GOP lacks clear health-care plan

[exopolitician]

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/15/AR2011011502327.html



Repeal & Replace. Replace with what?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Well gee is anyone shocked? All we've heard for the past two years from the teabaggers is "OMG OBAMA IS A BORN IN KENYA MUSLIM SOCIALIST!!!!" Nothing about any alternate proposals to his agenda. It's been like this since the stimulus.

[Brittain33]

They'll put together a few gimmicks, like the credit card company plan (buy across state lines, i.e. all insurance companies relocate to Sioux Falls and buy off the Insurance Commissioner for "light touch" regulation), huge expansions of HSAs and FSAs, tax breaks for corporations to offer insurance, national cap on malpractice awards ($250,000? $100,000) and lots and lots of talk of "access to health care" which means "you can always go to an emergency room if you can't afford insurance."

Am I cynical?

[Landslide Lyndon]

The funny thing is that these guys pretend that there is no Democratic Senate and President that will make their bills DOA.

[Lunar]

In other shocking news, it was announced that the first President of the United States remains George Washington

GOP lacks clear health-care plan

[exopolitician]

The funny thing is that these guys pretend that there is no Democratic Senate and President that will make their bills DOA.

To them it's the thought that counts.....I guess. Let their paranoia run the show though, if they continue into the election year it'll be an easy victory come November.

In other shocking news, it was announced that the first President of the United States remains George Washington

GOP lacks clear health-care plan

Shocked and appalled.

[redcommander]

This isn't surprising. It's pure demagoguery on the Republicans' part.

[tpfkaw]

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

They'll put together a few gimmicks, like the credit card company plan (buy across state lines, i.e. all insurance companies relocate to Sioux Falls and buy off the Insurance Commissioner for "light touch" regulation), huge expansions of HSAs and FSAs, tax breaks for corporations to offer insurance, national cap on malpractice awards ($250,000? $100,000) and lots and lots of talk of "access to health care" which means "you can always go to an emergency room if you can't afford insurance."

Am I cynical?

It can't be worse then the current batch of gimmicks designed to get 60 votes and a pleasing batch of numbers from the CBO very few honestly expect to hold up long term.

You could easily fix that little problem you mention with the interstate purchasing of insurance. However if you reject the idea itself on face value, you of course have no need to mention that a simple tweak in the language could fix such a loophole.

Why are HSA's and FSA's a problem? And why the hell is there a move now for them to be reduced and restricted?

[Smash255]

They'll put together a few gimmicks, like the credit card company plan (buy across state lines, i.e. all insurance companies relocate to Sioux Falls and buy off the Insurance Commissioner for "light touch" regulation), huge expansions of HSAs and FSAs, tax breaks for corporations to offer insurance, national cap on malpractice awards ($250,000? $100,000) and lots and lots of talk of "access to health care" which means "you can always go to an emergency room if you can't afford insurance."

Am I cynical?

It can't be worse then the current batch of gimmicks designed to get 60 votes and a pleasing batch of numbers from the CBO very few honestly expect to hold up long term.

You could easily fix that little problem you mention with the interstate purchasing of insurance. However if you reject the idea itself on face value, you of course have no need to mention that a simple tweak in the language could fix such a loophole.

Why are HSA's and FSA's a problem? And why the hell is there a move now for them to be reduced and restricted?

The interstate insurance would be a disaster.  All that would result from that is a run to the bottom.  Companies would flock to the states with the least amount of regulations, and cover as little as the lax regulations will allow them to.

[Torie]

It is all too painful for any politician to tell the truth on this. What DC lacks is courage.

[Franzl]

It is all too painful for any politician to tell the truth on this. What DC lacks is courage.

Which, unfortunately, is also a result of voters not demanding it. A majority of voters are perfectly content hearing about "We won't put the insurance companies back in charge!!", or alternatively "ObamaCare needs to be repealed, death panels!".

That's the real problem.

[Zarn]

Did the Dems have a real plan?

No. That's how we ended up with the terrible piece of legislation in the first place. The only group that could undo that is the GOP.

[Franzl]

Did the Dems have a real plan?

No. That's how we ended up with the terrible piece of legislation in the first place.

The Democrats' plan was to pass something....something they could claim as near-universal healthcare. After all the work put into it, the goal became just being able to get something through.

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But the question is whether the status quo is objectively better than ObamaCare. I don't believe it is.

Come up with something that makes economic sense and I'll gladly agree to scrap ObamaCare.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

They'll put together a few gimmicks, like the credit card company plan (buy across state lines, i.e. all insurance companies relocate to Sioux Falls and buy off the Insurance Commissioner for "light touch" regulation), huge expansions of HSAs and FSAs, tax breaks for corporations to offer insurance, national cap on malpractice awards ($250,000? $100,000) and lots and lots of talk of "access to health care" which means "you can always go to an emergency room if you can't afford insurance."

Am I cynical?

It can't be worse then the current batch of gimmicks designed to get 60 votes and a pleasing batch of numbers from the CBO very few honestly expect to hold up long term.

You could easily fix that little problem you mention with the interstate purchasing of insurance. However if you reject the idea itself on face value, you of course have no need to mention that a simple tweak in the language could fix such a loophole.

Why are HSA's and FSA's a problem? And why the hell is there a move now for them to be reduced and restricted?

The interstate insurance would be a disaster.  All that would result from that is a run to the bottom.  Companies would flock to the states with the least amount of regulations, and cover as little as the lax regulations will allow them to.

If its a race to the bottom in prices, why the hell not?


And again, you can prevent that problem or reduce whatever bad elements you find with it. In fact, there is more then one way you can do so.

It is all too painful for any politician to tell the truth on this. What DC lacks is courage.

Indeed that is the case.

It is all too painful for any politician to tell the truth on this. What DC lacks is courage.

Which, unfortunately, is also a result of voters not demanding it. A majority of voters are perfectly content hearing about "We won't put the insurance companies back in charge!!", or alternatively "ObamaCare needs to be repealed, death panels!".

That's the real problem.

You have a misguided view of the voters roll. They voters see a problem, a politician promises to fix it, they vote for them. The Politicians have to be willing to make the first move, and there inevitably will be cases where the politican loses his career for the good of the country. A congressman becoming a lawyer once again is hardly the worse result that can happen. Not by a longshot. If the politician can convince people the sacrifice is necessary and that we will all benefit long term from it being done, then the people will be willing to accept it as a necessary evil. But you won't have seniors marching on Washington to demand their benefits be cut or state workers rioting demanding defined contribution retirement benefits and that they contribute more to their health plans.

Did the Dems have a real plan?

No. That's how we ended up with the terrible piece of legislation in the first place.

The Democrats' plan was to pass something....something they could claim as near-universal healthcare. After all the work put into it, the goal became just being able to get something through.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

But the question is whether the status quo is objectively better than ObamaCare. I don't believe it is.

Come up with something that makes economic sense and I'll gladly agree to scrap ObamaCare.

It depends on how bad the numbers actually turn out to be in the end. We have effectively moved most of the costs onto the Gov't rolls so if they continue to spiral out of control or even worse, then we have put the long term vitality of the country at risk. Of course we won't know that till we reach then end.

Of course we can take the intial CBO numbers as the gospel, even as "revised reports" up the "projected" costs with each year, and deny there is a problem here, even claim that it has fixed the pre-existing problem, no pun intended. The truth will catch up to us eventually.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I think it's safe to say Alan Grayson was correct.

[Ban my account ffs!]

No NCY... I don't think you're getting it.  When he said "race to the bottom" he meant it.  "You get what you pay for" still applies.  Except with lax regulation, chances are you'll be paying less for insurance... but getting even less coverage than you would now paying the same amount.  Coverage falls faster than price because State X hosts all of the insurance companies now and wants that inflow of cash and tax revenue.

If we're going to allow buying across state lines, then we need a universal federal regulation policy.  That'd allow real competition.

In the end, the Republican answer to those without insurance is still:  "Don't get sick, or die quickly...".. and.. "you can always go to the emergency room... until we find a way to sneak that into a bill as well"... don't believe me?  Tim Pawlenty has already touted allowing private hospitals to deny uninsured treatment in their ERs as a way to bring down costs.  What a nice guy!  Sure.  He won't talk about shooting people and bullseyes and targeting... he'll have you swooning (or rather nodding off) with his civil banter while he's pushing the knife into your back and twisting.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

I think GOP healthcare plan is VERY CLEAR.