Republican healthcare bill faces defeat in House
It appears the Republican leadership lacks the votes in the House needed to pass its Obamacare replacement bill.
It appears that the Freedom Caucus in the House is generally holding firm, with more than 21 members agreeing that this is a bad bill, just as bad as Obamacare. Why vote for it, and make yourself a partner in this bad business? Consider for example this quote:
Rep. Rod Blum (R-Iowa), one of the few Freedom Caucus members who has a close relationship with GOP leadership, said Trump’s remarks in conference — and the building pressure — just “steels my resolve.”
“The way it stands right now, no,” he would not vote for the bill, Blum told POLITICO. “Not because of the Freedom Caucus, but because I’m a free-marketer and I’m a businessman. … And the present bill doesn’t give us a free market. I want health insurance premiums to come down. … This bill doesn’t give us a free market.”
The Republican leadership was able to successfully pass numerous full repeals of Obamacare when Obama was president and could veto them. Now that we have Trump, a president who will sign a repeal, they suddenly seem incapable of finding where they put those repeal bills. Very shameful.
Repeal the thing. Cleanly. This is what the American people want. They will thank you for it.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
It appears the Republican leadership lacks the votes in the House needed to pass its Obamacare replacement bill.
It appears that the Freedom Caucus in the House is generally holding firm, with more than 21 members agreeing that this is a bad bill, just as bad as Obamacare. Why vote for it, and make yourself a partner in this bad business? Consider for example this quote:
Rep. Rod Blum (R-Iowa), one of the few Freedom Caucus members who has a close relationship with GOP leadership, said Trump’s remarks in conference — and the building pressure — just “steels my resolve.”
“The way it stands right now, no,” he would not vote for the bill, Blum told POLITICO. “Not because of the Freedom Caucus, but because I’m a free-marketer and I’m a businessman. … And the present bill doesn’t give us a free market. I want health insurance premiums to come down. … This bill doesn’t give us a free market.”
The Republican leadership was able to successfully pass numerous full repeals of Obamacare when Obama was president and could veto them. Now that we have Trump, a president who will sign a repeal, they suddenly seem incapable of finding where they put those repeal bills. Very shameful.
Repeal the thing. Cleanly. This is what the American people want. They will thank you for it.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
I’m not following this bill as closely as I’d like, but here are my impressions:
-In some ways, the Republicans are not being bold enough. I’m having trouble with the concept of passing the reform in 3 stages; as I understand it, the first stage is limited to things they can pass with reconciliation (which takes the filibuster off the table).
-I don’t understand why they think stages 2 and 3 would pass the filibuster; stage 1 isn’t going to solve all the problems, and the Democrats are going to be content to leave the Republicans ownership of a failing Obamacare.
-Instead of trying to untie the Gordian knot, they should cut it down by invoking the nuclear option and killing the filibuster completely.
-I’m happy that at least the Republican leadership is being (marginally) more transparent than the Democrats were at this stage with Obamacare, even amending the bill as they go. I also wonder why they didn’t have a more complete bill ready to go after having 7 years to put it together. I’m also pleased that the President is personally appealing to members of Congress to try to persuade them, although I disagree with some of his goals and some of his tactics.
-I think the Republicans’ earlier efforts during the Obama administration were political posing. Healthcare is a complex subject, although they are making it more complex than it needs to be because of their fear of looking like big meanies. For example, rather than bending over backward to avoid millions of people losing insurance, they should emphasize that insurance companies will no longer collect money from millions of people who are buying insurance against their will.
-This has been a colossal waste of time; Trump should have insisted that tax reform be passed first, to get the economy going; the sooner the economy is jump started, the better position we’ll be on everything. By allowing Congress to put healthcare first, Trump has put himself (and others) in a position where they are desperate to make any deal on healthcare, so that they can move on to the more important issue of tax reform.
Garry–
They are going to ‘pass the bill, before they let us know what’s in it.’
All excuses they use for not repealing in full– deception, dissembling, and lies.
(If Ryan pronounced the sky to be blue, I’d wonder what sort of lie he was telling. Same with Priebus and Mitch. Anything they like– has to be terrible.)
Interestingly, but oh so typical; Chamber of Crony Commerce is 100% behind Ryancare and has pledged to spend big money on defeating any republican, who opposes Ryan and Mitch.
Club 4 Growth in contrast, just released 10 commercials today, opposing Ryancare and targeted at the usual squishy rino’s who promise one thing and settle for socialized medicine lite.
https://www.youtube.com/user/club4growth
Totally agree. They need to get the national government out of it altogether. This Obamacare Ver.2 isn’t what was promised, isn’t what we voted for. I’m glad some principled members of Congress are standing firm.
Love you on the JBS btw. Listen to you all the time!
Repealing Obamacare without replacing it with a new solution will result in millions losing insurance. These people will then end up at Er when some preventable conditions have become acute. Your “ideologically pure” solution will cause millions to suffer and not save very much money.
Des–
Millions of people have lost their insurance, because of this move toward socialized medicine the past 100 years.
What is the fascination with huge social-welfare programs, which do not work, never will work, and for which we can not afford to pay?
What is the fascination with transferring billions of dollars to health insurance Corporations? They helped make this bed, they colluded 100%—why are they sheltered & subsidized from the laws of economics?
What is the fascination with destroying the health insurance market, destroying healthcare delivery, and destroying the concept of insurance for 200 million people, in order to give free insurance to a few million people??
–We never have THAT debate anymore, it’s straight to “free” Federally mandated “coverage,” all the while our Deficits exploded, the Debt approaches 20 trillion, and unfunded liabilities approach 200 trillion.
No one was dying in the street before Obama, and no one will be dying in the streets if Congress simply repealed the ACA.
Congress can’t help themselves– the Rino-Statists are running Congress now in collusion with Marxist-Statists, and Ryan & Mitch intend to spend billions rewarding their friends, with an even bigger phony-baloney “program.”
Tangentially– non-reimbursed Emergency room care, only amounts to 10% of the total healthcare costs.
For what rational reason would we destroy our healthcare industry, to handle 10 lousy percent?
I’m no special-pleader for Pharma, but I would also point out that pharmaceuticals only comprise 10% of total healthcare spending. Cost to develop a new molecule is approaching $1billion and 7 years. The Federal government is the largest purchaser of pharmaceuticals
Socialized medicine isn’t about “delivering healthcare.” In it’s current iteration, it’s practically pure, forced, wealth-redistribution.
If you are below the poverty level, which is about $11K/year/single-person, you qualify for Medicaid. (It’s an “entitlement, if you qualify you are “entitled.”)
Everyone who retires is forced to enroll in Medicare, no exceptions. (a “mandatory” “entitlement.” Ideas so GREAT, they have to be mandatory.)
The Federal government has endlessly intervened in insurance and medical-care, since before FDR, and now it’s practically 100% total control.
Primary intervention lead to secondary intervention, lead to tertiary intervention, and it doesn’t appear it will ever stop until we all work directly for the Feds, and the Feds supply “everything” to us.
Count me OUT!
Let’s back up 10-20 years, at a minimum and recall historical facts–
For what reason were your insurance premiums going up 3X’s faster than inflation?–Endless, constant, unrelenting, TINKERING with healthcare Regulations and forced-mandates, by our Mastermind Overlords at the Federal level.
–Congress is not only immune from the ACA, they are immune from Ryancare.
None of these ruling Elites will have to comply with the “new improved, we’ll run it better, we’ll run it like a business,” bull-shit.
Rino, Crony, Statists, always say this crap-o-la. They love Big Programs and Big Taxes, but they try to shield their endless LIES and cloak their cronyism in faux “free-market” dissembling.
Endless Federal intervention in “social-programs,” have only succeeded in destroying the non-governmental Civil-society type charity delivery, of human-services, we historically had developed.
–I work in “human services, mental-health”
I guarantee to you, your money is being wasted at an incredible rate. (I also guarantee to you, when I was spending your tax money, on illegal aliens in part, I TRIED to be efficient, but the System isn’t designed for that, it’s designed to TAKE from one group and GIVE it to another.)
It’s not about “being more efficient,” that won’t save us one bit. Only market-forces, force efficiency. Massive feel-good programs, just STEAL from your grandchildren and degrade your present quality of life.
I would also put forth the proposition; There is an infinite demand for “healthcare,” but there are only finite resources.
That, is the problem, Congress refuses to address.
Unless and until, honest-to-god Market Forces are allowed to bring pressure on the healthcare market, we will just have more of the same, and the entire system WILL implode.
If Trump thinks Ryancare is “wonderful,” he’s insane.
I expect Mitch, Ryan, Priebus, and the 3,000 other crony-rino’s that DeStefano has been busily hiring for the Executive branch, to love this stuff to its core.
If Trump supports ANY of this– he’s insane.
And I have zero idea what he really believes; endless platitudes to select pigeon-holed interest-groups.
Holy cow– he panders to 70K Mineworkers in coal-country, he panders to Michigan UAW members with his auto-industry lies, etc., etc.,etc. He panders to everyone, just like Obama did, endlessly.
I’ll say it again– Trump will add 4-5 trillion to the Debt, easy, within 4 years.
We will still be talking about all this, next March.
“The Health Care Conundrum”
Richard Epstein via Defining Ideas at Hoover dot org
http://www.hoover.org/research/republican-health-care-muddle
Des,
I am one of the millions of people who have lost my insurance because of Obamacare. I now have to choose between eating and buying unaffordable, unusable insurance. The healthier choice is to eat.
There are plenty of other sacrifices that I would also have to make in order to purchase this expensive, useless insurance.
The poor may have insurance, subsidized by the government, but the deductibles on that insurance are so high that the insurance is no insurance at all. Yet you and I get to pay extra taxes in order to buy that useless insurance for them. Do not mistake insurance with the healthcare that it only covers after the first several thousands of dollars of expenses.
Repealing Obamacare and replacing it with free market capitalism will result in insurance prices and medical costs plummeting as doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies become free to explore for and to find cost effective methods to provide their services in ways that beat out the competition. It worked for the American airlines four decades ago, and they even went from a relatively poor safety record to one in which no passenger has been killed on a major US airline in more than 15 years.
Government interference has always led to worse performance. It happened in healthcare and it happened in education. Even the EPA itself is the worst polluter in US history.
Wayne, Edward
good stuff…