GOP releases bills to repeal and replace ObamaCare

[mystery-ak]

GOP releases bills to repeal and replace ObamaCare
By Peter Sullivan - 03/06/17 06:04 PM EST

House Republicans on Monday unveiled their long-awaited legislation to repeal and replace ObamaCare.

The two measures dismantle the core aspects of ObamaCare, including its subsidies to help people buy coverage, its expansion of Medicaid, its taxes and its mandates for people to have insurance.

more
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/322609-gop-releases-bill-to-repeal-and-replace-obamacare

[LonestarDream]

I could live with this over Obamacare.  But The Hill was not hostile to the bill, which makes me suspicious .   

[Silver Pines]

"Even so, signs emerged on Monday that Republicans in Congress’s upper chamber could balk if the legislation leaves swaths of the country without insurance coverage. Four key Republican senators said they would oppose any new plan that would leave millions of Americans uninsured.

Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Shelley Moore Capito (R. W.Va.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said they would vote against any reform bill that fails to protect Americans who became eligible for coverage under the ACA’s expansion of Medicaid, the government-run health program for the poor and disabled....

“We will not support a plan that does not include stability for Medicaid expansion populations or flexibility for states,” they wrote in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

....With 52 Republicans, McConnell would not have enough votes to pass repeal without the support of at least two of those senators."


They're going to screw this up, aren't they.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/new-details-emerge-on-gop-plans-to-repeal-and-replace-obamacare/2017/03/06/04751e3e-028f-11e7-ad5b-d22680e18d10_story.html?utm_term=.bf00496905b9

[DB]

"Even so, signs emerged on Monday that Republicans in Congress’s upper chamber could balk if the legislation leaves swaths of the country without insurance coverage. Four key Republican senators said they would oppose any new plan that would leave millions of Americans uninsured.

Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Shelley Moore Capito (R. W.Va.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said they would vote against any reform bill that fails to protect Americans who became eligible for coverage under the ACA’s expansion of Medicaid, the government-run health program for the poor and disabled....

“We will not support a plan that does not include stability for Medicaid expansion populations or flexibility for states,” they wrote in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

....With 52 Republicans, McConnell would not have enough votes to pass repeal without the support of at least two of those senators."


They're going to screw this up, aren't they.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/new-details-emerge-on-gop-plans-to-repeal-and-replace-obamacare/2017/03/06/04751e3e-028f-11e7-ad5b-d22680e18d10_story.html?utm_term=.bf00496905b9

So in short, once on welfare always on welfare...

[LonestarDream]

I hope not.  They should pass the repeal for sure.  And use the replace bill mentioned here as a starting point for negotiations.

"Even so, signs emerged on Monday that Republicans in Congress’s upper chamber could balk if the legislation leaves swaths of the country without insurance coverage. Four key Republican senators said they would oppose any new plan that would leave millions of Americans uninsured.

Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Shelley Moore Capito (R. W.Va.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said they would vote against any reform bill that fails to protect Americans who became eligible for coverage under the ACA’s expansion of Medicaid, the government-run health program for the poor and disabled....

“We will not support a plan that does not include stability for Medicaid expansion populations or flexibility for states,” they wrote in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

....With 52 Republicans, McConnell would not have enough votes to pass repeal without the support of at least two of those senators."


They're going to screw this up, aren't they.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/new-details-emerge-on-gop-plans-to-repeal-and-replace-obamacare/2017/03/06/04751e3e-028f-11e7-ad5b-d22680e18d10_story.html?utm_term=.bf00496905b9

[Silver Pines]

They should have gone with their 2010 plan.


http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2010/feb/26/gop-health-care-reform-simple-explanation-updated/

[LonestarDream]

That was a great bill. Maybe the current bill can be scaled back over time after Obamacare has been repealed. 

They should have gone with their 2010 plan.


http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2010/feb/26/gop-health-care-reform-simple-explanation-updated/

[Silver Pines]

That was a great bill. Maybe the current bill can be scaled back over time after Obamacare has been repealed.

This is not good...


FreedomWorks‏Verified account
@FreedomWorks

Section 133 of @HouseCommerce version of leadership's #ObamaCare bill contains the Republican Individual Mandate.



If you click on this link, you can see photos of the section of the bill.  There are two photos; click on them to enlarge them.

https://twitter.com/FreedomWorks/status/838893456663711745

[LonestarDream]

Good sleuthing.  The article above mentions the 'hard' mandate going away, but pre-existing conditions coverage being funded by the 30% coverage gap increase. 

If The Hill is for the bill, I am suspicious .   

This is not good...


FreedomWorks‏Verified account
@FreedomWorks

Section 133 of @HouseCommerce version of leadership's #ObamaCare bill contains the Republican Individual Mandate.



If you click on this link, you can see photos of the section of the bill.  There are two photos; click on them to enlarge them.

https://twitter.com/FreedomWorks/status/838893456663711745

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Can't cover prexeisting conditions without some sort of penalty for not buying coverage.


Everyone wants something for nothing.

[Emjay]

"Even so, signs emerged on Monday that Republicans in Congress’s upper chamber could balk if the legislation leaves swaths of the country without insurance coverage. Four key Republican senators said they would oppose any new plan that would leave millions of Americans uninsured.

Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Shelley Moore Capito (R. W.Va.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said they would vote against any reform bill that fails to protect Americans who became eligible for coverage under the ACA’s expansion of Medicaid, the government-run health program for the poor and disabled....

“We will not support a plan that does not include stability for Medicaid expansion populations or flexibility for states,” they wrote in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

....With 52 Republicans, McConnell would not have enough votes to pass repeal without the support of at least two of those senators."


They're going to screw this up, aren't they.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/new-details-emerge-on-gop-plans-to-repeal-and-replace-obamacare/2017/03/06/04751e3e-028f-11e7-ad5b-d22680e18d10_story.html?utm_term=.bf00496905b9

The majority of the country wants Obamacare repealed.  They'd better not screw it up.

[Silver Pines]

The majority of the country wants Obamacare repealed.  They'd better not screw it up.

@Emjay

You know Republicans...pulling defeat out of the jaws of victory.

[LonestarDream]

@Emjay

You know Republicans...pulling defeat out of the jaws of victory.

Lets stay optimistic.  Pence and Cruz will be trying to get folks to work together.

[Cripplecreek]

@Emjay

You know Republicans...pulling defeat out of the jaws of victory.

@CatherineofAragon

Jared Kushner’s Brother Josh, nearly five years younger than Jared and like him a product of Orthodox day schools, is the founding owner of Oscar Health, a company worth $2.7 billion that sells health care through the Affordable Care Act.

http://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,252825.0.html

Its not going to happen without us bailing out the insurance companies to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars.

[bolobaby]

Bwhahahahaha - suckers.

I read the text of the bill on a link from Drudge.

First of all, if you can get past the byzantine references back to the ACA (of which I have a copy on my laptop), you will discover that this "repeal and replace" is a giant nothingburger that largely leaves the law intact and/or simply changes some of the terms of the law.

You've been had.

Should've voted Cruz.

[Cripplecreek]

Bwhahahahaha - suckers.

I read the text of the bill on a link from Drudge.

First of all, if you can get past the byzantine references back to the ACA (of which I have a copy on my laptop), you will discover that this "repeal and replace" is a giant nothingburger that largely leaves the law intact and/or simply changes some of the terms of the law.

You've been had.

Should've voted Cruz.

They'll blame everybody but Trump.

[DB]

Can't cover prexeisting conditions without some sort of penalty for not buying coverage.


Everyone wants something for nothing.

Insurance is based on risk. No insurance of any type covers preexisting conditions. You can't go get insurance to cover your house burning down or your car being totaled after the fact. Once you force coverage of preexisting conditions there's no assessment of risk anymore and it is no longer insurance by any normal standard.

Trump's insistence on covering preexisting conditions will poison the well. It is also a federal mandate that the federal government has no business being involved in in the first place - something far too many people are willing to overlook.

[DB]

They'll blame everybody but Trump.

And if the Democrats are smart they'll let it just barely pass.

Then the Republicans will own Obamacare take 2 from then on getting all the blame.

[geronl]

I could live with this over Obamacare.  But The Hill was not hostile to the bill, which makes me suspicious .   

everyone should be suspicious of everything the government does.

[geronl]

Trump's insistence on covering preexisting conditions will poison the well.

Unfortunately, I think most congressional Republicans agree with Trump on that.

[geronl]

@CatherineofAragon

Jared Kushner’s Brother Josh, nearly five years younger than Jared and like him a product of Orthodox day schools, is the founding owner of Oscar Health, a company worth $2.7 billion that sells health care through the Affordable Care Act.

Its not going to happen without us bailing out the insurance companies to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars.

Many billions of added health-care costs did nothing but pad the profits of some of these companies.

[SirLinksALot]

SOURCE: ZERO HEDGE

URL: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-03-06/house-republicans-release-plan-repeal-and-replace-obamacare-key-highlights


A seemingly angry (judging by the tone) Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer obviously had to lash out and dismiss the Republican's plan for "TrumpCare"...

"Trumpcare doesn't replace the Affordable Care Act, it forces millions of Americans to pay more for less care. This plan would cut and cap Medicaid, defund Planned Parenthood, and force Americans, particularly older Americans, to pay more out of pocket for their medical care all so insurance companies can pad their bottom line.
 
It cuts taxes on the rich to make middle class families pay more. To make matters worse, this sham of a replacement would rip treatment away from hundreds of thousands of Americans dealing with opioid addiction, breaking the President's word that he would expand treatment, not cut it.
 
This bill is a giveaway to the wealthy and insurance companies at the expense of American families, and Senate Democrats will work hard to see that it is defeated."

Wow, sounds like a nightmare. Let's see what the bill actually says.

As we detailed earlier, on Monday afternoon, House Republicans in both the Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce committees, unveiled their long-awaited legislation as part of House Republicans effort to repeal and replace Obamacare through the reconciliation process. The measure would roll back the government's health care role and is expected to result in fewer people having insurance coverage; however, due to strong opposition among key republicans to the proposed plan, there is a high likelihood the bills will not pass in their current form.

Upon releasing the legislation, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden said: “After years of Obamacare’s broken promises, House Republicans today took an important step. We’ve spent the last eight years listening to folks across this country, and today we’re proud to put forth a plan that reflects eight years’ worth of those conversations with families, patients, and doctors. Simply put, we have a Better Way to deliver solutions that put patients – not bureaucrats – first, and we are moving forward united in our efforts to rescue the American people from the mess Obamacare has created.

“With today’s legislation, we return power back to the states - strengthening Medicaid and prioritizing our nation’s most vulnerable. We provide the American people with what they’ve asked for: greater choice, lower cost, and flexibility to choose the plan that best suits their needs. Today is just the first step in helping families across this country obtain truly affordable health care, and we’re eager to get this rescue mission started.”

The plan would dismantle the key aspects of ObamaCare, including subsidies to help people buy coverage, the law's fines on people who don't purchase health insurance, the expansion of Medicaid, and drop the plan to tax employer-sponsored plans. The bills can be found here and here.

A breakdown of core aspects removed from the existing law (courtesy of Axios):

All Obamacare taxes
All Obamacare subsidies, including its premium tax credit
Individual, employer mandate penalties
"Cadillac tax"
No longer will limit the tax break for employer-sponsored health coverage
No payments to insurers for cost-sharing reductions
Selling insurance across state lines (can't be done in the "reconciliation" bill)
Medical malpractice reform (can't be done in the "reconciliation" bill)
What is being added:

Pre-existing condition coverage
Continuous coverage — 30 percent penalty if people don't keep themselves insured
Special fund to help states set up "high-risk" pools, fix their insurance markets, or help low-income patients
Enrollment in expanded Medicaid will be frozen
Current enrollees can stay until 2020, and keep getting extra federal funds, until they leave the program on their own
Medicaid will change to "per capita caps" (funding limits for each person) in fiscal year 2020
A new, refundable tax credit will be available in 2020 to help people buy health insurance
Covers five age groups — starts at $2,000 for people in their 20s, increases to $4,000 for people in their 60s
It's not means tested, but phased out for upper-income people (starting at $75,000 for individuals, $150,000 for families)
Insurers can charge older customers five times as much as young adults
At its core, in place of the existing Affordable Care Act legislation, republicans will implement a system centered on a tax credit to help people buy insurance.  That tax credit would range from $2,000 to $4,000 annually  increasing with age. That system would provide less financial assistance for low-income and older people than ObamaCare, but could give more assistance to younger people and those with somewhat higher incomes.

Democrats have warned that between the phasing out of ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion and the smaller tax credit for low income people, coverage would be put at risk for many of the 20 million people who gained it from ObamaCare. As The Hill adds, Republicans acknowledge that their plan will cover fewer people, but note that unlike ObamaCare, they are not forcing people to buy coverage through a mandate. They say their system is less intrusive and provides people a tax credit without mandates or a range of tax increases.

While some republicans such as House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady are confident the bill will pass with full Republican support despite recent party infighting over the details, the measure faces a rocky path, particularly in the Senate.

Earlier on Monday, four Republican senators - Sens. Rob Portman, Shelley Moore Capito, Cory Gardner and Lisa Murkowski - objected to an earlier version of the House bill, saying that it failed to protect ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion, saying they won't support a bill that takes the same approach to the program as a leaked Obamacare repeal and replacement bill did. However, under the proposed bill, the repeal of the Medicaid expansion would not take effect until 2020, and Republicans would grandfather in current enrollees so that they can stay on the program. Once 2020 arrives, the federal government will no longer provide the extra federal funds that allow for expansion.

As this is unlikely to solve the senators' problems with the bill, the proposed plan may be dead on arrival.

That plan has drawn objections from more centrist Republican senators too, who want to protect the expansion and are worried about constituents losing coverage and their states losing federal funds.

House Republicans have also objected to the plan, with Conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus calling the bill's tax credit is a “new entitlement.” They have enough votes to kill the bill, but it remains to be seen whether they will actually vote against it.

As previously leaked, the bill would maintain ObamaCare’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions, who could still not be denied coverage. Instead of ObamaCare’s mandate, the bill would seek to incentivize healthy people to sign up by allowing insurers to charge people 30 percent higher premiums if they have a gap in coverage. The measure also repeals ObamaCare’s taxes, such as the medical device tax and health insurance tax, starting in 2018.

Finally, The Hill also notes that the bill scraps a controversial Republican proposal in earlier drafts to start taxing some employer-sponsored health insurance. Instead, the measure would keep ObamaCare’s "Cadillac tax" on generous healthcare plans starting in 2025, in order to prevent that legislation from adding to the deficit in that decade.

House committees planned votes on the legislation Wednesday at 10:30am. That will launch perhaps the year's defining battle in Congress, and GOP success is by no means assured because of internal divisions.

[Idiot]

At this point I'd just take removing the individual mandate and the penalty involved.  My neighbor is a painter and he's basically starving to death, trying to feed his family and pay the penalty of not having insurance.  Obamacare has taken a huge toll on Americans.........

I moved to Medi-share so I could afford insurance.  It's not perfect, but at least it's something..........

[Formerly Once-Ler]

Bwhahahahaha - suckers.

I read the text of the bill on a link from Drudge.

First of all, if you can get past the byzantine references back to the ACA (of which I have a copy on my laptop), you will discover that this "repeal and replace" is a giant nothingburger that largely leaves the law intact and/or simply changes some of the terms of the law.

You've been had.

Should've voted Cruz.

Ben Shapiro‏@benshapiro 1h1 hour ago

So glad conservatives elected Republicans to dominate the federal government so they could trim Obamacare around the edges.

[SirLinksALot]

I moved to Medi-share so I could afford insurance.  It's not perfect, but at least it's something..........

Hey, I've heard Medishare advertising on the radio. I have a few questions:

1) How much does it cost to ensure a family?

2) What does it cover?

3) What states is it available in?

4) Are you satisfied with it so far?

Thanks. Your answer will help a lot of readers on this thread.