Ronald Reagan has the answer to GOP’s ObamaCare riddle

[TomSea]

Ronald Reagan has the answer to GOP’s ObamaCare riddle
By Betsy McCaughey
July 19, 2017 | 7:48pm

When President Ronald Reagan was asked why he settled for a 5 percent tax cut in 1981 when he had proposed cutting taxes by twice as much, he answered: “Half a loaf is better than none.”

That’s advice the Republican Party should heed right now.

The Senate’s failure this week to repeal ObamaCare is a bitter disappointment to the 18 million people in the individual market struggling with unaffordable premiums and deductibles. It’s also bad news for another 8 million who are opting to pay hefty penalties rather than buy those unaffordable plans.

And things are only getting worse. Health insurers are asking for giant rate increases this fall, even as high as 50 percent in Connecticut, Maryland and Virginia. Ouch.

If members of Congress were feeling the same pain, they’d be more focused on repealing and replacing the collapsing law. But they’ve got a sweetheart deal. Even though the Affordable Care Act requires them to purchase their coverage on ObamaCare exchanges and follow the same rules as the rest of us, former President Barack Obama set up a way for them to weasel out of it: They get to choose from 57 gold plans and have John Q. Public pick up most of the tab.

Meanwhile, in nearly half the counties in the nation, ordinary folks will have only one insurer available. Or none at all.

Continued: http://nypost.com/2017/07/19/ronald-reagan-has-the-answer-to-gops-obamacare-riddle/