Bill Clinton attacks Obamacare ; calls it the "Craziest thing in the world"

[Terry the Fat Shark]

http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/299130-bill-clinton-slams-obamacare
The plot thickens

[GeorgiaModerate]

I sometimes wonder why Hillary has not locked him in a closet until the election is over.

[dspNY]

Easy answer for Hillary:

"I'm not my husband, and the ACA is a good first step to wider health coverage for all Americans. I support the law wholeheartedly and will introduce fixes to lower costs and hold insurance companies accountable when I become President"

[Fusionmunster]

Obama has basically said the same thing.

[mark_twain]

I think I know why Bill has done this.

After everyone has seen all of the negatives of Donald Trump displayed in the last week, repealing Obamacare is one of the last remaining reasons for mainstream Republicans to vote for Trump.

If the Clinton camp can take away Obamacare as a reason for voting for Trump, maybe (just maybe) Bill Clinton's idea can gain increased support from mainstream Republicans, more than enough to offset the support lost from the Democratic side for criticizing Obamacare.

It will be interesting to hear what Hillary says about Bill's thinking...

[ApatheticAustrian]

he is right. ..useless complicated and highly unpopular on the left too. just better than everything the right came up with....also cause they invented ACA in the first place.

hill can play that from any angle she wants to....contrary to the highly popular O her fate isn't connected to O-care.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

It's encouraging that he clear-sightedly recognizes some of the problems with it that need addressing. Hopefully Hillary does as well.

[Santander]

#fullrepeal

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Bill must be getting paid by Trump.

[Maxwell]

ugh bill

time for retirement bud

[BlueSwan]

Dumbass Bill. I mean really. The media is focused on Trumps endless antics and he choses to steal the spotlight over this?? Just give the left another argument for not showing up for Hillary. He might be right about some of this, but an election is not a time for those kind of nuances. All people are gonna hear is "Clinton is against Obamacare".

[Clarence Boddicker]

Can't say he's wrong, but bad optics and all that.

[Fusionmunster]

Dumbass Bill. I mean really. The media is focused on Trumps endless antics and he choses to steal the spotlight over this?? Just give the left another argument for not showing up for Hillary. He might be right about some of this, but an election is not a time for those kind of nuances. All people are gonna hear is "Clinton is against Obamacare".

Ehhh...its the VP debate tonight. Nobody cares.

[Averroës Nix]

Have you guys been paying any attention to the exchanges lately? Is anyone here paying attention to rising premiums? He's right. The ACA needs work, and even HRC's platform acknowledges this. "Like any new policy," implementation needs to be an iterative process.

The biggest problem with the ACA is that Congress is a nonfunctional political cancer and unable to do its part to work on the law and adapt it based on what works and what does not. The second biggest problem is that the federalist framework doesn't work when Republican-controlled states are totally noncooperative.

This should be totally non controversial, and the sensationalist hacks treating it like a gaffe -They're always covering gaffes, aren't they? Presumably because they're too stupid to discuss anything else. - deserve to be dropped down an elevator shaft.

[Hermit For Peace]

I like the idea. Let people pay into Medicare and Medicaid.

We need to change this health care set up. I don't care with the "optics" say. Bill is right. People need help, and we especially need to reign in big pharma and start bringing the cost of drugs down.

Hillary needs to get on this.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

He's just bitter Obama managed to do something about healthcare where he failed miserably.

[Hermit For Peace]

He's just bitter Obama managed to do something about healthcare where he failed miserably.

I don't see it that way. I think Bill is looking at reality.

[Lief 🗽]

What he said is pretty similar to what Obama has said recently. Obamacare was never going to be instantly perfect.

[Landslide Lyndon]

Has anyone actually read the interview?
Heck, has anyone read Obama's interview yesterday with Johnathan Chait?
If yes then this thread should've never been opened.

[pho]

Guys, it's an election. Nobody cares about the nuances of what Bill was saying about or whether or not it's congruent with why Obama is saying. All people see is Hillary's spouse and a former Democratic President bagging on the signature achievement of the incumbent Democratic President.

President Cankles needs to STFU and let Hillary handle this.

[Bojack Horseman]

No, I was at that speech and that is taken completely out of context. What he was talking about is helping the people who make too much to get a subsidy but still can't afford their own insurance.

[rafta_rafta]

Guys, it's an election. Nobody cares about the nuances of what Bill was saying about or whether or not it's congruent with why Obama is saying. All people see is Hillary's spouse and a former Democratic President bagging on the signature achievement of the incumbent Democratic President.

President Cankles needs to STFU and let Hillary handle this.

Exactly,nuance goes for a toss during election season which is why surrogates should choose words very carefully

[NOVA Green]

This is a non-issue in the context of the 2016 Presidential Election....

Even Republicans aren't actively running on repeal/replace, etc...

Sure, ACA has flaws and needs improvement, as most Americans recognize, but has still brought the rate of uninsured Americans to the lowest levels in decades, or possibly ever in the history of our great nation.

The cost structure needs to be addressed, and Bill is just recognizing the reality, and is in line with a majority of Democratic Senators:

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/senate-liberals-public-option-228501

If anything, this is a deliberate nod to the Progressive wing of the party and help bring some of the Bernie holdouts on board (Especially Millennials) and assure the Democratic base that this is still a priority, especially when those on the "public exchanges" will likely see a significant premium hike right before the November election.

[Shadows]

He was very harsh but made some important points - Insurance companies completely control everything, premiums are zooming up & coverage is getting affected. I mean the Premium things have become a joke. Companies are asking for 50-75% increase & are getting huge YUGE hikes finally.

 Democrats are incredibly dumb - Based on a macro-economic perspective, Single Payer is no brainer as it sharply decreased costs due to enormous economies of scale, some economies of scope & eliminate private profits, decreases drug prices & also gives huge bargaining power to negotiate prices.

It is also crazy that there could be a deficit with every country in the world dealing with complex things n technical verification but something as easy as branded drugs from Canada or European countries can't be imported - It is crazy!

Dems has to switch to Single Payer in 3-4 years & a public option & through their weight behind Coloradocare atleast. In every poll, Single Payer will win - If the Dems would campaign on Single Payer, they would win every time. Coloradocare & Singlecare is also winning among GOP voters which is crazy to be honest.

The way Obamacare is going in 3-4 years the premiums will go so high that you will have strikes, protests & ultimately the scheme will be abandoned. Bill Clinton is 100% right but timing of speech is probably wrong!

[Shadows]

This is a non-issue in the context of the 2016 Presidential Election....

Even Republicans aren't actively running on repeal/replace, etc...

Sure, ACA has flaws and needs improvement, as most Americans recognize, but has still brought the rate of uninsured Americans to the lowest levels in decades, or possibly ever in the history of our great nation.

The cost structure needs to be addressed, and Bill is just recognizing the reality, and is in line with a majority of Democratic Senators:

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/senate-liberals-public-option-228501

If anything, this is a deliberate nod to the Progressive wing of the party and help bring some of the Bernie holdouts on board (Especially Millennials) and assure the Democratic base that this is still a priority, especially when those on the "public exchanges" will likely see a significant premium hike right before the November election.

I would write a paper on this some day but from a macro-economic perspective, these stuff rarely work. Why would every major country in the world go for a version of Single Payer even Canada where 1 state started experimentally & it caught fire.

You are a very sensible guy here. While the Affordable care bought many into the Insurance net n did a great jobs with pre-existing conditions n so on but the truth is it is will be almost impossible to rein in costs. We are seeing 30-40-50-60% increases in many states - Costs are surging in a massive manner upwards! And I doubt there is any solution.

AETNA is pulling out - Many states will be left with 1 Insurance provider - This thing has no solution unless Dems realize it n push for a Public Option. I mean it is still better than having NOTHING. But the way it is going & with monopoly & dominance of the Insurance company soon, it will outweigh the benefits of ACA!