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[whyamihere]

Whoops.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/02/...troy-obamacare-hits-a-wall.html?smid=tw-share

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.

Insurers are threatening to exit the Affordable Care Act’s market unless the Trump administration and Congress can quickly clarify their intentions: Will they support the existing public marketplaces, encourage people to sign up and keep federal assistance flowing to insurers, or not?

“We need some certainty around the rules,” said Dr. J. Mario Molina, chief executive of Molina Healthcare, which has been a stalwart in the Affordable Care Act market and is making money under the system.

“We have a few months, but we don’t have a lot of time,” he said.

Many Republicans say their resolve to dismantle the law, a central element of President Barack Obama’s legacy, is undiminished. “We are looking to repeal this law, just like we told the voters we were going to do, just like we promised them we would do,” said Representative Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio and a leader of the House’s most conservative wing. “After all, there was an election where that was one of the most important issues.”

But after waging and winning many elections with a promise to kill it, Republicans still have no agreement on how to replace it. They will, they say, pursue a piecemeal approach because they have no desire to supplant the giant 2010 health law with a single comprehensive Republican plan cooked up in Washington.

When Congress convened this year, Republicans immediately introduced a budget resolution clearing the way for legislation to gut the health law, with strong support from Mr. Trump, who took office 17 days later. But Mr. Trump’s rocky start has slowed the momentum, depleting his political capital and dimming prospects for bipartisan cooperation.

Insurers say Republicans’ mixed messages and slowing pace could send premiums soaring next year while making the market much less stable. The deadline to file rates for 2018 is this spring, and insurers say they need time to decide what kinds of plans to offer and to set prices.

“We need stability and predictability,” said Marilyn B. Tavenner, the chief executive of America’s Health Insurance Plans, the main lobby for the industry.

Unless Congress continues cost-sharing subsidies, to reduce out-of-pocket costs for low-income people, and a reinsurance program, to help pay large claims, she said, more insurers will pull out of the market.

Insurers are also concerned about signs that the Trump administration may not enforce the so-called individual mandate, which requires people to have insurance or face a tax penalty. The penalty, or some way to encourage more participation, is seen as central to having enough young and healthy people sign up to keep premiums low.

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.

“We can’t repair the roof while Republicans and the president are burning the house down,” said Senator Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington.

Republicans have many ideas about how to shore up insurance markets and lower costs. But it is highly unlikely that any of their proposals would be found by the Congressional Budget Office to insure as many people as the Affordable Care Act. Downbeat assessments from the budget office have doomed many proposals in the past, including the health care plan devised by Bill and Hillary Clinton in 1993.

REPEAL AND REPLACE

REPEAL AND REPLACE

REP-- oh shit we control the government now?

Uhhhhhhhhhh.

 

[Solid SOAP]

Good, hopefully some good comes from critical thinking about this and not populist ridiculous crap

 

[Dreams-Visions]

Good. Fuck these losers.

 

[Shaanyboi]

Republicans have no fucking idea what they're doing.

 

[Barzul]

Obamacare WAS the Republican plan especially after the public option got nuked. A serviceable "replacement" was always going to be next to impossible. Was honestly kind of intrigued to watch them own the fallout of nuking a las with such popular provisions.

My cousin survived a brain tumor because of Obamacare offered him the chance to get insurance or else he'd be 90k in the hole, imagine all the folks in line for surgery or going through chemo as we speak. The sob stories write themselves.

 

[Monocle]

oops

 

[Cosmo Clock 21]

They'll just pin the blame on Obama

 

[Darryl M R]

lol 6 years to build that wall they just hit

 

[zma1013]

They've had 7 years and they have nothing to show for it? No plan at all? Do they even know how it works or are they all like the Energy guy not knowing what the Energy guy is supposed to do?

 

[hawkshockey11]

The party of lacking nuance

 

[Disheveled_Zen]

Lol, I love this so much. So many years we heard about how it was the worst thing ever for Americans, employers, the people, etc, and they finally get a chance to do what they wan't with it and can't come up with anything better. Maybe had they actually tried to come up with some better alternatives over the years instead of constantly trying to shit all over Obama, they could of actually done something positive.

 

[LostMyNarbles]

They spent at least 7 years talking about replacing this "Disastrous" law and now that they have the opportunity it becomes clear they never planned anything out. Talk about an embarrassment.

 

[Generalpsyduck]

 

[How About No]

 

[m_shortpants]

You'd think that after 8 years of complaining someone would have at least thrown an alternative onto the table.

Wait, I forgot their contempt of the ACA has nothing to do with the legislation but rather their contempt of Obama.

Fucking clowns.

 

[BlitzEngineer]

It won't matter. They could literally do nothing other than change the name and their base would just accept it as fixed and move on.

Obamacare has real issues but the grand majority of Republican voters only dislike it because it's a black man's legacy. As evidenced by the countless articles of middle american families living off of the subsidies but still stating they don't view it favorably and voting in candidates who constantly talk about repealing it.

If I was the GOP, I would make a big deal out of "repealing" the law, and immediately replace it with a nearly identical system, except instead of penalties, we pay for the subsidies by cutting some other form of welfare, and tie in some bullshit tax cut that doesn't actually benefit anyone in the middle class.

Their base would jerk off over it and it would be basically the same shit.

 

[Oh God Why]

I called my state senator to block the repeal, so I'm glad I did my part.

 

[Wag]

We can't have 20mil pissed off registered voters, can we?

 

[valkillmore]

 

[neshcom]

Insurers say Republicans’ mixed messages and slowing pace could send premiums soaring next year while making the market much less stable

My individual plan's premium this year went up 40% compared to last year (and that's even after dropping dental), so kindly fuck off.

 

[Faddy]

Republicans cry "OBAMACARE IS A POISON PILL!!!" as they are forced to find a solution to healthcare in America.

 

[tuxfool]

Republicans cry "OBAMACARE IS A POISON PILL!!!" as they are forced to find a solution to healthcare in America.

They're looking for the final solution.

 

[PeakPointMatrix]

 

[Mortemis]

Fucking idiots, the lot of them.

Maybe they should hit up Obama on ideas to improve it and take credit. Lol, if they do end up keeping it they'll just change the name to something "Freedom" something act and be done with it.

 

[Gnome Scat]

Ruh roh

 

[Slayven]

Shit or get off the pot, it is all you been able to talk about for damn near 2 years. Man up

 

[Dubbedinenglish]

Like a dog chasing cars

 

[PJV3]

Years of pointless mean spirited bullshit.

The Republican Manifesto in a nutshell, they could have worked with Obama to create something better instead.

 

[nny]

What's that? Repeating that you have something tremendous and much better isn't enough for it to magically materialize?

 

[Nafai1123]

I love how the GOP made the ACA into a noose and put it around their own necks, and are just now debating whether to step off the chair.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

Years of pointless mean spirited bullshit.

The Republican Manifesto in a nutshell, they could have worked with Obama to create something better instead.

Fuck that. Getting in power is all that matters. Working with people is a thing of the past. Momma didn't raise them to negotiate with negroes anyway.

 

[.JayZii]

I guess we're just going to keep Obamacare and improve upon it which was the plan of the Democrats as well then?

I doubt the dems would have renamed it FreedomCare or TrumpAid or whatever the hell Trump will do.

 

[tuxfool]

What's that? Repeating that you have something tremendous and much better isn't enough for it to magically materialize?

Anybody with half a brain would know that there was nothing there. Unless he was proposing single-payer.

 

[rjinaz]

My proTrump leaning family will hate this. I mostly heard from them all election about how expensive Obamacare was and how it was ruining the country.

Though somehow it won't bother them as much anymore, for some magical reason.

 

[gcubed]

My proTrump leaning family will hate this. I mostly heard from them all election about how expensive Obamacare was and how it was ruining the country.

It's going to depress turnout...

 

[cdyhybrid]

Anybody with half a brain would know that there was nothing there. Unless he was proposing single-payer.

Yes, but what about the Republican base?

 

[tuxfool]

My proTrump leaning family will hate this. I mostly heard from them all election about how expensive Obamacare was and how it was ruining the country.

Though somehow it won't bother them as much anymore, for some magical reason.

It is Obama's fault all those people are now insured. It was all a trap.

 

[Zareth]

I don't understand why people always have to try and destroy something just because it wasn't their idea or worse, solely because it wasn't done by them. If it's something that has improved the lives of the people in your country why are they so eager to destroy it? They should instead focus on making it better and doing things that improve their peoples lives, not just doing thing out of spite to jab a finger in the eye of the other guy. People can be so petty, cruel, spiteful and disgusting. To bad people just never seem to care about anything but proving the other person or group wrong.

 

[jstripes]

It's almost like they were all campaign, and no plan.

 

[Stinkles]

Looks so young!

 

[Man-is-Obsolete]

They'll just pin the blame on Obama

They'll try but even their voter base will see right through that. They've been campaigning against this for nearly 8 years. If it gets worse under their watch it is on them.

 

[tuxfool]

Yes, but what about the Republican base?

Well, their brains are rotten with their bullshit fantasies so it is easy to see how they imagined their perfect healthcare bill would fall in their laps, handed down by God on a stone tablet.

 

[Empyrean Heaven]

At least they're actually looking to replace it with something. I thought for sure Trump's Obamacare replacement was going to be nothing.

 

[Rebel Leader]

 

[TheOMan]

Best use of this yet.

 

[Herr Schwarz]

When is that cruz v bernie town hall

 

[barik]

wow, who could have seen that one coming?

 

[Snowybreak]

Hehehehehe...

 

[sc0la]

Actually I am pretty sure they voted to repeal it today
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/groundhog-day-republicans-vote-repeal-obamacare

Spoiler

jk that's from a year ago

 

[Therin]

welp, you got what you wanted, Republicans ..