Does the constant focus on healthcare bug you?

[Virginiá]

I've been getting increasingly annoyed lately on the non-stop focus on healthcare. Since 2009, this is all it has been. One way or another, the ACA and healthcare in general continues to suck the oxygen out of the room, and just like it dogged Democrats it is now dogging Republicans, and when Democrats take back over it will surely become the top issue again, and possibly cost Democrats a lot of political power if they even remotely bungle it, as the public demands reform yet punishes politicians for attempting it.

Personally, it drives me nuts to think that this won't be over anytime soon. This country has a lot more problems than healthcare, yet they get little attention now. Exploding student loan debt, crumbling infrastructure, a criminal justice system in dire need of reform, reigning in corporate America ... I could go on and on and on, and that's kind of the point here. There are so many more problems in this country.

Suffice to say I hate that Obama had to push for major healthcare reform only to half-ass it and leave the country arguing about almost nothing else but this for 10 - 15 years.

[jojoju1998]

I've been getting increasingly annoyed lately on the non-stop focus on healthcare. Since 2009, this is all it has been. One way or another, the ACA and healthcare in general continues to suck the oxygen out of the room, and just like it dogged Democrats it is now dogging Republicans, and when Democrats take back over it will surely become the top issue again, and possibly cost Democrats a lot of political power if they even remotely bungle it, as the public demands reform yet punishes politicians for attempting it.

Personally, it drives me nuts to think that this won't be over anytime soon. This country has a lot more problems than healthcare, yet they get little attention now. Exploding student loan debt, crumbling infrastructure, national debt, a criminal justice system in dire need of reform, I could go on and on and on, and that's kind of the point here. There are so many more problems in this country.

Suffice to say I hate that Obama had to push for major healthcare reform only to half-ass it and leave the country arguing about almost nothing else but this for 10 - 15 years.

Well Trump says he's going to make Healthcare so great......

[Tartarus Sauce]

I've been getting increasingly annoyed lately on the non-stop focus on healthcare. Since 2009, this is all it has been. One way or another, the ACA and healthcare in general continues to suck the oxygen out of the room, and just like it dogged Democrats it is now dogging Republicans, and when Democrats take back over it will surely become the top issue again, and possibly cost Democrats a lot of political power if they even remotely bungle it, as the public demands reform yet punishes politicians for attempting it.

Personally, it drives me nuts to think that this won't be over anytime soon. This country has a lot more problems than healthcare, yet they get little attention now. Exploding student loan debt, crumbling infrastructure, national debt, a criminal justice system in dire need of reform, I could go on and on and on, and that's kind of the point here. There are so many more problems in this country.

Suffice to say I hate that Obama had to push for major healthcare reform only to half-ass it and leave the country arguing about almost nothing else but this for 10 - 15 years.

Democrats would be smart to let people become more comfortable with the current system and only pass legislation that will fix some of the more glaring flaws before moving on to other big ticket items next time they take control.

[Tartarus Sauce]

The national debt is one of most overblown issues. There's a reason every GOP administration allowed the debt ceiling to be raised. The current interest on a 30 year bond yield is less than 3% (barely covers inflation). People holding the debt are not freaking out whatsoever at the prospect of the United States being unable to pay back it's debts otherwise the people holding this debt would demand for higher interest payments.

There's also the fact that we're the world currency reserve and that we're growing (and it's growth that cures debt-not austerity, see how austerity in the EU has worked out vs. the USA. Better yet, just look at how much Greece has cut and how all they've done is contracted their economy while their debt:GDP ratio has actually increased and not decreased. All cutting usually does is contract your economy and increase your debt:GDP.

This has been a major irritation I've had with ostensible fiscal conservative "budget hawks" whom have been ringing alarm bells and harping about our $19+ trillion debt with no context for what that actually means. It's like how the moon seems really far away at 238,900 miles because that is far away generally speaking, but not once you compare that to the distance of other solar or celestial bodies.

[Coraxion]

I'll take it over Russiagate anytime.

[Virginiá]

I'll take it over Russiagate anytime.

I don't think that is applicable here - Russgate isn't really about policy, it's just a scandal. I'm talking about the issues that Congress addresses whenever they attempt to actually fix some of this country's problems.

[Person Man]

In the issue's defense, it is pretty embarrassing that we almost a Third World level for LE and IM. Also, it does cause a lot of bankruptcies...which brings us around to education. Now, that's an issue worth the frustrations and obsessions.

How do we deal with high tuition, crippling debt, the skill mismatch, how to get an informed citizenry, and so forth..

[SoLongAtlas]

No because it is important policy and may negatively affect a family member as well as tens millions of Americans. Following it closely.

[Yank2133]

No.

Healthcare is a massive issue and Obama was right to push the ACA because we would be in much worse shape now if nothing hadn't been done, regardless of the ACA flaws.

[Torie]

No, it is an important issue, and for the case of some, life and death. So given that the status quo is flawed (and slowly going downhill), keep the focus on.

[Tancred]

I always thought that one of Obama's biggest mistakes was tackling health care and not job creation through a larger public work program. Health care is a tricky issue because so many powerful interests will likely have to take a haircut to get any kind of real cost reduction in place and Obamacare opened the way for the scare stories about death panels and attacks on Medicare that cost Democrats in the 2010 election. Plus, many people seemed to see Obamacare as a giveaway to poor Americans and this also hurt the Democrats since people felt like they were struggling and Obama was giving "goodies" to the poor.

Don't get me wrong, I support universal health care and would prefer a single-payer system. I am glad that people are seriously discussing single-payer health care now. But the fact that both parties only seem to put forth Rube Goldberg-style reforms leads me to believe that political capital would be better spent elsewhere. There are other issues that need as much or even more attention than health care.

[maga2020]

Yes, prior to Obamacare America had a better healthcare system. This isn't a tiny European country to get a socialist healthcare system where everything is free (aka funded by an enourmous burden on the taxpayers), 300 million people live here, single payer and public option are liberal illusions. America is the land of free enterprise, the place where capitalism has worked the best, if you put a tax burden as big as the one most european countries have, it collapses.

Medicare and Medcaid shouldn't exist either, major entitlements that generate market distortions, old people can pay for healthcare, they have the most disposable income and the free market can offer insurance to the poor rather than creating more welfare queens that will lead to more debt and a crippling government.

Put Obamacare in the dustbin of history, the affordable government giveaway is actually extremely expensive.

[publicunofficial]

I have never, and will never say the phrase "Folks, we need to talk about the national debt more"

[Virginiá]

...The National Debt deserves the same amount of attention healthcare receives? Good grief.

Absolutely not, that list was just a list of other issues and wasn't meant to be "things on par with healthcare" as some of them are blatantly not. But it doesn't matter if healthcare sucks up all the political capital.

I'm just going to remove it, as nothing in that post suggested it was on the same level but nonetheless seems to be taken the same anyway.

[Yank2133]

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Lmao!

[Mr. Smith]

There were plenty of problems in the 40-70's besides Civil Rights, using the OP's logic, Civil Rights should've been backburnered too.

So yeah, no.

[Yank2133]

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Lmao!

It was just oh so much better when insurance companies could deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. Such a great healthcare system.

The good old days.

[darklordoftech]

During Obama's Presidency, the focus on healthcare was annoying, but now that there's a real possibility of Obamacare getting repealed and uncertainty as to what would replace it, it's something that needs to be talked about.

[Kamala]

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Lmao!

It was just oh so much better when insurance companies could deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. Such a great healthcare system.

The good old days.

So much winning. Take that, grandma!

[heatcharger]

I get what Virginia's trying to say. If, for whatever reason, Democrats were to have a trifecta in 2021, shouldn't the hope be to hold it for more than one term? Unfortunately healthcare seems to burn whichever party touches it last, and I fear it scolds Democrats worse than Republicans for certain reasons.

There are other issues Democrats have prioritized, and if we intend to actually see legislation on them passed, it might require putting healthcare slightly on the backburner.

[Figueira]

...The National Debt deserves the same amount of attention healthcare receives? Good grief.

No one said that.

[TheSaint250]

I have been somewhat, especially McConnell's constant focus.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

The constant focus on Russia is what really bugs me.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

What bugs is the Republican incompetence on this. Healthcare is such a major part of our economy that anyone with half a brain should've been able to figure out it wasn't going to be done quickly, especially in the Senate. I can understand trying for a quickie repeal early on and then after it failed saying we're gonna have to spend some time working on a replacement that can pass the Senate and we'll try to have it ready by the end of the year. Beyond giving them time to think, it would've also ensured that people generally wouldn't have been adversely affected until after the midterms.

[Hermit For Peace]

What I'm tired of is the constant focus on "repeal" and "replace".

What an complete waste of time.

We need to continue dealing with healthcare and make it easy for people to get. I think it should always be a #1 priority until we get it right.