for that if you repeal it. What you are thinking is that you would repeal it and then pass rules and regulations to wind it down - however, the democrats would never vote for such rules and there would be no way around a filibuster.

It's astounding to me that people think the republicans could control the narrative under a full repeal scenario. Do you really think the media would allow that? Do you not think they would find the most extreme/heartrending examples of people losing their coverage to exploit day after day? Where have you guys been the past 20 years? Seriously?

The bill that was put forward will not be the one that ultimately gets voted on - that much is for sure. Just wait and see what comes out of the committees and what passes the House and Senate before declaring utter defeat and disaster.

quote:

Originally posted by lkdr1989:I would rather half of it be put in a HSA and the other half be put toward a catastrophic policy; quite frankly, quite a few Americans, if given the chance would go for it.

That would make good financial sense, but people are notoriously bad at making the right financial choices. How many would actually set aside $20k to cover the deductible?

quote:

1. Repeal Obamacare outright. Keep the promise. We don't need 60 votes to repeal it. This country survived for 220+ years without Obamacare, and we have only had Obamacare in effect for 6+ years. Yes it will be painful for some people but claiming there will be unmitigated nationwide chaos upon repeal is fear mongering. Let the people on it know that the end of O-care is coming and they better actually save some of their own money to purchase their own coverage through the private market while there is a gap in O-care coverage.

2. Repeal the mandates through reconciliation as described in the Ted Cruz article posted by Chillem.

3. Formulate a new bill that contains the 6 areas of consensus outlined by Cruz that will actually help Americans. If the Dems want to block passage of a new bill that helps fix the healthcare issues we face today then they own that outright. At this point we will have no federally run healthcare plan in place (other than Medicaid/medicare of course) since we successfully kept the promise and repealed Obamacare. Trump should tweet every single day about how the Dems are being obstructionists and preventing passage of a new bill. Make it their problem, not ours.

Yes, it will be painful for some people but those people don't vote republican anyway. The only people who are happy with Obama care are those living off of us and getting the subsidies. Republicans are always busy trying to get votes they will never get.

At this point I would be happy if we could just write off medical care and pharmacy with out having to reach the 10 percent of your adjusted gross income level.

My $0.02: Repeal ObamaCare in its totality; eliminate it; destroy it root, branch and leaf; leave no trace that it ever existed. Gone. Nothing left but bad memories.

quote:

Originally posted by BamaJeepster:


It's astounding to me that people think the republicans could control the narrative under a full repeal scenario. Do you really think the media would allow that? Do you not think they would find the most extreme/heartrending examples of people losing their coverage to exploit day after day? Where have you guys been the past 20 years? Seriously?

Bama, I really enjoy reading your posts and especially appreciate your well researched opinions. So I don’t want this to seem like I am attacking you personally because that is certainly not the case here.

63 million people voted for Trump. 63 million people showed that the media narrative, which was 100% against Trump, had zero effect on their voting decision.

63 million people used the ballot box to voice that are tired of paying for other people’s healthcare. I’m one of them. If keeping the promise that helped Trump win the Whitehouse upsets the millions that didn’t vote for him anyway then I don’t see why any of us should care one darn bit.

I mean what is the media going to do, villainize Trump and conservatives even more? Call us more racist? More bigoted? That ship has sailed, they are out of race cards to play. As far as I’m concerned the media narrative is essentially meaningless now. The American voter is awake and aware that the media is as corrupt as it comes. We have President Trump to thank for that. He has shown that he can control the narrative with 140 characters and be successful doing it.

I can see Trumps tweets now:

“We kept our promise. Horrible obamacare has been repealed and we wrote the replacement that actually fixes healthcare in our country. The Dems are blocking this bill that will relieve the burden on millions of Americans. VOTE THEM OUT.”

“We need 60 votes to pass the replacement to help Americans and not one Dem will support it. The midterms are coming. VOTE THEM OUT. Vote for somebody who will put Americans first and support passage of this new bill.”

I could see entire congressional campaigns being centered on supporting the replacement bill that the Dems are blocking. I believe that the American voter is smart enough today to do the right thing, just like when we elected President Trump. The Dem bloodbath would be wonderful.

quote:

Originally posted by BamaJeepster:
The bill that was put forward will not be the one that ultimately gets voted on - that much is for sure. Just wait and see what comes out of the committees and what passes the House and Senate before declaring utter defeat and disaster.

True. The bill put forward today is likely to be miles better than what eventually comes out of committee after every policrap in the house and senate has an opportunity to try and load it up with more $$$ for them and their constituents.

This is headed in the wrong direction already, and the GOP is "playing chicken with a freight train" called the American voter. They screw us on this very, very, public promise, and either the Dem's will own Washington in 2018, or a whole lotta Republicans won't be going back to Washington after the 2018 midterms.

quote:

Originally posted by BamaJeepster:

quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:
Instantly Terminated? Can someone expand on this....I've heard this 'the sky will fall' prediction from multiple sources, but it makes NO sense to me!

Obamacare mandated coverage, set minimum benefit requirements for health insurance, and set up the 'Obamacare Marketplace' for those that either did not have health insurance through their employer, or could not obtain health insurance otherwise. Further, subsidies were offered for those that 'qualified' due to inability to afford insurance mandated by the 'Affordable Care Act'.

That said, consumers have purchased a product from the insurance companies for a specific term, and as such, the Insurers are contractually committed to their plans for 2017.

And, while there is an escape clause that allows carriers to exit the market if they don’t receive certain payments from the government that reduce insurance costs for lower-income consumers, does ANYONE think the Trump administration would not act so that the U.S. Treasury continues to make such payments to carriers? This would certainly be a logical component of the Obamacare Repeal / wind down process, correct?

Why is everything we hear, from virtually everyone that the system instantly collapses, total chaos will ensue, people will die, the sky will fall, etc?

Sure, let me help you...Those plans were set up and mandated under the rules put forth under Obamacare. When you repeal Obamacare, those regulations, along with subsidies, the mandate, etc. all go away. No, you can't 'wind it down' if you repeal it - those payments from the Treasury were done under rules put forth in Obamacare - there is no mechanism in place for that if you repeal it. What you are thinking is that you would repeal it and then pass rules and regulations to wind it down - however, the democrats would never vote for such rules and there would be no way around a filibuster.

It's astounding to me that people think the republicans could control the narrative under a full repeal scenario. Do you really think the media would allow that? Do you not think they would find the most extreme/heartrending examples of people losing their coverage to exploit day after day? Where have you guys been the past 20 years? Seriously?

The bill that was put forward will not be the one that ultimately gets voted on - that much is for sure. Just wait and see what comes out of the committees and what passes the House and Senate before declaring utter defeat and disaster.

Well, how about we call it a 'Structured Repeal' then...Seems silly that everyone is getting hung up on what we call it (and narrowly defining it based on such), without considering how to best do it! A few thoughts based on your response:

quote:

No, you can't 'wind it down' if you repeal it - those payments from the Treasury were done under rules put forth in Obamacare - there is no mechanism in place for that if you repeal it.

Well, how about they include such a mechanism.

quote:

What you are thinking is that you would repeal it and then pass rules and regulations to wind it down...

Actually, that's NOT what I'm thinking! I did not indicate that I supported 'Repeal Only', and I totally get that in the current Congress, the only realistic path forward is a 'Repeal & Replace' thru Budget Reconciliation.

quote:

It's astounding to me that people think the republicans could control the narrative under a full repeal scenario....Where have you guys been the past 20 years? Seriously?

Again, you're assuming a VERY Narrow definition of how it would/could be repealed! And, for the record, I've been right here, SERIOUSLY Paying Attention all along!

quote:

The bill that was put forward will not be the one that ultimately gets voted on - that much is for sure.

Hallelujah! Heck, the fact that we can download/read it today is astounding! It's quite refreshing that the GOP will move this bill through the committees w/ jurisdiction, where it will be marked-up & debated, and amended as appropriate....The legislative process as it should be!

quote:

Just wait and see what comes out of the committees and what passes the House and Senate before declaring utter defeat and disaster.

Objection....You're assuming facts & statements NOT in evidence!

quote:

Yes, it will be painful for some people but those people don't vote republican anyway. The only people who are happy with Obama care are those living off of us and getting the subsidies. Republicans are always busy trying to get votes they will never get.

Exactly!

quote:

63 million people used the ballot box to voice that are tired of paying for other people’s healthcare. I’m one of them. If keeping the promise that helped Trump win the Whitehouse upsets the millions that didn’t vote for him anyway then I don’t see whey any of us should care one darn bit.

I mean what is the media going to do, villainize Trump and conservatives even more? Call us more racist? More bigoted? That ship has sailed, they are out of race cards to play. As far as I’m concerned the media narrative is essentially meaningless now.

Exactly! Right on! Full speed ahead... keep the promise.

quote:

Originally posted by Brett B:
Bama, I really enjoy reading your posts and especially appreciate your well researched opinions. So I don’t want this to seem like I am attacking you personally because that is certainly not the case here.

It's all good. That's why I like to debate here, it's most definitely not personal and I like having my position, assumptions and conclusions challenged.

I think I can say with some certainty that almost all of us here want to end up at the same place - a market based healthcare system with little or no government intervention. What we are debating right now are the political tactics required to reach that end. If I thought it was possible to do everything with one bill that couldn't be filibustered, I would be all over it and pushing it as hard as I could. However, my understanding of the legislative process and where we stand today would not allow that approach to work.

I'd be ecstatic to be proved wrong and if it turns out to be as easy as just ripping up Obamacare, letting the system crash and burn and republicans emerging victorious, then I'll be leading the cheers for those who saw that path to victory.

quote:

I think I can say with some certainty that almost all of us here want to end up at the same place - a market based healthcare system with little or no government intervention. What we are debating right now are the political tactics required to reach that end.

Right, Bama.
... and we've learned over time that Republicans go squishy. They have to have their feet held to the fire. Guys like Ryan and McConnell can talk a good game at election time but let's not forget that the longer they have been there the more they have become a part of the swamp which needs to be drained.

Trump Vows "Full-Court Press" As Opposition To 'RyanCare' Mounts

As the U.S. House of Representative marks up Paul Ryan's American Healthcare Act, the battle between the moderate and conservative factions of the Republican Party continues to mount behind the scenes all while opposition from a variety of advocacy groups is also growing. “This is what good, conservative health-care reform looks like,” House Speaker Paul Ryan said Wednesday. “It is bold and long overdue. And it is us fulfilling our promises.”

Despite the public bickering, Republicans scored a victory early Thursday, pushing a measure through the House Ways and Means Committee repealing tax penalties on people who don’t buy insurance but otherwise progress on the bill has been slow.

As the Wall Street Journal notes, Ryan and House Republicans have to thread a very fine needle on healthcare legislation that appeals to a sufficient number of conservatives to pass the House while not alienating the more moderate factions of the party in the Senate.

House Republican leaders are under pressure to ease passage through the House by making changes that appease conservatives who want a more aggressive repeal of the ACA. Those changes risk further jeopardizing support in the Senate, where centrist Republicans have said they are concerned the proposal will cause too many people to lose coverage, particularly those with low incomes.



Underscoring the Senate’s central role, a group of Republican governors representing states that expanded Medicaid under the existing law have largely given up on lobbying the House and instead are focusing their efforts on the Senate, according to two people familiar with their thinking.

“Yes, I do not think it will be well received in the Senate,’’ Sen.
Susan Collins (R., Maine) told Yahoo News. “But I do want to emphasize
that it’s still a work in progress. … So, who knows, maybe it’ll
eventually get better.’’ She also signaled she would oppose measures in the House bill to end funding for Planned Parenthood.



The GOP proposal topples many central provisions of Obamacare, including a requirement that most Americans buy health coverage or pay a penalty. The plan would end tax credits provided to lower-income people on the ACA’s exchanges and replace them with new tax credits for a broader set of people who don’t get insurance through their work.

The credits would be pegged to age and would phase out for higher-income earners. In many cases, analysts say, the credits would be less generous for older and low-income consumers, and for people in areas with high health costs, than the subsidies offered under current law.

The bill would repeal the majority of the health law’s taxes starting in 2018 and freeze federal funding in 2020 for the 31 states that expanded Medicaid. It would also overhaul and reduce federal funding for Medicaid.

But opposition is mounting from groups representing hospitals, doctors and seniors which are urging House Republican leaders to put the brakes on their plan to overhaul the Affordable Care Act, saying it risks stripping too many people of insurance and in some cases would hurt industry finances.

America’s Essential Hospitals, whose members serve large numbers of uninsured patients, sent a letter on Wednesday to House leaders saying it was ill advised to consider the legislation without an estimate of the costs and coverage implications from the Congressional Budget Office, the independent office that assesses legislation for Congress. Those assessments won’t arrive for several days. The hospital group also said some provisions would hurt patients.



“America’s Essential Hospitals cannot support the legislation to be considered by the committee,” Dr. Bruce Siegel, president and chief executive, said in the letter.



The American Medical Association, a physician group, said in a letter to Congress on Tuesday that it is unable to support the GOP bill because of “the expected decline in health insurance coverage and the potential harm it would cause to vulnerable patient populations.”

And a major association of insurers, America’s Health Insurance Plans, warned in a letter that the bill could damage the insurance market and hurt Medicaid enrollees.

Meanwhile, President Trump has promised a full-court press to rally support for RyanCare while reportedly saying that if the House GOP's ObamaCare repeal and replace plan fails to pass, then he'll simply let ObamaCare fail and will blame the Democrats.

"Trump said he will have football stadium events in states where he won by 10-12 points and he is going to dare people to vote against him," a source at the meeting said.

“We’re going to have a full-court press,” Mr. Spicer told reporters. “You will see a lot of travel and a lot of activity by the president and all of the administration.”

Grab your popcorn, this fight should get fun.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/...ses-full-court-press

Could somebody explain how "buying insurance across state lines" is supposed to be less costly? I always thought ones' age, tobacco use et cetera was pretty much what rates were based upon. The only thing I could think of is the regulatory burden of some states adding to costs-but it it that profound a difference?

quote:

Originally posted by Opus Dei:
Could somebody explain how "buying insurance across state lines" is supposed to be less costly? I always thought ones' age, tobacco use et cetera was pretty much what rates were based upon. The only thing I could think of is the regulatory burden of some states adding to costs-but it it that profound a difference?

Efficiency
Competition

Currently there is Blue Cross of TN. Blue Cross of KY. Etc. Etc. Theoretically I guess it could be 50 companies. Instead it could be one. = Efficiency plus risk sharing.

And any company anywhere could compete for your business if across state lines is permitted vs in State only. = Competition


Over simplified that I'm sure.... And sure I'll be corrected of wrong!

Exclusive — Sen. Rand Paul on Paul Ryan’s Obamacare Lite: Speaker ‘Trying to Pull the Wool Over the Eyes of the President’


Office of Sen. Rand Paul

by Matthew Boyle

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), a top conservative in the U.S. Senate, unloaded on House Speaker Paul Ryan’s Obamacare 2.0 replacement plan—that does not repeal Obamacare—in an exclusive interview on Wednesday with Breitbart News.

In the interview, Paul accused Ryan of misleading President Donald Trump on the process and the level of support in the House for the bill that House GOP leadership—at Ryan’s direction—put forward this week.

The House Freedom Caucus was publicly against this strategy before Ryan even rolled it out. The group of more than 40 House conservatives remains steadfastly opposed to Ryan’s plan on this front, showing no signs of breaking as they signaled before it was introduced, and now many Republican offices outside the House Freedom Caucus privately tell Breitbart News that as many as 70 or more House Republicans are opposed to Ryan’s plan.

Leadership knows this too, they say, as all the “hard no” votes have told the Speaker’s office or the whip teams they cannot vote for this bill. But Ryan is plowing forward, stating at a number of press conferences this week he is confident he will receive the 218 votes he needs to pass the bill—even though he clearly does not have them right now.

When asked what Ryan’s strategy is here, Paul told Breitbart News it makes no sense—and that he believes that the Speaker is deliberately misleading President Trump into thinking he has more support for this bill than he has, and that its fate is not in crisis.

Paul is confident that conservative House and Senate Republicans will stick together, defeat this bill, and then work with President Trump to separate repeal and replacement into different bills passed on the same day down the road. The fact that Paul is saying Ryan is misleading Trump is an explosive charge, but is backed by the evidence of widespread mistrust in the House GOP conference over this bill and Ryan’s waning influence as Speaker—dislike of it extends far beyond the House Freedom Caucus, as Breitbart News can confirm.

Paul told Breitbart News:

I don’t think it makes any sense and I think he’s trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the president. I think when I’ve spoken with president Trump, I think he agrees with me that we should repeal and replace but I don’t think he’s stuck on that they have to be in the same bill necessarily. Paul Ryan, I think, is selling it to the White House and telling the White House, ‘Oh, it’s a piece of cake, it’s a done deal.’ And I don’t think that’s an accurate depiction of things. I think from the very beginning combining repeal and replace in one bill makes it very hard because we have different ideas on replace. We are pretty much united on repeal, but we have different ideas on replace. If the House leadership had come forward and talked to conservatives beforehand, I think they would have found out there is a lot of disagreement and they would have just passed what we already passed—what everybody voted for—and we also have a debate on the same day on a variety of replacement strategies. We still could do that. And I think if the House Freedom Caucus and the Senate conservatives stay together, I still think that that’s one possible outcome. It would be better for all of us if we separated it out with clean repeal and had replacement as a separate bill.

A senior congressional aide in a House Republican office whose member is not part of the House Freedom Caucus told Breitbart News his boss is also opposed to Ryan’s Obamacare 2.0, and that there is much more widespread Republican opposition to Ryan’s plan than leadership originally expected.

“I think you’re looking at 60 to 70 noes right now on the floor,” the aide told Breitbart News. “The phone lines have been blowing up with opposition to what they’re calling Ryan-Care. This is a hell of a Mexican standoff—it’s Freedom Caucus versus Trump, and Ryan who I think is driving the process. Who blinks here? It’s bigger than the Freedom Caucus but the Freedom Caucus has planted their flag on this one. Who’s going to blink first?”

A second GOP congressional aide in another non-House Freedom Caucus office told Breitbart News their boss is against it as well, and that Ryan has “way more than 70 not with him.” These two offices and others that are not part of the Freedom Caucus but are opposed to the legislation told Breitbart News that the only reason they are not publicly coming out against the bill is because they do not wish to create more chaos around this legislation. If Ryan keeps doubling down, and forcing a vote on this, it will get worse, they say.

A staffer in a third GOP office with a member not in the Freedom Caucus but opposed to the legislation even said staff is keeping the member off television to avoid getting connected to Ryan’s Obamacare 2.0. These numbers show that the Speaker has a serious problem inside his conference and has not thought this through.

Paul opened his exclusive interview in his U.S. Senate office in the Russell Senate Office Building by explaining exactly what is wrong with Ryan’s Obamacare bill, a bill he calls “Obamacare Lite.” He said there are four major reasons that Ryan’s bill is wrong; specifically that it creates an entitlement program, that it does not effectively handle Obamacare taxes and even keeps the Cadillac Tax indefinitely, the keeping of Obamacare’s individual mandate, and the keeping of Obamacare’s risk corridors—but simply renaming them.

Paul told Breitbart News:

I think the reason why the House leadership bill is Obamacare Lite is because it retains subsidies. Obamacare had subsidies for people to buy insurance. In the Paul Ryan bill, they keep the subsidies—they just call them refundable tax credits. Some people are predicting that it’s actually going to be more expensive than the subsidies we have under Obamacare. This isn’t you getting your own money back, this is you getting somebody else’s money. So, a family that makes $30,000 a year could actually get $14,000 that they didn’t pay. Let’s say they paid zero in income tax, they could get $14,000 back. One, we don’t have the money—it’s a new entitlement program and two, if you get $14,000 back do you think the insurance company is ever going to sell insurance for less than $14,000? That becomes the floor. So, it actually pushes insurance rates up—it doesn’t allow insurance rates to fall. So, that doesn’t allow insurance rates to fall and it sets up a new entitlement. The second thing that Paul Ryan’s Obamacare Lite bill does is they keep the Obamacare taxes—all of them—for a year. And then after a year, they keep the Cadillac Tax forever. That’s the tax on if you have really good insurance, Obamacare taxes that. So will Paul Ryan’s plan. The third thing they do that is Obamacare-like is they keep the individual mandate. It seems like every Republican says they were against the individual mandate. That’s if you didn’t buy insurance you had to pay a penalty to the government, a tax. Obamacare Lite, Paul Ryan’s plan, just changes it so you have to pay a penalty to the insurance companies. I consider that to still be a mandate that isn’t consistent with those of us who want less government involvement. So they keep the subsidies, they keep the taxes, and then they keep the mandate. Then the fourth thing they do is they actually subsidize the insurance companies. Right now, insurance companies are losing money and Obamacare has this rescue thing called ‘risk corridors’ to bail out the insurance companies. Paul Ryan has got the same thing, he just calls it reinsurance and it’s $100 million worth. I predict that might not even be enough. So I don’t like any of it. Now, I do think we agree as Republicans on repeal. But I don’t think we agree on the replacement. That’s why I say we should separate them, vote on repeal and then vote the same day on a separate bill that’s called replace.

Paul specifically told Breitbart News more about the argument that Ryan’s bill creates an additional entitlement program. He said that, while the House GOP leadership calls it a “refundable tax credit,” it functions in much the same way as Obamacare’s subsidies. Paul said:

It’s called a refundable tax credit and I think it’s the same as subsidies. What it is is if you pay nothing in income tax, when you get to the end of the year and you didn’t owe anything in income tax, you can get up to $14,000 back from the government. But the government doesn’t have any money. So it’s just like Obamacare, they put the subsidies at the federal government level. We’re actually $20 trillion in debt, we’re running a $500 billion deficit, we borrow a million dollars a minute. We don’t have any money to give anybody. So even if everybody said ‘oh we have to give people money and we should keep the Medicaid expansion and all that,’ someone should be honest about it and find where is the money going to come from. So, for example, that’s one of my complaints about Obamacare in general is that it’s a dishonest accounting. They said poor people need help. I agree. I want to help them by lowering the price of their insurance. But they said ‘no, no we want to give them dollars for Medicaid expansion and to buy insurance with subsidies.’ The problem is there is no money to give them so we just add to the deficit. The main thing driving the deficit up here are the entitlements. So I think Paul Ryan’s refundable tax credits are just a new entitlement program.

Paul also said he believes the concern—confirmed by Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA), a proponent of Obamacare 2.0, on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight on Tuesday evening—that illegal aliens will have access to Medicaid funds under Ryan’s bill is in fact a “valid concern.”

“I think that is a concern—a valid concern,” Paul told Breitbart News. “And I don’t think illegal immigrants—nor do I think we should be admitting people and putting them on welfare. We have enough poor people in our country without importing more people from around the world onto welfare.”

When asked if it is too late for Ryan to withdraw this bill and approach repealing and replacing Obamacare in a manner Republicans campaigned on for years, rather than in this convoluted way, Paul said: “No, I don’t think so.” And Paul believes that President Trump will be willing to bargain, given the fact that Ryan’s bill is unlikely to pass either chamber of Congress, according to many Republicans party-wide.

“President Trump has indicated look, his career in business has been about negotiating deals,” Paul said. “My guess is he realizes this is going to take some negotiation. He seems to be very open to hearing from conservatives. He’s been inviting my input and I’m aware he’s been inviting input from different members of the House Freedom Caucus as well.”

Paul also said that the goal here is not to kill any person’s bill or stop repeal of Obamacare—and that Ryan’s recklessness jeopardizes GOP chances to repeal and replace Obamacare. “The goal is to get one that passes,” Paul said. “I think they’re going in the wrong direction, but I think a clean repeal could pass again.”

When asked if President Trump is more open to the withdrawing of the leadership bill for his suggested approach to repealing and replacing Obamacare, Paul told Breitbart News: “I think so.” If Trump begins listening to conservatives, he argues, then he believes the president will change course and drop Ryan’s bill for one that has a better chance at success. Paul added:

I think what has to happen, and this is just beginning is that conservatives need to get in front of the president. So far it’s been leadership, which are mostly the establishment Republicans. I just think he needs to hear from some conservatives and he will realize there are many different issues. I think he does realize there are many different issues and many different factions out there. It’s complicated. You got to get them all on one page for one bill. It happened 14 months ago, we all voted for clean repeal. So I think there’s at least some evidence people will vote for a clean repeal bill.

Paul said that Republicans should pass a clean repeal bill and a replacement bill all on the same day, but he does not believe Ryan’s vision for Obamacare replacement is one that can gain widespread support inside the Republican Party.

“Everybody wants repeal and that’s what I keep telling people,” Paul said. “We’re united on repeal, we’re just not united on the replacement part. To me, it makes evidently good sense to divide them, because I don’t think we’re coming to an agreement. If Paul Ryan were sitting right here with us, I don’t think we’d have an agreement on replace, nor do I think we will, because his ideas are Obamacare Lite and conservatives in this country just aren’t for that.”

Trump is reportedly heading to Kentucky this weekend as part of what seems to be a feckless effort to pressure Paul into backing down. It comes after Trump Tweeted at Paul on Tuesday evening.

While Paul said he welcomes the president to Kentucky if he is indeed headed there, and that he supports the president on a number of fronts, he will not back down when it comes to battling Obamacare and fighting to repeal and replace the healthcare law.

Paul told Breitbart News:

We welcome the president to Kentucky. He’s very popular in Kentucky. And one of the reasons he’s very popular is he has said he will fight for the families who work in the coal mines. The first regulation we repealed was something that would have hurt our coal miners even more and I went to the White House and supported the president on that. I’ve supported the president on the overwhelmingly conservative cabinet that he’s put forward. I’ve supported the president on really, virtually every issue so far so I think we actually have a good relationship and I think there’s a possibility for continued negotiation with him.

The grassroots Americans who propelled Trump into the White House after electing Paul to the U.S. Senate in 2010 and again in 2016—as well as powering GOP majorities in the House and Senate—are with him and the conservatives, Paul said. The grassroots nationwide are not with Ryan and the leadership plan. He went on to say:

I think this is big, and I think it becomes bigger over time as the more people hear about it and the more people begin to talk about it. When the Tea Party movement started back in 2009, we had hundreds of thousands of people showing up mostly unhappy with Obamacare. When they find out that the House leadership wants to keep part of Obamacare, they’re going to be livid. So every day they’re hearing about it and every day I think the voice is going to become stronger. But I still think there’s common ground. I think Republicans by and large have been for repeal. Let’s just do a repeal bill.”

And Paul is slightly shocked that Republicans have not thought this through more clearly when they have had seven years to get here. He said, “Some of us did think we had a thought through strategy because we voted on it 14 months ago. We thought we were going to get the same thing. And I think it would have been very easy for leadership on both sides—House and Senate—alright guys, men and women, we voted on this once and we’re going to do it again. Then we’ll come up with ideas for replacement strategies. I think in some ways they just got a little bit ahead of themselves by thinking ‘oh, we’ll just stick all these replacement ideas in the repeal package’ which would be fine if they were replacement strategies we all agree on like health savings accounts. We all agree on that. Stick that in there, I’m fine with that. Get rid of some of the regulations, I’m fine with that. But I’m just not fine with creating new government programs. And I don’t think conservatives are going to back down on this. Conservatives are going to say, look, if you guys want that I think it’s going to have to be a separate vote.”

http://www.breitbart.com/big-g...wool-eyes-president/

Paul Ryan is a squish, a RINO. Think back just two years, recall this Drudge headline:

Paul Ryan is a shining example of everything that's wrong with D.C. and politicians.

Talk talk talk talk talk, give give give, talk talk talk, help the enemy, and so on...