Those of us in the field would catergorize DT as having co occuring disorders:
1)A _______ doesn’t have a conscience. ...... he won’t feel any moral qualms, though he may pretend to
2)'seek to harm, intimidate, or coerce (someone perceived as vulnerable).'
synonyms: persecute, oppress, tyrannize, torment, browbeat, intimidate, cow, coerce, strong-arm, subjugate, domineer....
3).... disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behavior and a lack of conscience.
5
So, where is the so-called GOP's" replacement" that was supposed to be a much better plan?
7
Health Care is a very significant ‘issue’ and serious ‘symptom problem’ for all of ‘we the American people’.
What democracy giveth, Emperor Trumpius’ Disguised Global Capitalist Empire taketh away.
However, all of our public ‘symptom problems’, along with all our political ‘issues’ now and for 2020, are actually ’caused’ by only one disease — Empire — and its most visible individual ‘symptom’ in chief.
3
I was self-righteously livid when my old friend told me last year, "things always get worse, before they get better."
Now, I see he was right.
Now, I see things will have to get waaay worse before November 2020.
Let it. Let people suffer. Let people die.
Let Republicans kill Obamacare without replacing it with anything. Let Republicans end Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid. Let Republicans ban abortion. Let the climate deteriorate right up to the point of no return. Let Miller deport every non-white immigrant who is not a citizen. Let bikers and supremicists kill demonstrators in the streets. Let Bolton start a war with Iran. Let NATO and the EU break apart. Let them put up signs at their town's city limits, "Liberals not welcome here." Let Trump supporters goose-step down Pennsylvania Avenue on July 4.
Maybe we can destroy the Republican Party for good.
17
ACA saved one family member's life. Now my husband relies on it. I don't understand why the GOP wa ts people to lose access to care? I'm voting blu, no matter who!
10
Well, once again, our esteemed knife thrower in the White House, has taken aim at Affordable Health Care, otherwise known as Obamacare. And therein lies the rub! Anything having to do with President Obama, must be eliminated by this jealous, vindictive man child, Trump. Okay, Rebublicans, what is your plan? You had better have one or you'll all be looking for a job in 2020!
7
Big house, steak; little house, hamburger. But take away the hamburger and that is when revolutions start. Get your pitchforks ready!
Republicans: the real death panels.
8
America is a crumbling empire ed by shallow fools. The ending of all of this is rioting in the streets.
3
Why does the Republican Party want to kill everything but an unborn fetus?
16
"... they (Republicans) said over and over that they wanted to protect coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, and those protections are among the law’s most popular provisions."
What they don't tell you is that now when an insurance company writes a policy just for you, it will cover your existing condition as required by law, and then will charge you accordingly. Have you had cancer? Do you have diabetes? No problem. Your premium will be $150,000 per year.
But, hey, you're covered.
6
The ACA was a good idea. It was a chance for the health insurance companies, had they put some more thought into things, to participate in creating a better system for all of us. Instead of doing that they continued with the same set of rules they had before while complaining about the ACA. Other sectors of the health care industry were no better.
If Trump and the GOP have a plan to replace the ACA with something better for all of us I'm all for it. What I'm not for is returning back to where we were prior to the ACA becoming law. I spent a year without health insurance. During that time I couldn't get prescriptions I needed, have my eyes checked, or see my dentist. It was too expensive and I wasn't employed for most of that year.
However, my feeling is that the GOP and Trump have no interest in replacing or updating the ACA to improve our access to health care. What kind of country elects a president and supports a party that refuses to understand that access to good health care is as necessary as clean air and water and food?
4
My God, America, you have become such a freakish, grotesque country.
9
@FilmMD We know, we know...
4
As an Insurance Expert advising individuals for more than two decades I know the debate over the ACA was pelted with all kinds of lies before implementation by Politicians to such a degree that John and Mary Q Public forgot the urgent need for more affordable health insurance for employees and employers that had been in crisis since the beginning of this century that was the demand for reform in the first place .
In the front lines of rolling out the program in NYC I actually witnessed a little hostility from a public so affected by the lies telling someone akin to " the Government is going to give you $8000 next year to reduce the cost of your health insurance " was met with skepticism to almost hate from those fooled the most .
The lies continued after implementation so much so that the great thing that tens of millions of people who could not afford health insurance now have it and can get the healthcare to improve their health and other improvements are flipped like they are bad things .
How harmful are politics and the major media that promote their messages ? The idea of getting rid of the protections that allow the sickest to get health insurance who couldn't before is considered despite how immoral such an idea is .
Here is a hint the ACA has been a godsend , but the lies surrounding it and Donald Trump has brought us to a dangerous new low .
6
This commenter should read (or reread) both (1) the majority US Supreme Court opinion upholding the ACA; and (2) the Texas district court opinion referred to in this article:
"John Roberts is not voting for this repeal. ... He knows that if he does, the Court's legitimacy will be shot."
The essential point of the Texas district court opinion was that the ACA was upheld by the US Supreme Court only because, in the Court's view, the ACA's non-coverage penalty was essentially a "tax" and Congress has Constitutional authority to levy taxes, period.
As the Texas district court stressed, the ACA's non-coverage penalty is gone now,* which means, in that Texas judge's view, that the ACA no longer has any Constitutional basis (those who've followed this will be familiar with the non-tax arguments pro and con).
My very strong hunch is that the US Supreme Court will agree with the Texas district court (though I expect the Court will also rule -- contrary to the Texas district court's ruling on this -- that some non-central parts of the ACA are "severable" and should be retained).
* As another commenter has pointed out, the December 2017 tax law didn't actually "repeal" the non-coverage penalty: it just set the amount of that penalty at $0. While some might argue that this was the same thing as a repeal (and it is for now), it's nevertheless possible that a future Congress could raise that penalty amount from $0 to a much higher number.
4
Privatization is what the Republicans are seeking, as they do for Medicare, Social Security, the Postal Service, and the Veterans Administratioin. Need I go on?
We need the Democrats to gather on the steps of the House and get this message out in grand fashion, informing the American People what is really behind this Republican effort to get their greedy, self-serving hands aroung the neck of the moneys of the supporting-strata below the feet of our medical future.
And it is truly frightening there aren't more of us running around during this hair-on-fire-moment calling for the defeat of this Republican attack.
5
So what does this administration propose as a replacement? The old republican system where you have to go to the
ER and suffer whatever cost the health system imposes? And if you can’t pay they ruin your credit forever? Before St Reagan the republicans weren’t so cold hearted and actually may have cared about the people of the U.S. Not so much anymore.
5
So much for worrying about Democratic over reach on health care policy (see Krugman last Friday). The Trump healthcare agenda makes some form of Medicare for all the only way to protect people with preexisting conditions. So a controversial position (it is Socialism!!!), now is the only way to protect preexisting conditions (the most popular aspect of the ACA)
1
"dangerous as it is reckless" describes 45 to a "T"
4
Trump today said to reporters something along the lines of "the Republican Party will be know as the healthcare party." Really? I'm not holding my breath.
1
Oh please. Pre existing conditions affects both Dems and Repubs. Healthcare is important to EVERYBODY...not just Democrats.
Not even Trump would jeopardize his 2020 presidential chances by eliminating that provision from the ACA without some sort of back up plan.
NY Times and the rest of the liberal media up to their old tricks to cover for their big loss in the Russian collusion fiasco.
Relax people, it will never happen.
1
There is no backup plan. They want to repeal The ACA and replace it with nothing. Because they can. Because they think they have 2020 in the bag.
3
trump voters, WHERE IS THE REPLACEMENT???? trump promised!!!
4
Remember the part where Republicans were swearing up and down that why no, not them, perish forbid, WE wouldn’t take away even the guarantee that pre-existing conditions would have to be covered, how DARE you say such a terrible thing, lawks, let me go fan myself?
Well guess what, suckers?
1
Republicans are the kind of people who can't enjoy a steak unless they know someone else is starving.
19
Since it now appears to be perfectly fine for foreign governments to interfere in American elections, perhaps the Democrats can solicit help from Canada and Western Europe (or even Cuba!) in 2020. Then perhaps we’ll get a decent, affordable healthcare system and end the nightmare of private insurance.
5
Rejoice, Democrats!
You now have a HUUGE rallying cry for 2020.
2
I agree entirely that the government should ensure that all of its people receive needed health care.
But ...
Government-funded health care should be minimal -- no government-funded "Cadillac plans."
AND
We should pay as we go. If we want to fund health care (either insurance or actual charges) provided today, we should pay for it today, not effectively send the bill to our grandchildren by issuing bonds today. Who knows? When those bonds come due, our grandchildren may want health care too.
In real life, of course, if our grandchildren want health care too, they may simply borrow the cost of it, thus shifting the burden to THEIR grandchildren (that's called "rolling over" bonds -- issuing new ones to pay off the old ones when they come due).
We can only kick the can down the road for so long, though. We already owe roughly $20 trillion, an amount that rises every second. I'm familiar with the arguments that this our economy is so big and strong that we can afford to carry this heavy debt burden, but that won't be true forever. Sooner or later, we're going to have to pay back most or all of what we've borrowed -- without simply rolling it over.
A good place to start: Pay health insurance costs out of current taxes, not borrowing.
1
Is it too much to ask that we treat others as we would be treated?
4
@dmbones What do you mean? The Republicans treat others.... oh, wait.
If Democrats want to win the issue around healthcare, they need to use their adversaries handbook. Use photographs of people with debilitating pre-existing conditions and advertise the states who did not expand medicaid and the corresponding rates of mortality and hospital closures. The GOP has worked the system so that conservatives sole reason to dismantle ACA is because it is aka "Obamacare".
The only way to stop the GOP is to make voters aware of what they are losing in the long run.
3
Realize, this is the same man who wants to spend between $5 and $8 billion (varies on day of the week) on a southern border wall and who, in his proposed 2020 budget, gave a huge bonus to the Pentagon's already bloated budget. Without them even asking. Think about the level of healthcare and education even half of these amounts could contribute to. But the man who wants to build-up an already strong military wants to deny hoards of Americans the healthcare they deserve.
5
@Bo Baconator Educate yourself. This country spends more on healthcare by far than it does on military spending.
You should probably learn how military spending works before spouting off your dribble.
We currently spend more than any other country on military but it only accounts for 5% of our GDP. That is far less than other countries like Israel and Saudi Arabia.
besides that, we have troops in 194 countries protecting both our interests as well as the countries involved. We protect waterways. Without a strong U S military there is a serious risk that NK, Russia and China form a very dangerous alliance that would be world altering.
There is also the fact that we are compensated for our military aid to the countries where we have troops so it is not like the $$ we spend on military are just piddled away. Our protection does not come free. Trump is currently renegotiating that compensation with several countries.
It is quite complicated really but not as simple as building useless toys just for the heck of it.
Hope that helps
How much more damage can this insecure dictator wannabe do? As much as he can apparently. And I'm sure that Fox will spin this as great news for their audience. Hard to fathom, but they do it every day.
If this man wins re-election, I see no reason to stay here.
5
The President is fixated on the destruction of the ACA. The ACA is a burr under his saddle. It is another Obama era program and its existence galls him. He vowed to excise it during his campaign. After all, Republicans played a steady drumbeat of repeal and replace for years. In the end, with control of both chambers, they were unable to repeal and never offered up any workable plan for replacement. No viable alternative has been proposed since then.
Let's say he wins in court. Who loses? Everybody: patients, medical providers, insurance companies would return to pre-ACA days. These jarring effects would fall disproportionately on the poor and rural areas. On the plus side, the President would be less irritated.
1
We need statistics:
How many in red states?
How many of those have something pre-existing?
Who will be hurt by this - not individual sob stories that people can ignore but big numbers, total population impact?
How many people will lose some form of benefit that they rely on?
Make sure everybody understands what this "brexit" from health care will mean - not for "other people" but for each and every person. Leave Trump and Republicans out of it. Focus on the actual coverage and impact.
Clearly Britain didn't - thumbing their noses sounded great until they realized they wouldn't be able to get imported food, cross borders, have friends from abroad come and visit easily, go on holiday in Europe, trade with Europe, etc., now they want a do-over.
Then tell us:
How many Republican voters had medical attention since 2016?
Doctor visits, surgeries, hospital stays?
How many in Congress? Disclose their personal health records.
2
I may be as dumb
as they comb
but if the courts reject Affordable Care
then the Republicans
will have handed the Democrats
the Senate and the Presidency.
3
Obamacare is slowly dying. Better to scrap this awful policy and start over.
2
How unsurprising that a fascist dictatorship would want to kill as many Americans as possible.
4
What are conservatives trying to accomplish? The people without health care will go to the emergency room for treatment, which will increase health care costs of the states. Are conservatives stupid or just hateful.
3
So where's the replacement for Obamacare?
Is it ready for review?
Is the media going to ask about it?
5
I cannot understand why Republicans are so determined to harm millions of our citizens. What will they achieve by destroying the lives of so many Americans? Is it Obama hatred or Obama envy? Given that health care might be the number one political issue for many people, maybe we're just dealing with stupid people.
4
The Democrats would not ask for anything better at this moment! A lot of their midterm victories were driven by support for healthcare, and this move by Trump and the Republicans is a huge gift.
If Democrats aren't running this move in national ads, especially in the swing states, they are stupid.
1
Trump just can't wait to take healthcare away from people, can he? Once he's accomplished that, he'll go after Medicare (as he's been talking about recently), Medicaid and Social Security.
3
I am a nurse practitioner and a professor of health policy, and this is proposal is nothing short of madness. I believe this will help end the national nightmare in the White House, in 2020, but at what cost? The cost, both in financial and human terms, is unacceptable. There is no replacement plan. Everyone, yes, everyone has a “preexisting condition” of some kind. Millions will lose their coverage. Those who keep coverage will see premiums and deductibles skyrocket. People will die. But, OK, maybe the new president and congress can fix it. This is not the solution.
45
Not sure this commenter appreciates the implications:
"Our grandkids ... can reset the cycle after reforming the shamble of an economy they inherited and then start anew."
Sounds like the commenter is saying our grandkids can simply refuse to pay bonds when they come due. That's true, and it's been done many times by governments of many countries. Never, though, by us.
US government bonds are now considered a very safe investment BECAUSE bond-buyers have no doubt that the US government will pay those bonds when they come due. If the US government announces that that's no longer going to happen, far fewer people will buy US government bonds, and those who continue to do so will demand higher interest rates.
In other words, default has consequences. It's tempting simply to walk away from existing debts, but there are substantial downsides if you do.
The Republican agenda remains one of institutionalized cruelty. Somehow, the ACA is an unconstitutional "abuse of power" but the same party will bend over backwards to justify and defend every extreme and bizarre statement or action on the part of Trump. Institutional cruelty and institutional hypocrisy! That is what defines today's Republican Party.
7
This infuriates me.
1
Thank you for headlining this, NYT.
You're giving this story the attention if merits.
3
Wow. He just can't NOT be a jerk, can he. Here he is, riding high on his so-called 'total vindication' with the Muleler report, and he is absolutely compelled to pick another fight. He simply cannot stand it if he is not creating chaos.
6
Before he was even elected, this petty and vindictive man was obsessing over his hatred of Barak Obama and his desire for revenge for perceived slights. He has demonstrated an obsessive drive to undo everything Mr. Obama accomplished.
Lately his obsession has been turned to John McCain who he blames for the defeat of his obsession to undo Mr. Obamas signature achievement, the ACA. And so, his revenge fantasies turn back to the ACA, the repeal of which would signal his getting even with McCain and Obama at the same time.
Gentle reader, fellow citizen, you are but a pawn in his game. He would sacrifice you in a heart beat.
6
I hope they succeed in killing the ACA-the best guarantor of a Democratic victory in 2020. I'm sorry people will have to suffer for a while but that may be the only way to remove the cancer
that is the red party from our body politic.
1
Every day, every reporter should ask the occupant of the White House where his "better plan that everyone will love" is? KEEP. AT. IT. Don't let off. Push him till he loses his head. Then push some more.
4
They got Cover Up Barr to put out a cover up letter for one of the dozen or so criminal cases swirling around the administration, so now back to the serious business of trying to wholesale kill Americans by taking away health care.
Republicans really never tire of lying, cheating, committing crimes, and trying to kill us
3
Has Christianity changed?
When did caring for the sick and the poor become evil and wrong?
Seems like God'sOwn Party is actually more a fan of the guy with the horns and tail.
5
So.... what's the replacement for the ACA? The Republicans believe there is a bad entity (due to misinformation), wants to go in and eliminate it without any clear ideas on how to move forward post- ACA? Something like this has occurred before: the invasion of IRAQ and the aftermath that followed.
Those who don't learn from history are not just doomed to repeat it; they're also dumb.
3
Apparently, Trump "loves" the leader of North Korea more than the American people!
2
Obamacare is the craziest system in the world........Ex president Bill Clinton. Agree that Obamacare is not perfect but better than no insurance for millions of Americans.
2
All the comments I see are about the effects if this occurs, which would be devastating.
I have not seen a single comment about the actual legal issue, however. Is it legitimate to base a policy on Congress's ability to tax when the tax is removed? I think, consequences disregarded, that there is a valid argument against the law on that basis.
I would not like to see the law invalidated but I do believe that there is a serious legal flaw in it that needs immediate correction, either by legislative or judicial action.
1
@mikecody
Agreed. It isn’t the court’s job to adhere to public sentiment or polls. If, as it appears, the issue is in fact the negation of the taxing status that saved the law before but is now gone nullifies the whole, then that is what legal jurisprudence would seem to call for.
It is the job of Congress, not the judiciary, to fix this. Congress may well fail at that, but getting mad at the court or a judge is fruitless and further distorts the proper understanding of what the respective branches are actually responsible for and empowered to address.
3
When my Dad’s brother was born with hydrocephalus in a wood and tar paper shack to sharecroppers in Northern Louisiana in the 1930s their Mother had no prenatal health care. There was no health insurance. No Medicaid. The strain of having a sick infant drove their Mother to a mental breakdown. Then divorce. A broken family and a broken Mother largely because of a lack of health care.
No preexisting conditions? If DNA can predict our illnesses will we all be divided along our genetic code? Life is a preexisting condition.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has been asked by the Department of Justice to consider ending preexisting conditions in Obamacare coverage. This is a violation of equal protection of the law and simply inhumane. Trump promised to protect insurance coverage for preexisting conditions. Where is his promised health care plan?
6
This is wonderful! At last both Democrats and Republicans are working together - Donald J. wants to please his base by assassinating "Obama Care" and Nancy P. has just announced that she is going to be pushing out a "New Deal" health care plan, one that will not be "single payer".
Why are they working together? Because both Trump and Nancy fear the single payer system that Bernie Sanders is proposing - a system that would eliminate the insurance company as we know it today.
Insurance companies and health care conglomerates are big, big business - which means they can make gigantic contributions (via all the usual ruses). Donald and Nancy - two peas in the same crooked pod - are far more interested in helping themselves, than in helping their constituents.
There is a very big difference between a candidate who does not take corporate money, and a candidate who does - actually far more important than the Donkey/Elephant dualism the media loves to bat about - as if it really represented democratic choices!
As 2020 approaches, the Republicans are effectively "joined at the hip" with Trump - his fund raising efforts have revitalized their party. But Democratic Party members are in position to make a historic choice - real democracy vs. the same old "pay to play" system of government that the two "podsters" have so deeply locked into in their respective political DNA's.
4
@Peter Zenger
But "Sanders is not a Democrat"!
@Har And that, for me, is a good thing, since the Democrats are more about identity politics than actual policy.
1
@Har
Then it was very silly of the Democrats to let him run in 2016 - don't you think?
He does caucus with them - otherwise he would not be able to get any office space!
Actually, primary issues are largely a matter of State Law. I suspect that in most states, if someone has the necessary signatures on a partition, it doesn't even matter if they are a "registered" party member.
This is very interesting:
https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/registering-political-party/qualifying-political-party/
The Republican effort to quash the Affordable Care Act and its programs is as brainless as the UK's heedless rush toward the cliff of no-deal Brexit. The question in both cases is Why?
What outcome are they rushing *toward*?
Just as Parliament had no concept of what Brexit would entail before rushing to invoke Article 50, the Republicans who chanted "Repeal and Replace" have no idea of what Replace would be. Yet they are eager for Repeal.
In May 2017 the smiling, cheering Republicans had a celebratory beer bust at the White House Rose Garden after voting to strip health care from millions. What were they thinking? Or were they thinking at all?
4
Repeal and... ... I still don't see a replace or any protection for pre-existing conditions. All that is happening is dismantling of the structure of the existing law and some vague talk of allowing limited short term plans with virtually no coverage, no pre-existing condition coverage and high premiums for the limited care they do offer.
3
What for the love of humanity could possibly be wrong with this person who would lead us?
8
This is nothing but a ploy to take attention away from the Mueller report, the related indictments, and the NY state case. Sorry Republicans, we have your number. Democrats, persist in getting to the bottom of Republican corruption, even if impeachment is off the table. Do not fall for this bait & switch.
2
John Roberts is not voting for this repeal.
He knows that if he does, the Court's legitimacy will be shot.
1
Let's interpret that headline: Trump does not want healthcare to be affordable for Americans.
3
It's official: Trump and his minions are trying to kill us! I really hope the Trump supporters will be happy when their pre-existing conditions render them ineligible for health care. The rest of us knew this was coming...the tyrant wants nothing but uneducated, sick and dying citizens so he can isolate us further from reality and make this into HIS country. America will not survive this unless action is taken to remove him from government.
3
And Trump's attempt to grind the entirety of President Obama's tenure into powder continues. All of that grand opportunity, consumed by racism and hatred. This country doesn't deserve to continue.
6
Make Americans Corporate Serfs Again.
3
Now that we are pulling out of Syria Trump and the Republican party can focus on the expanding the war against Americans.
7
And what, pray tell, are they planning to put in its place?
5
I think what Trump and his ilk prefer, is that anyone who doesn't make at least 300% above the poverty line should be ground down and used to fill potholes. That's kinda the feeling I'm gettin' lately. How about you all? I know elections have consequences, but geeze!
4
I've said it before, and will say it again without equivocation: The current iteration of the Republican Party is the most unethical and inimical political institution this country has ever produced. Their disdain for basic human dignity and decency knows no bounds. Their unabashed commitment to their deleterious perspective of conservatism is nothing short of sacriligeous. Regardless of the (de)merits of the Affordable Care Act, there is no ethical basis for the deprivation of healthcare access for millions of people. In nearly ten years of opposition to the law they have utterly failed to even put forth a viable alternative. This offers further proof of their refusal to even acknowledge the basic sanctity of human life. I would say there is nothing they could do, or propose, that would shock me, but that is not saying much, I expect nothing, but the absolute worse from them, as we all should.
3
If this succeeds, the Affordable Care Act will become the Affluent Care Act.
Donald Trump, verily the reverse Robin Hood. Let us call him the Robbing Hood.
5
Make America Sick Again! The only reason Trump hates the law is because Obama’s name is on it. In 2020, let’s see ow many Trump cultists vote against their own zeal-interest, again.
5
Let's see Trump's awesome healthcare plan that he bragged about....
4
Once again, we have a spiteful POTUS, acting in a spiteful fashion, playing spiteful politics in order to fulfill a spiteful campaign promise, which in the end, will do some real damage to healthcare recipients of virtually all stripes.
Why? Two reasons; for purely political purposes, he wants to do everything he can to undo or at least undermine any forward progress made by Obama, no matter how slight or profound that movement.
"I can replace Obamacare with something cheaper and better...."
Cheaper? Arguably so. But, better? To put it in a gentile manner, not so much.
The second reason? Because he (thinks he) can.
And, when his Trumpsters finally come to their senses, it'll be too late.
Again, to you who bought into the Big Lie, and voted for him; you deserve him.
Too bad the rest of us have to suffer for your ignorance and gullibility. Too bad we have to pay for your having been hoodwinked; flim-flam'ed; conned; taken,to the cleaners; and getting your clocks cleaned.
Too bad you'll wind up on the wrong side of history.
Six more years? Guess what? Trump has only started warming up.
1
Fine. Let the stable geniuses at the Trump administration roll up their sleeves and do the hard work of creating an Obamacare replacement. Until this is done, no time for golf, weekends in Florida and endless hours of Fox News. Just hard work.
When Republicans have a better alternative, they can lobby for replacing the ACA. The individual mandate is just a "wedge." Nobody likes being forced to buy insurance and in the land of the free, many would refuse to buy car insurance if they didn't have to.
3
@JR The difference is that no one HAS to buy car insurance; one can choose not to own a car. What is the equivalent choice on health insurance, does one have to decide not to own a body?
1
Trump the Destroyer is at it again. Is the ACA perfect? Could it be amended instead of destroyed? Somebody give this man a civics lesson on how the federal government is supposed to run, quick.
1
Nothing is safe when Republicans rule.
3
Haha. They always have the best interest of the people at heart, don't they? Thanks, MAGAs! Hopefully the Civil Rights Act is next; then maybe we can get rid of Amber Alerts. It's all so unconstitutional, ain't it?
4
How anyone can still support the GOP after this is beyond me. There isn't even an attempt at pretense anymore; they simply want their fellow Americans to die.
3
Is there no limit to to the evil that this administration can perpetrate upon the American people, and the willingness of his "base" to go along with it?
4
Kind of amazing that they should want to do this.
The Democrats just kicked them in the teeth in the 2018 midterms mainly by running on healthcare.
This is asking for it.
2
So, this is the Trump healthcare replacement for the ACA . Nothing!
2
Please attune your attention to this fact. The republicans do whatever they want because the elections are stolen through the voting equipment. The courts allow election officials to destroy paper ballots even in the face of obvious fraud before recounts can be supervised. The rest of the country may not have the accounting system of Virginia.
We might all turn our attention to the vote counting system. There are many factions on the left. Come together to generate outrage over a non paper ballot voting system. Our voice as a people is stolen by the rich white people. Let your freak flag fly!
2
Well, considering there's an opioid epidemic that's hitting rural areas as hard, or harder, than urban areas, we've got an awful lot of the good, solid Republican base out there who have:
1 - an addiction which is now a pre-existing condition
2 - likely difficulty maintaining employment, so no employer health plan
3 - need for support and medical treatment to get back to work
4 - likely many of them will be cut off from benefits because they'd fail a drug test and wouldn't be working
5 - if they're self-employed in farming they also are at risk of bankruptcy from tariff wars, the shutdown blocking access to $12 billion of our relief money for tariff war harm, and all that flooding recently
Republican base voters - is this really how you want yourself treated by the people you elect?
4
A commenter thinks it's OK to stick future generations with the bill for services provided today.
"All modern govt's operate this way..."
Not exactly. Governments are funded in 2 ways: taxes on current taxpayers, and borrowing from future taxpayers.
Borrowing is justified to smooth out costs and expenses. Farmers routinely do this every spring, when they borrow money to buy seeds and fertilizer. Typically they pay off those loans when the crops are picked and sold later that year. Homeowners do essentially the same thing with a mortgage, which transforms a lump-sum payment (the house price) into a stream of monthly payments spread over the time that the homeowner probably will live in the house. (If the homeowner sells the house before then, the sale proceeds are used first to pay off the mortgage.)
But when the farmer does NOT pay off his spring loan in the fall of Year 1, but instead borrows even more money in the spring of Year 2, he'll essentially be paying off the Year 1 loan at the end of Year 2 (or even later).
That's what we've been doing for many decades. When we make bond payments, we're often paying for services rendered decades ago, when those bonds were issued. When those services were rendered, most of us weren't even born yet, and so we didn't object when the bill was sent to us.
It's now considered OK to issue bonds if the borrower's economy can sustain the burden of bond payments. No other justification for borrowing appears to be necessary.
1
Trump continues his attack on all things Obama. IMO a prime reason Trump ran for president was revenge for Obama embarrassing him at the White House Correspondence dinner. The main push of his agenda is to demolish Obama's legacy. Even if this will do damage to Trump's constituency it means more to him to feed his own ego driven quest for revenge.
1
Some Americans fail to recognize President Trump's complete absence of empathy and compassion. Only they feel surprised by Trump's thuggish decision to throw tens of millions of his fellow Americans into medical suffering and terror.
3
Just curious...what on earth is Trumps reason for taking this on now? ACA and it’s provisions for those with pre-existing conditions is popular with the people (and even some Republicans) and the insurance industry has adapted to it. So what’s his rationale?
4
Well it didn't take long for Trump and his administration to demonstrably remind the country that there are reasons to vote him out of office irrespective of the Mueller investigation results.
In 2018 Mr. Trump is captured on videotape multiple times actually stating that he repealed Obamacare and replaced it with some "great new healthcare programs." It was a lie of course so we can all expect more of the same obfuscation on this latest attempt to actually repeal it.
The irony here is that many sections of the country that predominately voted for Trump will be hurt the most. So exactly how do you expose the big lie to the believers?
2
"Affordable care" is an American oxymoron. Our health care costs are higher than any developed country and are life spans are near the bottom of that same list. The Affordable Care Act helps the disadvantaged become less disadvantaged. It obviously irks our oxymoron leader who has not and will not seek assistance for his forked tongue disability.
4
Thinking that he's dodged corruption charges, Trump is now emboldened to resume his assault on the health, safety, and quality of life of average Americans? ("losers" to him!)
THIS should be the cornerstone of the Dems campaign in 2020 -- starting NOW!
Affordable healthcare -- or any healthcare with sane regulations -- vs the per-Affordable Healthcare miasma, featuring the "freedom" to get sick and die and / or go bankrupt if you get seriously ill!
Affordable healthcare is overwhelmingly popular with most Americans! (Yet many don't like "Obama Care," the same thing!) Yet Trump and McConnell want to take it away?
And oh yes, of course Trump, McConnell, etc, all get government-paid-for healthcare! Paid for by US, the taxpayers! If government-paid-for is so evil, why don't Republicans in Congress and all Trumpsters refuse to accept theirs? Oh right, that's "different"! As usual!
3
I've never seen evidence that any Republicans are moved by any stories of lives saved, early cancers detected, etc. by the services of ACA. Ironically, many of the people who will lose their care are Trump supporters who aren't even aware that they are getting "Obamacare" because their state programs carry another name.
The Donald apparently escaped prosecution for being a Russian puppet. Can he, along with his Republican cronies, be brought up on charges of premeditated murder for the hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Americans that will die if they succeed in taking away health care for those not independently wealthy?
2
Why does Trump hate the American people so much, particularly the poor and vulnerable?
2
The Justice Department’s two-sentence letter simply states that the Supreme Court should affirm the the district court’s ruling.
Congress intended to make the ACA workable by forcing younger, healthy Americans to purchase ACA policies by fining them if they did not sign up. The “individual mandate” was integral to the ACA.
The Supreme Court ruled that the ACA was constitutional because the fine imposed on Americans who opted not to purchase health insurance wasn’t actually a tax, not a fine. But then Congress voted to repeal the tax, thus eliminating the individual mandate.
The district court found that that the individual mandate and ACA are “inseparable,” and that the ACA is not constitutional without the individual mandate because Congress did not vote for a program without the individual mandate.
According to the Washington Post, most experts disagree with the district court ruling. The district court ruling is online at: https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/211-texas-order-granting-plaintiffs-partial-summary-judgment.pdf
Really making America great again.
2
What politician and political party can be so hateful , vile, and evil that they would deny even basic health care to millions of its citizens?
In the United States under the present regime, the pursuit of life , liberty and happiness becomes a tatal oxymoron.
It is good to see Trump policies making the front page instead of the endless speculation on Mueller's investigation which acted as a diversion from the actual mindless and mean spirited policies of this administration towards the middle class.
From Donald Trump:
- "We’re going to have insurance for everybody. There was a philosophy in some circles that if you can’t pay for it, you don’t get it. That’s not going to happen with us.”
- "I was the first & only potential GOP candidate to state there will be no cuts to Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid”
- "I am going to take care of everybody. Everybody’s going to be taken care of much better than they’re taken care of now.”
So what's going to replace the ACA?
2
So much for the Republican "town hall events" in 2020. Fox News is going to have trouble keeping enough slots open for candidates to speak unopposed.
This is an unbelievable. Trump and his cronies just appeared to have won what looks like a reprieve after the Mueller report was submitted to the Attorney General and a brief summary of the report was put out by the AG. In one day, they have wiped out any gains they had the previous day by, once again, trying to sabotage the Affordable Care Act, and threaten the healthcare of millions of people as well as the entire system, while offering nothing better. The Democrats should take this opportunity and run with it. Trump has handed it to them on a platter.
1
Not for anything do I wish the pain for nearly one-third of the American population that entirely gutting the ACA would produce, but I waver. The measure would be so hurtful that the politicians who visit such gratuitous cruelty on their voting constituents should (and I stress the "should" here) be mortally damaged by their insouciant arrogance.
All of this stems from the GOP's obsession with obliterating the achievements of a black President.
4
I had a great contract position when the ACA went into effect and my insurance premium (with a great company) went from $325 a month to $800, so I had to take a lousy job with health insurance, and there was no assistance from the government to "help out" available to me. So, I guess, the ACA helped some and hurt others.
The article lists several organizations that are against doing this at this point, so who's in favor? Who is he pandering to? If this is related to his recent attacks on John McCain and his obsession with destroying Obama's legacy, then he's gone lower than I thought possible, and I thought I had come to expect the worst.
1
... Are they TRYING to shoot themselves in the foot? Right after getting a very big "win" with the end of the Mueller investigation, they do THIS?! Do they not understand that ACA is POPULAR now?! This is an absolute blessing for Democrats, because now the conversation is moving even more towards Healthcare, a field Democrats dominate.
2
Just in case any of the blindly partisan supporters of this abysmal administration were again fooled into thinking they are somehow ethically ok...This should serve to remind of how horrible they are from a governing perspective.
We're all still waiting on Trumps health plan that's going to be 'Better, cheaper and covering everyone'.
Promises kept. Yeah great campaign slogan.
What a joke.
1
A Republican friend has ACA medical insurance coverage without paying any premiums because her income is so low. Yet, she supports Trump? She doesn’t get it! Her FREE coverage will be gone if the ACA is repealed. Talk about blind loyalty!
2
If Democrats don't make universal healthcare their signature stand in 2020, I'm jumping ship.
1
This is Trump striking out. In his mind he has been cleared of all wrong doings by the Mueller report so it is now pay back
2
Progressive states should have their universal health care plans ready in case the Trump administration manages to kill the ACA replacing it with nothing. If possible, cooperate and coordinate to benefit from economies of scale. Conservative states will revert to before the ACA and poverty stricken areas will lose hospitals and other medical services that they were able to afford due to the Medicaid expansion and ACA exchanges. The resulting suffering and job losses will turn a large number of voters to the Democratic party. So let the Trump administration try and abolish the ACA - it will be a gift to the Democrats!
1
These officials working so hard to deny healthcare to millions of people should voluntarily give up the coverage provided for them by those being sold down the river. Otherwise, they might appear to lack the courage of their convictions.
Despicable.
1
Trump's message: If you want healthcare, be rich.
1
Well, Donald’s hand picked AG might have more or less pardoned him 48 hours ago, but the general incompetence of the administration can never be remedied.
Today, they are going after the ACA again, threatening the healthcare of 1 in 10 Americans. This after the 2018 midterms, in which healthcare was an issue that resonated with voters and cost the GOP loads of seats.
Stay focused on the corruption, the incompetence, and the inhumanity of Donald and his gang from now until the polls close on November 3, 2020.
1
Trump can take his campaign promises and bury them under the wall Mexico is paying for. WHY does the GOP feel destroying healthcare for millions is a GOOD thing? WHY?
These people have no reason for this other than President Obama managed to get it done. Trump's accomplishments are regressive, kindergarten retaliation.
GROW UP! CONGRESS! WAKE UP! HELP the US!
1
While all the ink has been on reactions (and legalities) of Barr’s ‘report’, we now see the real consequences and damage to America of a Trump presidency and administration: the wholesale dismantling of (or attempts to dismantle) numerous protections for Citizens and residents created over the years by Congress in such areas as the environment and yes, the Affordable Care ACT/Obamacare.
Congress has numerous investigations going on with respect to corruption by various Trump appointed cabinet-level or equivalent without any public debate that I am aware of the policies being implemented by those departments of the government. Here, as I understand it, an appeal to the 5th DCOA is being made with the US (in some capacity) advocating on behalf of supporting the determination of the original district court judge; somewhere along the line, the US is being represented by the Solicitor General’s office of the DOJ and that position is SUPPOSED to represent not simply the wishes of the Executive Branch but what the law is and as the equivalent of trustees for American citizens and residents.
One could argue against what I’m saying as to just how whacky the original determination was, but my position here includes questions of standing - you shouldn’t be allowed to change the original arguments made in the original action.
I guess we hadn’t noticed but all the leading D candidates are endorsing the same by advocating Medicare for all. Yet we argue nonetheless because it’s Trump.
1
@John Doe
You do recognize that there is a difference between proposing an alternative solution (ie. Medicare for all) and dismantling the program with nothing to take its place, correct?
6
Even if the courts rule against the Administration's wishes, the Democrats can gain substantial support simply by constantly reminding the electorate of Republican attempts to curtail access to coverage. The Dems gain either way, so let's hope the courts do the right thing and don't add to people's suffering.
4
Again, the Republicans, Trump, and now some in the judicial system, show that their only priority is to take money from the poor and give it to the rich.
They don't want to spend any money on anything that helps the general population: healthcare, climate change, infrastructure, research, schools, immigration, or any preparation for the new economy which will be heavily influenced by AI and robots.
They believe that they should cut taxes for the rich so they can buy what they want, such as land on high ground. The rest of the population is full of hangers-on who don't deserve anything.
1
I have never fathomed Trump supporters - especially the poor - who suffer the most if his klepto-pluto-cratic visions of public policy and taxation are fully realized.
As a thought exercise I am just wondering, would seeing their kids die through lack of health care change that commitment? What level of bad would his middle class to poor have to see before they would turn around and support a progressive platform that would actually improve their lives?
But here is one of the problems in a nutshell quote:
"Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.”
- Ronald Wright, "A Short History of Progress"
3
If Congress made the original law, and then got rid of the individual mandate, why isn't Congress now responsible for finding a way to fund the law?
2
Post-Barr Letter Trump is going to be so much worse than Scared Trump. It's typical of this president that he misunderstands the depth of legal trouble he still faces and overreaches on other issues, especially the ACA. There are many voters out there whose lives have been bettered or saved by this vital piece of legislation, and we will show up in 2020. Hint: we won't be voting for Trump and the Republicans.
4
why are the republicans obsessed with not making health care affordable or accessible to people with preexisting conditions - how are these people supposed to be cared for??? and what happened to Trump's promise of an amazing alternative to ACA - he couldn't stop boasting about it during the campaign
2
This is all done so that healthcare related industries can make more money. How is it good for american people? How regular americans who voted for Trump will benefit from destruction of affordable healthcare act?
1
Here we go again. Republicans on the wholesale "repeal and (probably nothing)" attack and House Democrats on the tinkering track. Both are unwittingly energizing the single-payer movement. I and many Americans are fed up with the complicated mess of private insurance with employer or government subsidies for the lucky, free coverage for the poor and everybody else paying the full price or going without, making a lot of people rich in the process. Of everything Congress and a president can do to make my life better or worse, healthcare policy is my top concern. Without good physical and mental health and the ability to care for ourselves and families and work for our living, nothing else matters. This is the year to get it done and over with.
1
Can't help but think that Trump doesn't even know what's in the ACA. He just hates anything that Obama did successfully.
How I wish that Americans who benefit from Obamacare, en masse, would post countless videos on YouTube, demonstrating why Obamacare is so helpful to them. In particular, I think it would be super if anyone with a pre-existing condition do just this.
Lots of Americans don't read the newspaper. Tons of them, watch videos on YouTube. That's an effective way to get the message out.
2
" It has unleashed a tidal wave of innovation in the delivery of health care." The only innovation I've seen is in figuring out how to get more money from patients by increasing deductibles, narrowing the list of doctors, adding facility fees, and making things more difficult than necessary for patients and doctors.
It's quite sad to watch the GOP and Trump try to destroy what was originally a GOP idea because of the man who instituted it: Obama. It appears as if the health and well being of Americans matters less to Trump and the GOP than the financial health and well being of businesses that take our money and offer us little in return.
The only thing that Congress has been actively doing during and since the Obama years is punishing 95% of us for not being rich, for being unable to find decent jobs, for requiring medical care at some point, for getting older. This country has been moving in one direction for decades: punishing all who are not independently wealthy. I still say that electing Donald Trump was like committing suicide to cure the common cold.
6
March 26 2019 will go down in my personal history as a red letter day.
Just as I was about to admit to being far too cynical I am hit over the head in the realization I may not be cynical enough.
4
Trump once said he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and get away with it. I have read in disbelief this piece several times over. People of America, he is doing just what he said he "could" do, and his supporters and GOP Senate are letting him. Do people not get that he is sacrificing our health, alas lives, at the altar of industrial greed. Does this man who demands apologies for our rightful angst over Russian interference during our 2016 elections, deserve any mea culpas from his people at large. Wake up, MAGA supporters, please. He is depriving you and your children of decent and accessible health care. The ACA was meant for all regardless of party affiliation, ideology, and personal philosophy. DO NOT LET HIM GET AWAY WITH THIS EGREGIOUS PLAN.
4
Do working class Americans in Trump country (midwest and south) want change even if it is bad change for themselves? Why do they believe the Republicans and Trump when he says he will replace Obamacare with "something better and cheaper", and then Trump proposes NOTHING specific? Do they think solutions come our of thin air? What are they thinking? They are the ones that are going to be hurt.
4
Well, all it takes is an activist judge in Fort Worth, and a President who probably just thinks "preexisting condition" is the slow way to say loser, and the GOP may get what they'd been telling us they wanted. Healthcare for few.
2
Right after the election in 2016 I remember hearing interviews of overjoyed Trump voters, who also happened to be people with chronic conditions. They were so happy to have gotten rid of Obamacare! They certainly didn't want that wastefulness in government because they were protected by the ACA. Then they were told that the real name of Obamacare is the Affordable Care Act, also known as the ACA.
We really need to do a better job educating people in this country and teaching them to be critical thinkers.
1
Sick.
Health is the most fundamental thing a person has. Citizens die because they don't have cheap early intervention. Now this President and his lapdog AG want to destroy a system designed to help.
I don't get how the suit has merit. Because of 2017's tax law there's now no tax penalty associated with ACA - so what is objectionable?
Basically ACA is now a regulation of safety and quality for a healthcare product. It is also a Medicare expansion grant for the states, with a legal requirement of creating a support system to improve citizen access. Applying for that grant is voluntary.
We have safety and quality regulations for every product and service in America. Simple examples, cars, food products, hospitals, beauty salons. Any government grant has requirements. So losing the tax penalty seems to strengthen the ACA's legality. On what basis can they overturn it - that it's like every other law?
It was so depressing to me when I read this last night. We fought so hard for ACA. With a trifecta Republican majority, Congress still couldn't overturn it - because a majority of citizens want it. So this is just like the "national emergency" wall - a legal way to override democracy.
More depressing is a President who does NOT want to create an amazing health care system. We elect Presidents to solve problems, not increase them - much less be cruel to citizens.
2
With the letter Trump's DOJ has sent to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, in part reading, it "is not urging that any portion of the district court's judgment be reversed.", it is now Trump versus the lives of millions of Americans...literally. This means throwing away insurance coverage for pre-existing conditions; throwing away the expansion for Medicaid; and telling Trump supporters (and us all) that he was a liar when he said he wanted to provide health care for all citizens. As Pear points out, the ACA also provides scores of other, though not as well known, benefits-all to be dumped forever.
Trump does not have a replacement plan and never did nor will he. All he wants to do is win; so long as he and his family have the best health care coverage his money can buy, he cares not a whit about anyone else, and now it has reached down to the depths of the well-being and lives of all Americans. A majority of Americans like what the ACA provides, even though it surely needs some tweaking.
As other countries recognize, HEALTH CARE IS A RIGHT, but with Trump at the controls, he could care less about ensuring that ACA remains, originally in part, and now not even in whole. Anyone that values their life---a presumption applied to millions---should rise up and use the power of the microphone, the pen and letters to Congress demanding that Trump's idiocy of "winning" at all costs, now including the very lives of citizens becoming his sacrificial lamb, be stopped.
1
This is where policy vs. personality come into play. The red states will still vote for Trump, because they find him personable. They obviously have no interest in the details of policy. None. Less than none. They don’t like liberals and that is that. No thinking required.
A whole bunch of Republicans will start talking about the “Freedom” that comes with having choices. The choice to not have the health care the individual chooses.
Just watch.
What happened to the best healthcare plan, created by the best people?
1
Now just to convince millions of Americans that this will be good for them.
What Will Roberts Rule? Whatever the outcome in the 5th Circuit, it's clear this will be appealed. Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Alito will vote that the entire ACA is unconstitutional. Ginsberg, Breyer, Sotomayer, and Kagan will vote that it is constitutional.
The 'mandate' is now nothing but a suggestion. Can a "Sense of the Congress' vote be unconstitutional? I don't know. I'm going to guess that Roberts votes with the conservatives this time and says it can be.
If I am right, I will lose my health care. However, under New York law, if I understand it correctly, not until the end of the year. People in other states may be less lucky. I have cancer. People will die from this, and McConnell and the rest will be very very proud of themselves.
The limit on SALT tax deductions will make it impossible for many states to raise taxes to help people get coverage who now rely on the Affordable Care Act. This is not by chance, this is by design. Stop Democrats from voting by purging them from voting rolls, then kill them. If they kill a lot of Republicans, too, that's OK.
But they'll try very hard to save the unborn. Just don't feed or educate them with tax dollars. Cut taxes for the rich. Cut more taxes for the rich.
4
I honestly thought that some time SINCE being elected, Trump said something like, "Well, of course, our replacement plan would keep 'what's good' in the ACA."
And I could have sworn that pre-existing conditions WERE such a feature - i.e., how nuts is it [except actuarially] that the people most likely to be bankrupted by medical care expenses are told, "Yeah. That's the way it is. Most hospitals provide some indigent care - maybe, you'll get lucky."
Of course, it's possible that this joins the long list of things where Trump has advocated one thing AND its opposite, presumably without noticing, caring or explaining this violation of Axiom #1 re logic.
Every now and then, things come out of Washington that are so insane that you have to think that Trump is being manipulated the way W (per the Cheney movie) was.
Is there anybody crazy enough to believe that if the courts strike down the ACA, something will replace it before 2020?
And for all that most of Trump's supporters appear to be irrational - putting I-know-not-what ahead of their best interests every which way ... and those of their loved ones,
NOBODY likes to have something taken away from them! And when that something either keeps them alive or keeps them from total poverty (or both), I think we've reached "You can't fool EVEN intellectually challenged people all of the time!" territory.
And for what? 2020 would surely be an even worse bloodbath for the GOP than 2018, & medicare-for-all would be even odds.
2
This is exactly why we need medicare for all! This president will hang " health care for the rich only" over our heads for the rest of his term. If this doesn't show what he is about, nothing will!!
1
This demand is just plain mean and meant to pander to the insurance company money. His base will be most hurt by this, but they will not spend enough time looking into the issue to know. His bombast will bedazzle them yet again, senators will follow along to protect their seats in the next election, and millions will be hurt by this.
Not that POTUS cares one bit...
1
The unconditional surrender of Republican governors, Senators and Representatives to President Trump now has certified that they have abandoned their oath of office and the welfare of the People they represent.
To avoid even the hint of the Trumpanista’s anger they will bear any humiliation. They now have only one principle to guide them. Survive personal defeat by any means necessary.
By playing the destructive Mad-King, Trump gives “the base” what they most desire. They can have their party affirm their rage and valorize being mad and getting even.
An already moribund Republican party has now degenerated from an effective political party into a group of cynical politicians whose only purpose is fealty to the King . They mortgage the nation’s future only to secure their office while ignoring the consequences the refuse to see.
Yes ,build the wall, get rid of the ACA health coverage, promote fossil fuels, bash China, all things he needs to run on in 2020. No thoughts of what it means for the nation and its people its all about keeping his base excited.
I remember he promised his folks that he would give them a better, cheaper health plan. Instead its back to the expensive limited private Insurance plans with millions without and millions underinsured. The private health plans were found to have charged billions extra for non existing health care , upwards of 70-100 Billion. Most hospitals and Insurers make many millions in profits and we have one of the worse performing , most expensive systems. Already 60% of our care is government (including the politicians and the President) 10% personal and the rest employer. Adding the next 40 % would be easy to do and reduce prices and give adequate equal care for all. It would add about $30 per month to the average workers taxes.
See letusbeawarefolks.blogspot.com-we can afford single payer health care for numbers and details.
1
We should immediately null and void all healthcare benefits for members of Congress. That is the ONLY way out of this mess. When they have to pay out of pocket for them and their family their eyes will open. It's the only way. Unless you live it you don't understand.
2
I would like to think that this would be the case, but many representatives and especially senators are so wealthy that they probably wouldn’t even notice. They can afford to pay for great healthcare; it’s the rest of us that are left to the whims of legislation.
How many times do we have to go through this silly exercise? Justice Roberts will once again, provide a rare nod to the progressive agenda, and preserve the ACA.
I agree entirely that the rest of us should foot the health care bill for Americans that can't afford it. I'd much prefer that we spend our tax dollars on health care rather than on fighting forever wars.
However ...
What I'm seeing is an unwillingness to foot that bill. Right now, the ACA requires that the federal government (FG) pay health insurance premiums for Americans who can't afford them. But the ACA contemplated that the FG would fund those payments out of non-coverage penalties paid by (mostly young) people who don't have health insurance. The December 2017 tax law explicitly repealed those penalties, which begs this question:
How does the FG fund its ACA-mandated payments of health insurance premiums?
The answer is simple: The FG borrows the money from our grandchildren, by issuing bonds that our grandchildren will be required to pay (through higher taxes) when the bonds come due -- unless, of course, our grandchildren by then have learned how to "roll over" bonds (i.e. issue new bonds and use the proceeds to pay off the old bonds), thus shifting the cost to THEIR grandchildren (unless they too learn how to "roll over" those new bonds when they mature; and so on).
@MyThreeCents
Pretty much the way it works. You can either raise taxes now, so everyone sees how much it really costs, and preserve capital for later, or you can go into debt now and simply devalue the $ via inflation and reduced purchasing power later.
The government cannot run out of money, it can always print more. The problem is that will increase interest rates and start an inflation cycle. In the end, the people who have worked and saved will lose the fruits of their labor. It will hit the retirees alright. Our grandkids will be born poor, but they can reset the cycle after reforming the shamble of an economy they inherited and then start anew.
This financing method looks just like the way Republicans are financing tax cuts for the rich.
@MyThreeCents
The answer is even simpler; higher taxes on the marginal income of filthy rich Americans. Fix the rigged system that allows Bill Gates to have $98 billion in his pocket while his gardener is choosing between buying insulin or food at the end of the month.
1
Should the ACA be repealed, on thing is certain. Health Insurance companies who asked for and were granted a seat at the table likely because they were scared of losing profits last time should no longer have a seat at the table.
They worked and carefully made sure the public option and cost controls were not in the legislation to preserve high profits. Then once the legislation passed, did a 180 and immediately lobbied to have ACA eliminated. I have no doubt that the McConnell Supreme Court will eliminate the ACA and do as they are expected to do. Let the town halls begin.
Because the republicans eliminated the penalty for not purchasing insurance, the individual mandate was effectively eliminated as well. The Justice Department can't now argue that the individual mandate is unconstitutional because an individual would incur no financial penalty if he or she decided not to purchase health insurance.
4
The Democrats who keep wishy washing timidly along will be painted with the same brush as those who want something genuinely humane and effective and far reaching. Even something that is deeply compromised will be called socialist. So why not go for something that actually will change things in a dramatic and real way.
It is hard to imagine a reactionary Supreme Court not embracing Trumpdon'tcare. But as much as they imagine themselves to be stone hearted reactionary robots, as much as they often act as if they are, one or two might in fact be marginally, though crucially, better than that. At least I hope so.
8
@Robert Roth. Trumpdon’tCare. Thanks for making my day with that. I’m going to use it.
1
@Kb
Thanks
My brother, who is 52 years old, was diagnosed with Stage 4 Pancreatic cancer, which has spread to his liver, in January. His prognosis is grim and he is on heavy chemo to try to shrink the tumor and give him some quality of life as he has three children, one of which is only 13.
I never realized just how much a devastating illness can destroy a person's finances. My brother is now on permanent disability - he will get $1700 a month to live on. That is nothing. He is paying COBRA and he has a reduced rate of $400+ a month, which isn't bad, but that leaves him with less than $1300 a month for everything else.
He can not work. He has chemo every other week and it knocks him out. He is in pain and is weak. He has to be careful not to get a fever over 100.4 or he has to go to the emergency room.
Some of the meds his doctors prescribed are too expensive and the insurance company won't pay for them. They decide what he needs, not his doctor.
I have no idea what his bills are but he was in the hospital for three weeks before he came home. He has so many doctors. He needs so much care. He goes home with a pump after chemo and a nurse has to come and remove it two days later.
How does someone who is too young for medicare and social security supposed to survive with an illness like this? He is going to die - there is no cure - but he shouldn't have to worry about paying for it while he is dying.
How can they keep cutting medical? What is wrong with them?
37
Kathy H,
I hope everything works out for your brother and family.
You're right that health care is a need, not a luxury.
The wealthiest country on earth should be able to afford health care for all-every other industrialized nation can.
4
@Kathy H
Sorry to hear about your brother. I hope you do seriously consider supporting 2020 candidates who support a government-run single player plan.
5
@Kathy H This is America. I am so sorry for your family. Millions of families are in the same boat. We have to face facts: Our government does not care whether we live or die. Other developed nations have a moral imperative to provide health care to all. In America, it's only rationed to those who can afford to pay for it. It's sick and inhumane and the worst part? "Christians" support this, even as it hurts them.
4
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was always terrible. There was no public option, no control of drug or equipment prices and it continued an excessively profitable insurance scheme that continues to hike prices well above inflation. It was ever a Republican plan, out of Romney by Heritage.
Donald and the pubs might as well ask for repeal because the party has so many other offensive positions it's doomed anyway.
3
At this point, my government is nearly unrecognizable. I was born and raised here and never have I been so frightened by what is happening in my beloved country. I remain, terrified.
14
At the undesirable position of defending He Who Shall Not Be Named, yes, there is a national immigration emergency, because our
lawmakers have not done their job and passed
some decent laws. That forces the president to try and do his job as best he can.
2
The Rs went on television and declared that they would protect pre-existing conditions against insurance companies.
They went on television and said that being turned down for pre-existing conditions was wrong.
They went on television and assured us all that they would see to it that pre-existing conditions would remain as is under the ACA.
And now?
They are championing - CHAMPIONING - throwing ACA kids off leukemia treatments. Throwing unemployed and under-employed Americans off the only health care they can afford, and that protects them from catastrophic illness and the expenses therein.
And stomping around "saving them babies!" as they throw pregnant women off the rolls.
Why do they hate everyone so much, and how in the world do they get away with their hatred?
9
Well, if anyone thought before, that the Trump junta carefully thought through its policies, positions and actions before making them public, taking into account how the average Joe in the street might be affected, as well as taking care of those least able to take care of themselves..... they cannot justifiably hold onto that fantasy any longer. The many mandates and initiatives of the Affordable Health Care Act help protect the unhealthy, mothers, women in general, workers in certain hazardous conditions and a host of VERY good things that most folks, and most probably The Donald are not aware of at all. If he/they want to get rid of the last major accomplishment of the Obama Era, then they must first craft a series of laws, policies, regulations and reforms that can replace it satisfactorily or even do a BETTER job of protecting the vulnerable in society. If they stick to the extreme and insanely callus position they have veered to (showing their true colors at last.....), its up to the citizens of the US of A to give them the boot decisively in the next electoral cycle.... and until then, resist tenaciously any move to make health care an even more unfair system than it already is.
7
The Trump Administration now feels emboldened to the detriment of citizens who are ill, poor, disenfranchised. There will be more attacks, not only on health care for all, but also on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other programs that benefit the welfare of people as a whole. I used to be proud of our government and what it stood for but not any more. I am still proud of those American who live the good life and fight against the otracities of the Trump, his administration and those who follow him blindly.
5
Republicans are doing the Democrats a huge favor. If the Affordable Care Act is struck down this will provide a clear path, and justification, for Medicare for All!
8
The Donald is flexing his muscles in a triumphant victory lap, hoping to harm millions as retribution for the "witch hunt."
4
The 2020 presidential campaign begins today. Trump against insurance for all and Democrats for affordable healthcare for all.
Thank you Mr. Trump for allowing your inflated ego once again to turn the good news of the last 48 hours against you. This is something the attorney general can't spin either...
10
This should be the number one issue that Democrats run on in 2020.
Many in Trump's base will lose their health care (and possibly die) if the Affordable Care Act is repealed.
Democrats have to show exactly what Trump and the Republican party are up to. They should be relentless with this message.
5
We should not be surprised by this, the Trump administration has been dealing in bad faith for over two years running. Why expect anything different from them now? As with Trump's outburst about going after enemies with the release of the Mueller report, the cruelty and incompetence reminds me of what was said about the Bourbon dynasty in Spain in the 18th c.: They learned nothing, and they forgot nothing. The American people, if they are not willfully ignorant, will remember and vote accordingly in the upcoming.
3
Didn’t this already go to the Supreme Court ?
1
Go ahead and let him do it. We'll see how popular he is when his Base no longer has their insurance.
2
According to a story on NPR this morning, only 15% of Republican voters currently accept that climate change is real...the exact same percentage who accepted that climate change was real in 1999.
In other words, 85 percent of Republican voters are simply impervious to facts and science, and have been for at least 20 years, which means they will have no problem with the ACA being taken away...even if it hurts them personally.
This is what the Republican Party has become: a cult of meanness and willful ignorance. Which makes Trump their perfect leader.
Republican ideology is our country's worst preexisting condition.
14
Here is the Democrats "response."
"House Democrats to Unveil Plan to Expand Health Coverage"
It doesn't say if this was done before or after their soiree.
4
What about making sure that Americans have health care don't these Republicans understand? It's really not complicated. They would easily slice off the health care nose of millions of Americans just to save what they perceive is their own 'constitutionality' face. That is so wrong.
2
Trump is a master of deflection, but this time he's got it wrong. All eyes would continue to be on Barr's summary of the Mueller Report — all ears still deafened by the Trumpsters' crowing — were it not for this new assault on affordable health care. So, bad political strategy as well as shockingly cruel policy.
1
Maybe this is what it will take to wake up the voters who still stand by this man. He doesn't give a hoot if eleven million people lose their health care.
His campaign promises about giving "beautiful" healthcare to all Americans are as empty as his promise have Mexico pay for the wall.
To the 35% who still support him and to the 95% of Republicans who still stand by him, you got what you wanted - a disrupter, a chaos president who is destroying the china shop, and while you may get a short-term sense of joy that your guy is "sticking it to the man (the elitists on both coasts that you hate), the price you will be paying will be severe.
Next time you're in the voting booth, think before you pull that lever, so maybe you won't cast your vote for a con man who thinks you're all pretty gullible.
2
Think about Steve Scalise, the congressman who was shot by a deranged anti-trump/republicans, with a high powered automatic rifle.
Scalise was severely injured, came close to losing his life but for the highly skilled medical team who basically put his guts back together. He will never totally recover.
Yet, he is an avid trump supporter and will support trump in his efforts to cruelly take even bare bones coverage away from millions. And, he continues to be against even a modicum of reasonable restraints on the sale of the gun that almost killed him.
But as long as he has his job, and his gold plated healthcare, and is good buddies with trump, and his mega donors got their tax cut, that's all that he really cares about. His constituents, not so much - they can drop dead. Or be shot dead. What's the difference...
6
I am sure Rep, Scalise has never thought about his situation in this way—as in what others in the same situation,
but without his good fortune, experience. Such an ignorant group. We need to tell them to drop dead by voting for someone else in the next election cycle.
1
Now we'll see the real Trump. We thought we saw cruel and mean before. Why is it that so many billionaires, certainly, i hope, not all, need to see so many of their fellow citizens suffering? Why is that? Are they basically that impotent that in order to relieve their impotency, they need to know others are living in despair?
4
that is the very point of sacrificing everything on the altar of mammon.
1
Human beings are social animals and do better as a people and society because of that connection. Clearly, trump et al do not have any social
Connection
When will it stop? When will Republicans stop trying to take away any safety net from their own supporters? How much lower will they go?
I can't understand how or why Republicans want to constantly punish those that were not born wealthy. In the end you can't take your wealth with you. Sure, you can pass it on but by eventually by raping and pillaging the environment, what kind of world will be left?
What shallow souls these people possess.
1
The worst part of all of this is that Trump will probably be re-elected and the vast majority of his voters will be the very people who benefit most from the safety nets he is cutting.
When people show you who they are, pay attention.
Republicans have shown they plan on taking away healthcare -- ESPECIALLY coverage for those with pre-existing conditions -- to privatize every single public asset.
Democrats support healthcare for all.
Vote Trump and "TrumpIDontCare,Do You?" Republicans out of office November 3, 2020.
Or lose your benefits
2
Now we'll see the real monster come out, since he's been "vindicated". No holds barred (pun intended), going after the working and middle class, many of whom are his strident defenders but he doesn't care about that. He's an egomaniac concerned ONLY about himself. If he shows any concern about anyone or anything else, it's simply a temporary position based upon what he thinks they can do for him. Some will express surprise and shock, but they shouldn't, given his lifelong record of greed and lies. You will now see the full, unvarnished Trump in all his disdain for everyone but himself.
But the "silver lining" here is that this might finally wake people up to the need for Medicare For All. The bad news is how many that will suffer if the ACA is killed before MFA can replace it. How many Trump voters rely upon the ACA or Medicaid or Medicare? Look at how your "hero" is repaying your support! Just how does this fit in with MAGA? If you're not in the 1% don't expect him - or any Republican - to look out for your interests, they see you simply as a drain on their wealth, and needed only at election time (until they can figure out how to get rid of that need too).
Welcome to Trump's America - home of the selfish and greedy!
The Trump administration’s efforts to eliminate the ACA—including its most widely popular provisions—is a testament to the power of corporate lobbying and a gift to the Democrats in 2020.
1
Trump tweeted that he would protect those with preexisting conditions. It was a campaign promise! You mean... you mean... he lied? Say it ain't so.
1
I agree with the commenter who insists that parts of the ACA should be retained because they're "severable," and I suspect they will be. Perhaps the best example is mentioned in this article: the requirement that chain restaurants label products with certain nutritional information.
But it won't matter much if those "severable" parts are retained. The real "guts" of the ACA was its non-coverage penalty, which "spread" the cost of health insurance to Americans who don't have it. That was explicitly repealed by the December 2017 tax law. A taxpayer who doesn't have health insurance now pays no penalty.
But the ACA still provides that the federal government (FG) must fund private health insurance premiums for anyone who doesn't have health insurance, wants it, and can show that he or she needs help paying the premiums charged for it. All that's changed is how the FG foots the bill. The ACA contemplated that the cost of FG-funded health insurance would be paid out of the penalty taxes paid by (mostly young) Americans who had no health insurance.
Now that there's no tax penalty but the FG still promises to pay health insurance premiums for Americans who can't afford them, how will the FG fund its payments?
Simple: borrow the money -- i.e. issue bonds. When those bonds come due, our grandchildren will have to pay them (unless, of course, we've taught them the fine art of "rolling over" bonds -- i.e. issuing new bonds and using the proceeds to pay off the old bonds).
@MyThreeCents Isn't that how the Federal Gov't funds everything? Defense, Social Security, etc, etc? All modern govt's operate this way. Unless you want to go back to the gold standard - unfeasible, as far as I can make out - it's a question of bonds, deciding what % of GDP is taxes, and prioritizing.
The non-coverage penalty was NOT repealed in the 2017 tax law. The tax was merely set to $0. Which means that another Congress could very easily set it to $10G, or some other amount.
2
Not only could millions lose health insurance, but the courts can compose a ruling in such a way that any kind of government provision of health insurance or health care will become impossible, just as the Citizens United decision makes any limits on campaign contributions impossible.
Our votes do indeed have consequences.
6
My sense tells this is a "red herring" meant to distract Democrats so they can't make any real progress improving healthcare.
While the Democrats are fighting this the drug and insurance corporations can still rake in billions in profits. You can be sure they do not want people clamoring for single payer healthcare.
The Medical industrial complex loves the status quo!
6
@Richard Fried You may be right- after everything I am not sure why the affordable health care act is such a target for Trump and the Republicans. It has been a boon for the Medical Industrial Complex. It isn't like they are arguing against it based on fiscal sanity, any semblance of that argument from the Republicans is long gone.
One point against your argument is that Trump and the Republicans aren't that clever to throw a red herring out there. Trump prefers the playground bully method of direct assault.
Someone once told me that the major driving force behind Republicans these days is that they hate the other side and their main focus is on dong things against the "liberals" and "progressives". Perhaps they see the pre existing conditions as people getting something for nothing. With a trillion dollar deficit, it is apparent that 99% of Americans get more from the government than they pay for, so they should be careful in this
If this were to happen, I think we should demand that our Congressional representatives and President Trump forgo their excellent free health care and pay for it themselves.
22
Why is it that Congress and the President get free premium government-provided health care paid for by taxpayers? Yet they won't allow taxpayers to receive the same benefits... Think about it.
This is yet another way they are stealing from us, the taxpayers.
Then...they force a private health insurance system tied to employment that benefits the corporate billionaire class who own the insurance companies and donate to GOP politicians.
So Mitch McConnell and company want free government health care for themselves -- and then they double charge us by requiring us to pay private insurance companies.
They socialize benefits for the wealthy using our tax dollars and privatize everything for everyone else in order to steal even more from us. How do the MAGA people NOT see what's going on?!?
27
@Misplaced Modifier
What is the source of this "free premium" health care? Is this a talking point on Hannity? Members of Congress and their staff purchase health insurance on the exchanges and the employer-subsidy is at the same level as the employer subsidies in corporate America.
Here's a better question: How do you not see that they are no longer the GRAND OLD PARTY you keep calling them?
like children, some people just don't want to be told what to do. they would rather die an agonizing death than be required to address health. they would rather YOU and your loved ones die an agonizing death, or go broke, or both. watch as they hold their ir collective breaths until they turn blue! anything else would be Socialism, whichnas everyone kniws, is worse than death itself.
1
Trump persists, as recently as days ago, promising "really excellent health care".
Perhaps now would be the time to share...
4
That's not how this works. Changing laws is the responsibility of congress. Repeatedly, the Republican party has attempted to use congress to overturn the ACA and has failed. Now, the Republican party is attempting to circumvent the legislature in an attempt to force broad changes through the courts.
I always found it darkly humorous that Republicans endlessly panicked about "activist judges legislating from the bench" given that Republicans have done nothing but install extremist right-wing "activists" into the judiciary for decades. As usual, what Republicans accuse others of is what they are doing, or intend to do, themselves.
This is an act of utter sadism. I am disgusted by Trump, and the Republican party's, endless attempts to sabotage the health and well-being of the American people. They are elected to serve the people of this country, not to intentionally inflict harm upon us.
22
Can we as the public enacted some type of legal maneuvering that Congress has to have their heathcare and benefits be the same as those policies they pass or change?
3
@MH It wouldn't hurt them. They can afford it.
@MH
This is already in place in part because members of Congress purchase their health insurance on the exchanges.
@MH
Will that make the situation better?
Yes, that is how things work under the current administration: Give an order to the court on how it should rule on a case.
8
And after health insurers are no longer required to cover people with pre-existing conditions the republicans will propose...?
3
@Steve
The system we had before the ACA, which was just find with Republicans. That was the "You're on Your Own" System. Call if "Republicare".
The entire goal of this administration is to make sure the average American isn't getting a seat at the table.
Between tariffs, a tax plan that benefits the very rich, attempting to take away health insurance, fighting with our allies (making the average person feel less safe), corruption, a fake border emergency, possible obstruction as outlined in the "Barr Cliff Notes" and a complete lack of leadership, how is America being "made great"? How is the average citizen being helped while those at the top are being further enriched?
The Democrats need to focus on what Trump promised and what he didn't do. He is not helping anyone but himself.
8
President Trump is a highly polarizing figure, to,say the least. but the push to dimimish the lives of ordinary Americans to further enrich the wealthiest and most powerful among us is a very standard Republican position, lomg lredating Trump's entry into politics. the GOP has been on this case a long time - in fact, since before President Trump was born. he is only a current distraction, temporarily occupying the chair. this fight will go on with or without him, as long as Republicans hold sway and stay out of jail.
1
And here is part of the crux of differences between Republicans and Democrats that the Dems just never seem to point out: in a choice between human beings and corporate beings, Republicans will favor corporate ones while Dems will (or used to and should go back to) favoring humans.
Kill ACA, which has helped millions, while offering up nothing, not a single thing, to replace it. Kill pre-existing conditions because health insurance companies didn't like it. Corporations are "people" though they don't spend any time in jail when they violate laws.
Trump & McConnell controlled the Presidency and all of Congress for two years and they couldn't come up with a viable health care plan other than "Kill ACA." Trump had all of the time between the election and his inauguration to come up with that "great" plan he promised, and didn't do it. Republicans controlled Congress at the end of Obama's term, but came up with nothing.
No infrastructure, no immigration plan beyond a wall, corporate and fat-cat tax benefits while starving anything that benefits non-fat-cat humans. Everyone should experience toxic waste, giant pools of pig poo that flood the landscape and houses when it rains too much, student loans really should cause pain and keep graduates from pursuing the careers they'd really like, medical research should be cut, and on and on.
This, to me, is the crux of what the election should be about: who will look after your interests and the interests of this country better?
14
Why is the Trump administration trying so hard to take health insurance away from those who can least afford it? Who will gain from this political act? Shame on Trump.
12
Saw my specialist yesterday .A pre existing condition.No bill.Glad I live in Canada.
15
This is why he is unfit for office. He will conduct a twenty month temper tantrum until the election, and God help us if he is reelected.
11
Why? Why would our government want to make it harder and even more expensive for Americans to obtain medical treatment? Who are these Americans who believe we should rejoice at paying the most of anyone on this planet for medical care? Who believe that those who have been sick should be either denied coverage or pay twice as much as someone who hasn't?
Trump campaigned on a promise of a better health plan than Obamacare for the American people. He said his plan would provide more coverage for less money? Where is that plan?
6
@macktan
Trump lied, and it doesn't matter. Ignorant people voted for him, and they will vote for him again.
2
I knew it wouldn't take Trump long to start the long decline after "his best day in office"!
4
How else are the Republicans going to dig their way out of the egregious debt they put this country in by giving tax cuts to corporations and the exorbitantly rich (many of whom said they did not want it!)? That is right - gut all social programs - Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security the ACA, education and now, under Shanahan, strip down military pensions in order to build the wall.
8
@H.A. Hyde
My husband just got a nice increase in his Social Security check. Under the table, the Republicans are buying votes.
I'm exhausted with trying to convince rural and poor Republicans to care about the social programs that many of them also completely depend on. If they don't want medicaid, food stamps, etc., fine--take it away from them. My tax dollars are used to pay for programs that I'll never use to benefit people who despise me for it. Take it away from them- let them live out their small government fantasy and deal with their healthcare and nutrition issues on their own.
15
Trump is placing his hatred and jealousy of President Obama above the healthcare needs of the American people. Trump and his administration would jeopardize the health and finances of the populace simply to eliminate our fledgling healthcare system, which in over 2 years they've not found any fixes or adequate replacement ("my healthcare plan is gonna be terrific!"). This is outrageous and should inspire everyone who uses insurance (including private coverage) to vote Trump out in 2020.
11
The Republicans oppose any sort of universal health care plan, even a tepid little plan like Obamacare. End of story. No more discussion is needed. Time to accept that fact and move on.
2
This sounds like a sure-fire way to win the 2020 election to me!
1
Would someone please explain the apparent juxtaposition this government creates by advocating for the lives of the unborn as a moral issue, then aggressively pursues termination of healthcare for millions putting them at risk of harm or death.
16
It sounds like Judge O'Conner is auditioning for what could possibly be an opening on the Supreme Court if Justice Gainer retires sooner than later.
It appears that he wants to show Trump that he's smarter than Chief Justice Roberts that when the Individual mandate was struck down the "tax" provision that Roberts ruled on is no longer there so the ACA should now be considered unconstitutional.
There is no "Repeal and Replace" as promised by Trump and the Republicans which now appears to be a vindictive assault on a Democratic bill that will put many Americans in an unaffordable and dangerous position.
After the Mueller report the Trump administration has gone from very bad to extremely worse. I only hope that his core now sees how Trump can directly affect their lives in a very negative way.
2
Trump statements on healthcare:
“I am going to take care of everybody … Everybody’s going to be taken care of much better than they’re taken care of now.” - campaign speech
“We’re going to have insurance for everybody. There was a philosophy in some circles that if you can’t pay for it, you don’t get it. That’s not going to happen with us.” - interview with The Washington Post during repeal debate.
“I was the first & only potential GOP candidate to state there will be no cuts to Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid.”
“We don't want anyone who currently has insurance to not have insurance.” - Kellyanne Conway during repeal debate.
Stay tuned for the next healthcare promise. Should be a dandy.
12
This is Trump trying to capitalize on the political "victory" of not being exonerated of treason (although we all know he's guilty of myriad other crimes).
2
There are so many people myself included who will lose health care coverage if this happens. Trump is so destructive. He doesn't care about the environment, the people in Puerto Rico or anyone who needs help. He said he wouldn't touch Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid, he said Mexico would pay for the wall, he said pre-existing conditions would still be covered, he lies, lies, lies.
13
Wow what a gift to the Democrats from Trump! Especially in the face of his major 'victory' and supposed vindication from the Mueller investigation. This man is a fool to feel so emboldened so this is the battleground that he picks? Bannon and others keep defending him by saying he's a shrewd strategist and political mastermind underneath it all. This is how Republicans lost the Midterms wrapped up in general referendum on his presidency. Furthermore NO grand alternative for healthcare whatsoever for voters to mull over. Repeal & Replace is the next mountain he decided climb. Good luck with that!
1
Okay liberal millionaires and billionaires--Trump country needs to hear this, over and over and over again. Ceaseless nternet ads on Facebook, Twitter, etc.--whatever ways we can get through their Fox-brain barriers!
For ONCE it would be great if we liberals weren't alone in fighting for programs that help Trump voters. It's the most ridiculous and horrifying thing the way they refuse to believe that reality is reality.
3
To rescind the ACA at this point is simply an act of harm to others, a medical lynching carried out against the weakest and poorest members of our society.
There is a deep injustice here, and in the end, there will have to be an accounting.
7
The good thing about Trump is that [just like the Dems], you can always count on him to overplay his hand in the face of a success. The great thing about Trump is that you can count on him to overplay his hand IMMEDIATELY.
6
Dear Democrats,
We are in an all out war! Issue the subpoena for the Muller Report now.! It won't happen of course. A dead horse responds better to problems than the people we have elected.
2
This, among other bad policy moves, is what is going to be Trump’s undoing.
5
And for some unexplained reason the airport hangar crowd will excitingly cheer wildly.
13
Thank goodness the cloud over Mr. Trump has been removed! Now he can get on with what's really important: removing health coverage from millions of Americans without any replacement plan. We can all sleep better at night.
19
Take 10% of the money spent on munitions and war, and divert it to a universal health care system - you'd have the best in the world.
17
Trump's vindication through Barr's Mueller Report is a step closer to authoritarian rule. The timing of this attack on the Affordable Care Act is proof. I think we will be seeing a rush to change America to the point of no return before the 2020 election so that Trump is re- elected and America joins the club of dictatorships.
16
And Replace It With????? what.
It's been 8 years and I have yet to see a credible alternative.
Show me a reasonable, better alternative and I will support it. Until you have the replacement forget it.
9
@Bob
Has is not occurred to you that Trump and the GOP don't want to replace the ACA, just kill it? They are trying to dismantle all of the government facilities that protect us.
2
If the US government/Republicans win on this, it will be the straw that broke the camels back for the entire party. Even Republicans have pre-existing conditions and need healthcare.
5
@DGH
I somehow believe that the Republican Senators and Congressmen don't have to rely on the ACA. Therefore it is irrelevant to them and they will vote to please POTUS, shielding them from his scorn and public Twitter humiliation.
2
This is payback for Trump thinking he is free from prosecution. Be ready to see Social Security and medicare end. At least a whole lot of Republican supporters will be hurting when this happens. How do you like your leaders now? He is not my President.
19
I'm sure glad I am on Medicare and hope I die before Trump guts it. Those with pre-existing conditions and under 65 are in big trouble. They'll never afford insurance again. Trump is determined to take insurance away from at least 25 million people. I guess he lied about replacing ACA with something cheaper, better and universal.
11
@john
Did honestly believe him?
@LES Being sarcastic. I have never believed a word Trump says and would have voted for a dog over him. And I guess to a lesser extent I was mocking his supporters.
2
This decision by Trump is merely another effort on his part to wipe out anything Obama did, regardless of how this will hurt Americans who depend upon the Affordable Care Act.
9
I know it's wrong to conflate causation and correlation here, but I can't help wonder why –the day after Barr issued his boss a 'get out of jail free' card– conservative Republicans let loose their dogs of war.
And such an easy target they've chosen: trusting American humans. Each and every one of the politicians who choose to advance this policy is himself covered by taxpayer-subsidised health care. Yet Republicans' blood-lust seems to know no bounds; they're contented to hurt whomever it was that Jesus addressed in his sermon from the mount.
I can't fathom how conservatives live with their own inhumanity.
21
@cruciform
It's the $$$$
If they kill the ACA, it would be a political gift to the Democrats. The problem is that it would hurt a lot of people before the Democrats can do something about it. Hopefully, the courts come to their senses and rule against this attack on our healthcare system.
111
@Typical Ohio Liberal It's not much of a "system" but it's all we got... I recently had cataract surgery. As is customary, the surgeries were performed separately, i.e., one eye at a time. In my case, the surgeon operated in a different facility each time. The surgeries were routine and uneventful. The facility fees differed by thousands of dollars; one surgery had an anesthetist and the other, both an anesthetist and a nurse-anesthetist, all of whom billed me separately. Some "miscellaneous" charges were covered but some were not. I could go on... but it's not nececessary. Yes, I had insurance through my employer, not Obamacare. However, as most Americans know from bitter experience, "covered" doesn't mean what it used to. We're about as "covered" by insurance now as we are when we don that skimpy hospital gown. SINGLE PAYER NOW!
16
@Typical Ohio Liberal Yo, compatriot! We dems can use some gifts. Enough to match the graft and bribery on the GOP side.
9
@Typical Ohio Liberal Trump/GOP is taking away our Health Care.. Remember that at Voting Time. Ray Sipe
7
Might as well punish as many people as possible while declaring victory after the release of the Barr summary.
Trump might just be the cruelest President in U.S. history.
37
Let's pretend like Trump and his administration care about the American people. Wait I can't do that they clearly don't. Suffer the consequences we will.
6
I suspect that this attack on the ACA has little to do with healthcare, and a lot to do with erasing Obama's legacy.
18
We now have a clear statement from the Trump administration about healthcare. They don't like it. Now the Democratic candidates can give give their full focus to this issue and provide solid alternatives. They can do the same on climate change. Let's settle this in 2020.
15
A family member recently had warning signs of a stroke. The emergency room visit, ct scan and brief examination by a physician cost over $4,000. We was seen in a chair in the hallway, never made it into an exam room, no IV, no drugs given. What if we did not have insurance? That would be a huge financial blow to many hardworking families.
Watch out, Medicare and social security are next...
22
Newly emboldened since his "exoneration," the terror continues.
23
@ACA Exactly my thought. He thinks he is now set free to do what he wants. Should be a bumpy ride until 2020.
4
Every single person in the Trump Administration who is dying to kill the ACA can afford to do so.
They, and their families, all enjoy taxpayer subsidized health care .
25
@r mackinnon
Not to mention congress which has its own medical plan. Ha the hypocrisy.
Oh so relieved, once again, not to be residing in America!! It really is trying to become, with its lack of healthcare for all and its availability of guns for all, its lack of good public transport and automobile dependence, and its income inequality and unfair college admissions, its polluted water sponsored by the Trump-led EPA, the most unlivable country in the world.
233
@Gemma my greatest regret remains returning here.
7
@Gemma don't rest on your laurels, we Americans thought we were safe from this sort of thing and lacked the vigilance to stop it when it happened. What's happening in America can happen to you too.
8
Not to mention its Republican politicians!
8
Remember way back when Trump had Tom Price, from Georgia, as his Health Secretary? Price was supposed to be the expert with an alternative health plan to replace the ACA. Come to find out, he had no plan at all. While he was HHS secretary he said that the individual mandate (a component of the Affordable Care Act which required all to purchase health insurance) increased the cost of health care. However, in May 2018, while no longer HHS secretary, Price admitted that the repeal of the individual mandate would reduce participation of young and healthy individuals in the health insurance market and thus drive up the cost of health care for those remaining, which it did.
24
For everyday Americans with complex medical needs repeal would be catastrophic, but the ricochet effect of repealing the Affordable Care Act affects almost everyone .
COBRA premiums would skyrocket. Those now struggling to manage their medical could lose insurance. I am a permanently disabled Grade 5 SAH survivor and a taxpayer. I sold my house 14 years ago to pay medical and home care. Our leading medical insurer increased my COBRA monthly premium from $225 to $2750. A catastrophic medical event can impact any of us for a lifetime. it drains savings; families and communities. Is that what we want for our family or our neighbor? Don't play politics with someone else's life.
33
The aversion to any form of national healthcare -- seen as some sort of democracy-threatening, socialized medicine -- is fundamentally absurd. In the ways worked by Capitalism 101, the costs of those who cannot afford to pay for their care are, of course, (in)directly passed on to those in society who can. In other words, whether that practice is right or wrong, we already have national healthcare. The question we need to ask, rather, is: Do we want the privateers of our healthcare "industries" to continue to profit from their exploitation of the present system?
31
@voelteer
No, most don’t want that. But here’s the problem. Many people are rightfully mindful and leery of how often government gets it wrong on costs, impacts and effectiveness. Time and again things cost far more than anticipated, don’t work as advertised, and myriad rules and regulations stifle what was promised. Politicians promise easy, one-size fits all solutions (“hey, free [fill in the blank]”, which the public buys at face value (sham on them/us) only to be disappointed.
1
@voelteer According to Trump and his administration, the answer is apparently "Yes".
1
It's hard to imagine the court striking down the ACA in its entirety, but now that the bachelor tax has been eliminated, it's hard to imagine how the ACA will not become a national high-risk insurance pool. However, I don't blame Trump for this move. Democrats are suing in an attempt to stop bachelors from buying short-term health insurance. That's not right.
@Mark Actually we're suing to prevent insurance companies from selling junk insurance. The kind of insurance where if you actually need a significant amount of medical care you will be on your own..
It's true, junk insurance is cheap. That's because it's basically worthless.
4
Surely this is satire.
3
Memo to the Democrats: Let Russia go. For 2020 the issues are health care, health care, and health care.
And don't fall into the trap of arguing that means only Medicare for All. It means improving the ACA, including a new public option (Medicare??) as the default option. So, if you have employer provided health care, or your own policy, you don't have to go with the public option, unless you want to.
26
@John Graybeard Nancy Pelosi is very shrewd. I would be surprised if she allows Russiagate to preempt the huge advantage Democrats gave on real issues.
3
So the 110% real murkins want to throw mothers and sons and daughters into the snow so they can enhance shareholder value. Now maybe the country can be more amenable to Medicare for all, financed by everyone, supplemented by a nice tax on wall street. The republicans can’t help themselves by committing political suicide, the same as they cannot abandon racial, ethnic and gender hatred.
22
Nothing is more perilous than accepting the " President who shouldn't be President " as acceptable and ignoring all of the destructive realities ( racism , sexism , hate , lying , divisiveness , and demands instead of compromise ) his shocking election and continued harm and risk he has brought .
Nevertheless , the debate over the ACA that was pelted with all kinds of lies before implementation by Politicians to such a degree that John and Mary Q Public forgot the urgent need for more affordable health insurance for employees and employers that had been in crisis since the beginning of this century that was the demand for reform in the first place .
The lies continued after implementation so much so that the great thing that tens of millions of people who could not afford health insurance now have it and can get the healthcare to improve their health and the other improvements mentioned here are flipped like they are bad things .
How harmful are politics and the major media that promote their messages ? The idea of getting rid of the protections that allow the sickest to get health insurance who couldn't before is considered despite how immoral such an idea is .
Here is a hint the ACA has been a godsend , but the lies surrounding it and Donald Trump has brought us to a dangerous new low .
24
Trump and GOP want healthcare to be more expensive and less available to millions. Thats forward thinking? Obamacare is expensive for the middle-class even with taxpayer subsidies. How can trump and friends talk about killing ACA without a better idea in its place? A policy of pushing it down the road for the next administration, is no policy at all.
10
@al They want folks to have the "freedom" to pay 1/3 of their current premium for 1/10 of the coverage. And of course they don't really want to cover expensive people like cancer patients.
5
The administration may kill the Affordable Care Act as legislation, but the urgent need for affordable group health insurance by those who do not have it will continue until a "politically correct" way of providing it is agreed upon. The appellation "Obamacare" may be scrubbed, but whatever fixes the existing gap in insurance coverage will be something that could have been fixed in the Affordable Care Act but for political unwillingness. When an individual or family goes bankrupt from one hospitalization, it leaves the taxpayers to pay the full cost of their medical care ongoing. That this should continue because politicians - who dubbed the ACA "Obamacare" to begin with - want to erase the name they gave it, is as illogical as it is unconscionable.
15
@eduKate "could have been fixed in the Affordable Care Act but for political unwillingness" - exactly. The ACA is already based on the plan Republicans had suggested in the 1990s, but they couldn't bring themselves to support even that. Unfortunately it seems it will require a lot more suffering until the popular response breaks the camel's back and people elect politicians who are willing to enact a better plan than the ACA.
9
In a way this could be the solution to all our problems. If millions lose their health insurance at least we know that after 2020, for all intents and purposes, the Republican party will cease to exist.
33
@Alex Vine I agree with you. For the last year or so, I've thought that this is what it's going to take to make Trump supporters get a clue. Unfortunately a lot of people who didn't vote for this administration will suffer too.
3
Does this surprise anyone? The GOP, even pre-Trump, has been doing everything in its power to destroy the ACA, even if it couldn't "repeal and replace."
Those of use who have health insurance only because the ACA made it possible are watching, and closely.
Everything the Republican Party is doing is making the Democrats look more and more like the only sane option, and for decades to come to undo the mess created by deregulating everything under the sun, endlessly cutting taxes [for the rich], and the rest of us, well, we just don't count.
21
Has the Trump Administration made the decision that it can't be re-elected. Have they concluded that lighting won't strike twice. Totally abandoning the promises about the A.C.A. is a suicide pact, A demonstration that they are fighting for every Conservative advance they can, while they can because they know that Trump is President not only because of those who voted for him, but those who didn't. And those who didn't vote in '16 are not going to make that mistake again.
14
ACA was the "signature achievement" of the "most consequential" president. What's the lesson not learned?
That, a system that is prone to assaults from economic and political interests (insurance companies & Repub terrorists), will not survive. That's why economist Ken Arrow said a government run single-payer plan is the best among all other options. But when people demand that, Krugmans and NYT tell us not to "make it a litmus test". Well, you don't need enemies when you have such class of friends.
7
@Har Yes there is an argument that Medicare for All is the best choice. There's also an argument that telling half of the population that their employer-provided insurance will be replaced with a new government program is a good way to lose the next election.
Which we can't afford to do. But rather than responding to that argument you prefer to demonize those making it, to regard them as enemies. We ain't your enemy, the Republicans are our common enemy.
Argue for your choice--I'll listen. Will you listen as some of us argue for Medicare for America? The plan where folks who like their employer-provided insurance can keep or they can choose to buy into a government plan, with subsidies for those who need them.
To be clear, if we end up with a nominee who's calling for Medicare for All I'll vote for that candidate. Will you do the same for one who's supporting Medicare for America. If not then you are objectively supporting Trump.
2
@Jack Toner
Oh, I know who my enemies are. I also know how a single-payer type plan works (as we have evidence for it from many many nations across the world). I also know that it is economically and politically sustainable (again from around the world). I think Medicare for America is a scam trying to avoid real issues and it is bound to fail for the same reasons I mentioned in my original comment. So go for it if you think that will solve our problems!
1
But you need to get elected.
1
We must never lose sight of the fact that health care is only a commodity like many other services and goods. Once we get the government out of controlling heathcare and allow the market place and competition in, cost will come down and innovation will prosper. For example, the X-ray has been around for quite some time. Try asking your doctor or lab what is the cost? You can not get a straight answer. But as soon as you have market choices or options and PRICING, you will see the cost come way down. Don’t be fooled by this nonsense coming from the democrats. More government control is not the answer. Heathcare is NOT a right, it is a commodity.
@Sven Gall
Just like a car. If you can't afford one, don't get one. So with health care the solution is, obviously, don't get sick if you can't afford to.
8
I’m going to go out on a limb and guess you have employee subsidized healthcare insurance and no pre existing condition. Someone with diabetes or cancer cannot rely on the free market to make their policy affordable.
Taking your viewpoint, let’s make police, fire, schools and our military private, too. How do you think that would go over?
5
@Sven Gall You're kidding, right? There is no competition in the private health insurance and Big PHARMA and it will only get worse with mergers and buyouts.
4
Who needs death panels, when you can just be handed a death sentence? America is the greatest.
Good thing I’m just a coastal liberal. It’s not like any Trump supporters could possibly be effected by the outcome of this judicial bloodletting.
18
A friend of mine last night informed me he pays $260 a month with a $2,500 deductible and the plan does not cover preexisting conditions. This includes mental health. WAKE UP EVERYONE
7
@Gina B Assuming your friend's plan is part of Obamacare, he/she should complain to the state's insurance regulatory agency. Preexisting conditions must be covered.
2
@Gina B That's not legally possible - pre-existing conditions MUST be covered under current law.
3
Keep voting against your own interests, America.
13
The Affordable Care Act has proved to be anything but affordable for the country.
I know we can do better.
Warren Buffet is right if the private sector doesn't get its act together, the government is going to take the ball and make it their own.
5
@P&L Can't wait! The Republicans seem to have no solutions.
1
@P&L
My understanding is the original ACA got watered down too much (by Obama encouraging GOP input). In its 'purer' form it would have been more affordable -- for all.
1
@P&L For all the criticism of the ACA and all the promises of a better system by Trump and other Republicans, when forced to show their plan, the answer has always been the same. No plan that covers everyone and reduces premiums. Those profiting from the current system own the politicians, which prevents Congress from making meaningful cost reducing changes.
2
The Republican Party is the National emergency in the US not the wall on the Southern border. Taking healthcare away from 100 million people is deplorable.
9
He sure knows how to waste a win.
14
Trump supporters often think they will not get sick, will die in their sleep, or actually think they get healthcare free if they do not pay insurance like "suckers who pay". Some have VA coverage. Then there are the hard drinking, smoking crowd who see health advice as an imposition on their freedom. The Trump supporters self destructive tendencies and lack of information cannot be underestimated. Many see information as an enemy. Fantasy land, manipulated by U.S. money and Putin as a cheap fixer.
12
There are no sick OR poor republicans.
9
@jahnay: Not anymore... they're all Democrats now, or cultist Trumpistas who would gladly hand Trump all they have and die happily in the knowledge that "those people" can't take it from them anymore...
From Obamacare to the odious trump-don't-care. Weaponizing his presidency against those who did not vote for him and his gullible base. How Republican of him!
This fetish for harming and hurting people is truly sickening and bordering on crimes against humanity. No matter how wealthy the trump is, we should take his health care away - see how he likes it when he truly needs it.
9
How to make America Really Great Again? Repeal the ACA and lower the price of Oxycontin,especially in the midwest and Kentucky.
7
@John
And I thought I was bitter. It's called culling the herd in our house.
A truly despicable human being. Spurs and his merry men of no conscience haven't a clue as to the damage that is being done. They look out only for themselves. They get Cadillac health plans that we pay for while the rest of us get to pay for ours and subsidize those that don't have. The gop must be voted out and quick. Horrible, horrible people.
13
It's hard to see these people as anything other than evil in their cruelty.
19
Trump’s hatred of Obama knows no end. The fire of his hate will consume him.
16
If we are not first consumed.
2
@Joe -
I believe that jealousy and frustration are at the heart of his obsession. Just as he couldn't compete with the accomplishments of John McCain, he could not acquire the personal attributes of Barack Obama. Personal qualities are something money can't buy, hence Trump's frustration.
3
@Joe
And not too soon!
2
Can we refer to trump supporters as strumpets?
4
Why do Trump and the GOP hate Americans so much?
13
@kmgh How can you say that? They all seem to love rich Americans.
1
I suspect this commenter didn't read the article:
"The Texas judge stated that the individual mandate is unconstitutional, but that was already decided by the Supreme Court which held that it was not. Isn’t this judicial activism?"
In the initial ACA case, in which justice Roberts wrote the majority opinion upholding the ACA, he was quite critical of it but changed at the end when he declared that the ACA's non-coverage penalty was essentially a "tax" and that Congress has Constitutional authority to levy taxes, without any obligation to justify a tax.
Under Trump, the non-coverage penalty has disappeared. No longer is a taxpayer required to pay a "tax" if the taxpayer doesn't have health insurance. The Texas judge ruled that this was a game-changer. If the ACA was justified only under Congress' taxing power, and there's no longer any "tax" imposed for non-coverage, , aren't Roberts' other criticisms of the ACA valid now? The Texas district court judge ruled that they are, and I suspect the US Supreme Court will agree.
Congress needs to come up with something other than the ACA, though I'm not optimistic that it will. As several commenters have pointed out, Trump promised to come up with a "great" health plan to replace the ACA, but so far it's been crickets. Now is the time.
We need to change our priorities from fighting wars in the Middle East to insuring the health of Americans. Government's role should be limited, but health care is part of that role.
4
@MyThreeCents It was the individual mandate that was being challenged in the case you refer to. Chief Justice Roberts ruled that it was essentially a tax and so within Congress' power.
This new case alleges that without the individual mandate the entire ACA must fall. That's a completely new argument and yes, the judge who bought it was engaged in judicial activism.
1
Regardless of where one stands on the merits of the ACA, the fact that this massive bill (not at all uncommon in today's Congress) contains so many disparate provisions that are now endangered clearly illustrates - as if we need even more examples - how poorly Congress is doing its job. Trying to cover everything under the sun none overly complex package puts the whole thing at risk in these now inevitable court battles.
Yes, there are generally severability clauses, but when the underlying premise of a bill fails then it can all go out the window. Congress needs to do what it used to do, and stop passing omnibus bills covering ridiculously unrelated issues, and massive 1000+ page monstrosities like the ACA (with ensuing thousands of supporting regulations), instead pass more smaller bills covering these items.
More work? Gasp, yes, perhaps. They might have to stop going on vacation every other month, or working three day weeks, or wasting time on hearings that do little more that provide sound bites and "Spartacus moments" for their own aggrandizement.
The American people need to demand and expect more, and not let them off because of purely partisan reasons.
10
@George S
Ha! You say that as though Republicans were willing to even consider a single part of a plan to cover all Americans! It's a big, bulky, needs-improvement Act because the idea was to bring about comprehensive change--not just get Republicans to concede, after a 10-year fight--that a single illness could be covered for 3 months and then the person never ever gets help again (i.e., Republicans would only ever give meaningless bits and call that 'fair').
1
@George S As long as one party exists solely to oppose any sort of government benefit to the governed, there will be no change incremental or otherwise.
4
@LBW
I don’t know where you find I’m defending or excusing Republicans. Any more than I’m excusing Democrats. Sorry, but BOTH parties, albeit perhaps in different ways contribute to the mess I described. If you reread my post I’m speaking about Congressional law making, and how lazy and slipshod it has becom, enabling courts and opponents to eclipse legislative efforts as result. I’m not saying it will happen - indeed , in our current climate I’m pessimistic- but the point is what SHOULD be happening and what we should be demanding.
Please don’t fall into the all too common trap of holding one party to blame and one totally blameless. There’s lots of blame and shame for both sides.
3
Now would be a good time for Mr. Trump to unveil that "big, beautiful" plan that will cover everyone and cost less that he talked about during the campaign.
54
@JVG
Yes, not a word about that B.B. Plan since the campaign, only destroying what's left of the ACA!
(AND my 2018 tax return did NOT fit on a postcard as he promised . . .)
2
To be replaced by... what?
Republicans have had over ten years to come up with better. For those with no memories, the current form of the ACA is largely their doing. They insisted on giving profit making private providers a huge interlock into the process. They also insisted on state level implementation - which allowed some states to do it well and enthusiastically - while others could kick and resist, or not implement it at all.
Almost a decade of obstruction, court blocks, and tear down efforts, including several at the Supreme Court, has followed.
They controlled Congress completely - but created nothing new to replace it.
Why?
Because, they don’t want ANY replacement. No national health care at all!
Most Americans want a decent health care program! Many millions of American families depend on the ACA, including a vast portion of the Republican Base. Removing healthcare will lead to economic chaos, and financial ruin all across the country.
Thanks to vast Republican effort, the ACA is not yet what it could be. Republicans have spent more formal efforts on the obstruction or removal of the ACA than on any other single issue in US history. Yet, the ACA still stands as the only half decent thing given to Average Americans in my adult lifetime - while entire mountains of legislation has been passed to benefit big business, and the very wealthy.
We have become a nation enslaved to serving the entitlement debts we gave to those who need it least.
Now this!
41
@GWBear . To be fair, the Democrats controlled both houses of legislature, had 60 votes in the senate, and the presidency, and they failed to pass anything better than the ACA. The blame for ACA goes both ways.
1
We will have the greatest health care, said Trump. Guess the greatest health care is no health care for Republicans and this administration. The Republicans did not cast a single vote for the Affordable Heath Care Act and have tried repeatedly to repeal it without anything to replace it except getting rid of protections for pre-existing conditions so they can create cheap plans to undercut and destroy the health care markets. Yet Obama's plan was one developed by Republican think tanks to counter the idea of Medicare for all or a public option. Billions to kill people with military weapons but nothing to keep people alive? Destroy peoples lives, rip kids from parents arms at the boarder. What a great President, what a great Republican party.
28
As a Canadian, we don't see those House selling Medical Bills. And while the Canadian Oligarch's may pay for US priority medical services, our average lifespan is pulling away from Americans.
PS. I don't know anyone who went to the US for medical procedures.
35
I was treated at a Canadian Hospital on a trip there about seven years ago. And...the care was outstanding. The costs, which the hospital (Prince George Hospital in B.C.) quoted me before the emergency operation were about ten percent of that in the USA. Fortunately, I am on Medicare and the costs were reimbursed under the $50,000 emergency out of country program.
If I was younger, I would emigrate to Canada today where my great grandparents emigrated to from France. They moved down to Maine from Quebec during the Great Depression.
I recommend the change for all young people in the USA today who are not part of the upper ten percent. For all practical purposes the American government has been sold to the highest bidder which means corporations and rich billionaires. The Republicans, besides creating an oligarchy have created a fuedal system dependent on never ending war. We are witnessing the declining days of Rome all over again with a delusional psychopath at the helm.
3
Following this will come “entitlement reform” - the destruction of Medicare and the dismantling of social security, both of which Republicans consider “welfare”, even though Americans pay into them.
27
@TheUglyTruth
It's that dirty Socialism! Dirty! Besides, the Republicans can privitize all of that, right? There's profit to be made!
Let's have more people who desperately depend on government funded healthcare and other programs vote for those who will take it away from them or not vote at all. The shame is that citizens who depend on various programs and look out for their own interests and that of others pay the price. When I see sound bites on tv of Trump rallies, I wonder how many of the howling mob would be lost without food stamps, Medicaid, home heating vouchers, and other life necessities. We all suffer because of them.
They seem to think these necessities come from Santa Claus, not a protective government.
23
@Elliot Podwill
They think they will still get it because they are deserving and those other people don't. After all, OTHER people are freeloaders. And probably some shade of brown.
4
I would have expected them to enjoy their new political capital for at least a bit before doing something so unpopular but, whatever.
17
Trump is the GOP. The GOP is Trump. There is no space between them. He makes their wildest, greediest fantasies come true. They want to punish the poor simply for being poor, while the rich get richer and our schools and roads crumble. They want to play golf while their fellow citizens who were not so lucky to be born rich struggle endlessly under the burden of debt.
26
- Donald Trump raised my taxes by taking away the SALT deduction (while he got a tax cut large enough to buy another private plane).
- He has made my country less safe by not denouncing white supremacy, racism and anti-semitism; in actuality he seems to embrace it for the chaos it delivers, which he wallows in.
- Now he wants to take away my Health Care.
The affordable care act works for me. I have affordable healthcare, I can see doctors and I will not lose everything I spent a lifetime building if I have a healthcare crisis. Donald Trump wants to take away that safety net and make everyone even more vulnerable, expose every American to the risk of loosing their house and everything else they spent a lifetime building because of a misfortune of a sickness.
Repealing the Affordable Care Act is not going to make America great again for anyone.
38
Why would any honest person in Congress vote to remove people’s insurance?
23
@Javaforce
Because they HONESTLY don't care about the people who elected them. They HONESTLY care about the people who are legally allowed to bribe them instead. And the American people overall are too fat and happy (while some how simultaneously being angry at each other) to care. Say what you want about corruption in places like Brazil, and there is certainly a lot to say; but at least they are willing to send corrupt politicians, even former presidents, to jail. W and Dick committed war crimes and crashed the world economy, yet they still walk free in the US. Sadly, I don't expect anything different for the likes of Trump or McConnell when they leave office after taking all they can from the United States.
6
This seems like big news.
Like something that could affect tens of millions of Americans in a huge way.
Yet it's not the lead headline.
20
Yep, this is a fantastic idea. Let's have a healthcare version of Brexit: Obexit. Scrap affordable healthcare with no replacement plan so that hundreds of thousands of people get sick and die. Do it all because of self-centered anger, the insecure need to destroy everything that you have not personally created, and an attachment to ideas with no correlation with reality. Keep up the good work, Trumpists! Obexit 2019!
28
Emboldened by the Barr letter. this is a victory lap and fulfillment of a campaign promise.
The president is at war.
The time has come to respond, or perish as a nation.
20
What better way to celebrate the Mueller report than by snatching healthcare away from 15 million people? Whatever goes on in this dark man's head cannot is not a pretty thing.
27
Ok, not a popular position but this is what those of you who voted for Trump wanted. You got it, now stop complaining and get on with your lives, unsupported, unsubsidized lives. This is what you want for others, now you too can have it.
14
Babies born with birth defects have pre-existing conditions from the moment of birth. I guess the party that touts itself as pro-life doesn’t care much once a fetus becomes a living, breathing child.
25
Democrats listen carefully. Forget Medicare for all. Offer a buy in as an ACA alternative if you must. Do not take away the combination system (ACA plus private insurance) that is growing and maturing. Medicare for all scares the pants off those that have employer based coverage. And won’t those employers who will then be off the hook elated (yeah, sure they’ll give you the money to pay for Medicare for all insurance, let me sell you a bridge). The beauty of the ACA is that it has grown and matured in a slow and steady way. It is a solid and evolving law. It even beat Trump. If you, Democrats, start arguing Medicare for all, Trump will win and then there will be nothing. Don’t be fools. Medicare for all is a pipe dream that will turn off all long time employees of most companies in the US that provide health coverage. And by the way, if you are still reading, how about focusing on life important issues like this rather than collusion, Barr, Mueller, etc. That you haven’t caught on to Trump’s games yet is quite disappointing.
10
@Rainy Night I have employer based coverage. I WANT THEM TO TAKE IT AWAY. I am not scared. I was upset, though, when Obama pushed through the ACA instead of the genuine health care reform that I thought he campaigned on.
I should care that the Mueller Report concluded that Trump didn’t actively collude with Russia and that he would therefore gain standing as he approaches his re-election campaign? WHY? LOOK at what that vile excuse for a man is trying to do! Take insurance away from sick people...the very worst of the worst, he really is beyond being beneath contempt.
12
If this law is invalidated then every member of President Trump's administration should lose their health insurance at the same time and pay for all of their medical care from their own funds, period. This is beyond ridiculous. This is being done solely because Mr. Trump hates President Obama. And taking out his hate on his fellow Americans who truly need this coverage? President Trump talks about people doing "evil things" in the context of pushing Mr. Mueller's investigation of him. Take a look in the mirror, Mr. President, who is acting in an evil manner now?
20
If they do manage to wipe out the ACA, you can just about guarantee that in 2020 a blue tidal wave will bring us Medicare for All.
19
@Jeanne Prine Agreed. I think the democrats should let the President win on this and people will wake up and go berserk.
1
My state did not expand Medicaid, despite warnings from the Alabama Hospital Association that smaller hospitals were on the brink of bankruptcy. Since then, we have lost 13 rural hospitals, including one in my town. This is a severe hit to the local economy and makes attracting new industries more difficult.
We suffer from a Fox News mentality that causes us to injure ourselves for the sake of propaganda that benefits only the wealthy. I think even severely brainwashed people will wake up when it becomes life and death for their families.
Who among the Democrats will explain this in a way the average working person can understand? Don’t be too quick to dismiss Bernie. He is crystal clear.
240
@Bamagirl
Sadly, there are people that will never get it. I have had so many ludicrous conversations over the past few years that it's very discouraging.
At my hairdresser's, one lady was complaining about "Obamacare", and how expensive the premiums are, and with giant deductibles. I told her that she can thank the great state of NC for not expanding Medicaid, and explained why. My hairdresser chimed in and said "I didn't get my policy through Obamacare, I got it through the ACA". Later on, same place, different conversation, I mentioned that my husband just hired a woman to do a labor intensive job that men traditionally do, so I made it clear to him that we would pay her equal to what we pay the men. One lady said "I really don't think that happens".
At the local place where I sometimes get breakfast, I heard two old men talking about how we should just build a wall right down the middle of the Rio Grande, that it would be harder to cross, people would drown first. They said all that as they were being served by a Latina waitress. When they finished that talk, they moved on to one man's inability to get his meds covered this year.
My daughter was in a public place recently where someone openly compared Michele Obama to a monkey. Seriously. People have become way too comfortable with their openly racist behavior since 2016. Things have gotten so ugly, it's hard to breathe.
It's like that pretty much everywhere here. How does a person get through to people like that?
29
@Bamagirl
people that vote against their economic interests are doing so because they are likely to be single issue voters.
1. Abortion
These people are riled up against abortion. Nothing else matters.
But wait, without hospitals and insurance coverage the family will get sicker faster and what could have been prevented will require extended hospital stays and surgeries.
So, who's paying for that?
Not the Republicans and MAGA hat wearers. No problem, Republicans don't care if poor people die. Like Ebeneezer Scrooge says: Let them die and decrease the surplus population.
16
@Bamagirl, I truly am sorry for what the former confederate state of Alabama has done to its peeps. But it is your peeps who gladly vote for the GOP- in every office-- local, state and worst of all-- federal. Alabamans are a true minority of Americans-- in numbers, in dollars and in values that most of us hold dear. Because of our 18th century governing document, your state has more power than it deserves, and much more power than states like CA. So as one of a handful of democrats (and I thank you for your good sense) in your sad state, please do not imagine that your opinion that Bernie is the best candidate matters at all. Let's let blue states assert their power to nominate a candidate we believe can win. All we ask of you is that you get like-minded folks to register to vote and get out to vote in November 2020.
11
A commenter ascribes noble motives to the insurance companies who've opposed repeal of the ACA:
"If the insurance companies ... largely oppose repeal of the ACA, please explain who will benefit ... "
I do think the government should insure its citizen's health. Spend less on forever wars, and divert money to health insurance.
However, I suspect the motives of private insurance companies here. The ACA has been great for them so far. After all, if an individual can't afford high health insurance premiums, the federal government sure can. It's another deep pocket.
8
The Texas judge stated that the individual mandate is unconstitutional, but that was already decided by the Supreme Court which held that it was not. Isn’t this judicial activism?
18
@Isle Roberts decision was predicated on the fact that there was a tax penalty for failing to comply, so it fell under the taxing authority of the Congress. Congress has since repealed that element, so the argument is that the very feature which made it constitutional before is now missing.
I think the argument should still fail (for other reasons, having to do with severability), but it's too simple to say 'but SCOTUS already ruled.'
6
@Warbler Ridiculous twisting of words. Congress passed the ACA, president Obama was re-elected and Congress did not repeal the law. What the heck is wrong with the Republicans? The whole party is totally out of control and a danger to democracy.
2
I thought ex post facto was prohibited, but I am an engineer, not a lawyer.
As a candidate, Trump promised affordable health care for ALL Americans. I guess that means that the poor and the sick don’t qualify as real Americans. That’s consistent with the Republican belief that they were elected to represent corporations and the rich. Of course, the irony is that if Trump has his way, much of his base will be without healthcare. Can’t say I’m all that sorry for them. Votes have consequences.
77
I bet Trump thinks that to be poor and sick is to be weak. Trump doesn’t like the weak. Maybe he’ll have us turn ourselves in at the glue factory so we won’t be a pull on society. The Man in the High Castle here we come.
8
@Avatar
Trump will make health insurance available to poor whites but not blacks. Bet on it.
1
Good for America not for Trump. This will be the end of his administration in 2020 when his supporters lose their healthcare coverage and will no longer be covered for pre-existing conditions.
38
@Susan
Problem is, they probably won’t be able to tell.
And where is that GOP health care plan we’ve been hearing about for 10 years?
116
It ran off with the Infrastructure Bill, and a ton of money they’d stole from Interior. Word is they’re living happily in Guadalajara.
6
@Ziggy
The GOP health care plan is simple, its take care of your self. It's pure capitalism. Every man for himself.
4
The procedure Melania Trump had done last year (if reports are correct) was the same one I had done that very same month.
Mine was outpatient and I was sent home heavily sedated. Melania was in the hospital for a week. I am sure Taxpayers footed the bill.
Trump is so bent on destroying anything created by Obama that even when he or his family has benefitted, he remains clueless. And of course, it doesn’t escape me that certainly abolishing the AFCA will benefit big Pharma, Insurance and Hospital corporations who are all probably heavy Trump donors. It’s all about the Benjamins for Trump.
31
@DISABLED Actually abolishing the ACA would have the opposite effect. By taking away subsidies for health insurance premiums, and Medicaid for those unable to get subsidized payments, would hit big Insurance hard. All those people who are paying a reasonable amount for a $1,500 or more health insurance policy because of ACA subsidies will have to drop it immediately. Those on Medicaid will no longer visit the doctors and in both cases, individuals will no longer be purchasing drugs from Big Pharma. Of course, this is detrimental to health of those individuals, but it is also a big financial hit for insurance companies and big Pharma.
1
I was one of thousands who supported President Obama's dream and hope to create a law which would bring decent health care to all citizens. I, as an RN, mom, wife, and friend, cried tears of joy when the ACA became law. Finally, finally, the wealthiest nation in the world has caught up with our allies in Europe, Japan, and elsewhere.
Mr. Trump, the man who is demanding apologies from those who dared to worry over an adversary interfering in our privileged elections, the man who puts people fleeing violence in cages, who befriends foreign thugs, is once again betraying his oath to protect and care for his own. I call on my American neighbors, Republicans and Democrats, to come together and insist that no one has the right to take away our and our children's health, welfare, and security.
111
I have no doubt that the American people will gladly give up their healthcare and savings for the glory or MAGA. Time and again we see how we're happy to harm one another to help the rich and harm the innocent. We incarcerate one another endlessly for nonviolent crimes, distribute guns to any lunatic that wants to slaughter and allow any corporation the right to pollute or sell fatal products for profit. This just fits right in with the rest of our policies. And, based on how we treat ourselves, you can probably imagine how we treat foreign countries. We've become the very evil we once pretended to oppose in the world.
72
@CR Hare
MAGA hats made in China, trademarked in 2012. Yay for us!
The Republicans are indeed "in an awkward position," and the Democrats, predictably, are doing all they can to help their Republican friends get out of it by introducing a legislative compromise (which has no chance of passing anyway, thanks to Mitch McConnell). Instead they should hold off on their healthcare bill until this idiotic lawsuit makes its way through the courts. Then, if the Affordable Care Act is struck down as a result, they should refuse to work with the Republicans on a substitute. The Republicans alone are responsible for this mess: let them suffer the consequences, good and hard.
23
@Fred
Unfortunately, your solution puts millions of our fellow citizen's lives at risk. Regardless of their political affiliation, no one should be without adequate health care. Because Congress has a golden insurance policy, the Republicans won't suffer the consequences of their actions, other people will. I could support the idea that Congress has the same insurance that the rest of us can afford instead of platinum coverage paid by us.
81
@ExPatMX
I thought Congress has the same insurance as the rest of us. Last I checked my representative purchased her insurance through FEHB.
I have cancer. I am on Medicaid. This is not funny, GOP, this is my life.
68
I hope the whole thing is killed. Americans need to feel the pain of their political decisions.
12
@William Mansfield,
well, let's hope at least the half of them that continually make wrong decisions.
1
@William Mansfield
My Trump voting friends don't get it. They have multiple preexisting conditions and a few of their kids do too. None of them can afford the $200 per doctor office visit or the specialty drugs they must take. They don't have $100K jobs with fantastic benefits.
So if the ACA goes down in flames, and they have to crowd source, beg or fill out 20 page documents for charity care so be it.
Trump doesn't care AT ALL about the MAGA poor bad cattle. I guess it takes not being able to afford pediatric mobility devices and other services before they wake up.
10
Trump promised every person guaranteed cheaper and better health care. He lied. Yawn.
18
@Joe B.
Sad, but true. And everyone has become numb to it. Terrifying.
2
All of this stuff about The Donald’s Russian handling is indeed dangerous to the country, but the Republican and Trumpian obsession with destroying health care for millions of their own constituents is truly criminal and out in plain sight. Democrats, sane Republicans (if any are left) and all Americans should pound this hateful idea back into the swamp it arose from. Being from Texas, I am truly ashamed that this lawsuit arose here, but I have come to expect nothing less from our stellar state government.
18
The oligarchs (and the Russians) are using their puppet Trump to enrich the already extremely wealthy, destroy our environment, and generally cause chaos in the United States of America, and they are succeeding. What a nightmare!
26
Remember when "Keep your government hands off my Medicare" was a big joke? Well, heck, give 'em time. They're working on it!
12
This is the latest episode of “I could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and my people would still back me.” So now he wants to look his rallyers in the eye and brag to them that he is taking away their health care...and hear them cheer...presumably because they have learned to hate Obama more than they like their kids’ lives.
32
The march of the morally bankrupt Republican Party continues lead by the most corrupt and vulgar President of my lifetime.
Vote my friends.
36
@Steven
Certainly not just your lifetime. Trump is clearly the most corrupt and vulgar president in the history of the nation.
1
Don't forget a Texas judge also struck down the Indian Child Welfare Act. They are outliers.
https://www.texastribune.org/2018/10/05/federal-judge-texas-strikes-down-indian-child-welfare-act/
4
It's funny how this is Trump's #1 issue right after the end of the Mueller investigation. I am wondering that now that he knows he isn't going to be indicted for anything, maybe he decided he doesn't want to get reelected. The only reason he wanted to get reelected was to run out the clock on the statute of limitations which only lasts for 5 years. He knows that health insurance is the #1 issue for most people in this country so by threatening to take it away, his poll numbers will go down and no one will vote for him. Why else would he be doing this. He could be talking about infrastructure which would be a bipartisan issue.
14
@CB
The wall, repeat ACA: his signature campaign promises. And he won. If he delivers he thinks he will win again.
@CB
It could be argued that he has been trying to not get elected since early 2016. Look at his attacks on John McCain. Completely against his interests, and with no upside.
2
@JL With the election only 18 months away very little of his wall will be built. Hopefully, the Dem POTUS's first act will be to cancel the idiotic edifice.
Health care was the one overriding issue that caused the blue wave in the 2018 mid-terms. The GOP's singular focus on eliminating health insurance for millions of Americans while lining the pockets of the rich MUST be the path to removing them from power next year.
30
@GB
Please add to that another Supreme Court Justice.
1
This perfectly illustrates why we must vote out Mr. Trump and his party. Forget the Russians and the investigation. Mr. Trump's childishness--his crusade to undermine every Obama accomplishment, his nursing of grudges against former and even dead competitors--and the damage that he and the GOP are bent upon inflicting on the nation and the world--provide more than enough reason to vote 'em out. No matter who the Dems nominate.
With much sadness for my country and the world, Harriet in San Francisco
24
Wouldn't it be great if Republicans actually, for once, got everything they wanted and the Dems didn't save them from themselves?
19
Regardless of the special counsel’s report, this is one of the main issues for 2020.
The cruelty of this intention is so inhumane I can’t think of a word to describe it.
Witness the revolt of museums against the sackler family donations discussed in the Times and that should be a harbinger of what the promoters of this plan should face when they stand for re-election.
It is about the money - and some have found the moral strength to make a stand and say it’s more about what is right.
14
Trump and the Republicans campaigned on a platform of "Repeal and Replace Obamacare" but without any specifics on what replacement means. They still don't have a plan to replace Obamacare, but the Trump administration continues to work towards repeal.
It is a losing issue fed by Trump's hate of anything associated with Obama. Trump would probably accept an identical plan called Trumpcare.
If the Republicans really cared about providing good healthcare for the American people, they would work with Democrats to amend and improve the ACA.
12
Many Republican voters will lose coverage if this were to happen. It's a irresponsible move in addition to being politically harmful to Republicans and Trump in my view.
6
Please, please, please wipe out Obamacare. Too bad for the thousands who will die, but the end result will be to hand the Dems the biggest political gift Trump could give them, other than the coming recession on his watch, of course. Bush I had his. Bush II had his. Now that we have another Republican president, we'll obviously have to have another. Recessions follow Republican presidential wins as the night the day. Anyway, please justices, help Trump destroy himself ASAP.
18
@Fred White
Sounds like a great idea, but unfortunately I think most Americans would just passively accept the new normal. Especially since so many have already been brainwashed to hate Obamacare or many other things that might actually be in their interest.
1
This lawsuit is simply the continuation of Donald Trump’s birther campaign, begun a year after the Affordable Care Act came into being.
Judge O’Connor’s ruling, shoved forward by Republican governors and allied interests, is just a white man’a attack upon a black president’s law. Nothing more.
People get sick—mostly unexpectedly. What the Republicans and Trump don’t care to understand is the human component in illness: it strikes everyone at some point. He and they (and their dependents) benefit handsomely from taxpayer-funded health care—for the rest of their lives. They have no compunction about attacking socialized medicine, all the while receiving every benefit that other people’s money affords them.
Those who vote Republican ought to consider what no public healthcare law will mean for their children. Or is this a bridge too far?
18
Now the we are part of the Russian Empire, I’m sure whatever health care model works for them will work for us.
The Russians, Trump, the GOP. All together. Finally. In one Party. The Communist/GOP Party.
Say goodbye to the Affordable Health Care Act. After all, our Senators have the Politburo version, something ordinary Russians do not get, like us.
Say goodbye to everything American. Say goodbye to health care, democracy, freedom, elections, democratic process, free speech, everything.
Folks you are part of Russia now. Get use to it. Things are going to be different.
13
How about a Daily podcast episode expanding on this story? This seems much more necessary for informing the public about the things this administration is doing to destroy our society.
9
Why are Republicans so dead set against health insurance for Americans? I wish someone would explain it to me. Are they really so heartless that they purposely would repeal the ACA and leave all those millions without insurance? What is the point of that? What does it win them? How does it help the Republican Party to take away health insurance? I just don't get it. I understand that Trump doesn't like the ACA because Obama started it, but what about all the people who depend on it, many of them Republicans? Why punish them? What is at the bottom of Republican aversion to health insurance?
35
I have the same question.
After 42 years in healthcare I have seen firsthand the pain and suffering that comes with inadequate or no health insurance. Why, why, why?
10
He doesn't give a rip about the Affordable Care Act. Who and why is this truck being driven? I want to know. We are going to let millions of people to go uncovered? Really?
9
Everyone who thinks this is a gift to the Democrats is dead wrong. Republican/Trump voters only care about three things:
Making abortion illegal
Making sure Jesus is in schools
Keeping their guns
And they're willing to sacrifice anything, including their health and their democracy, to these three things.
27
Go ahead, Trump, overturn the law. We are still waiting for the "something fabulous" plan that will cost us nothing! Maybe once Obamacare is no longer available, the many Trump supporters who have it will realize it was the ACA. Surprise!
14
Sounds like Brexit all over again. How about coming up with a replacement before crashing the current health care system?
9
Every day there is something to feel outraged about, to the point of outrage fatigue. But, it is up to us to gather our energy once again to fight for our health and human dignity under this foul president and the destructive Republicans. We have to get very loud again, get angry and hit the phones and the streets to stop this disgrace! It is up to all of us to stand up and say no!
11
The reason is only about one thing: DJT personal revenge against the late Sen. McCain, who went against the administration and cast the final vote against the last repeal attempt.
15
So this is “We will get great healthcare for our people”??
Nothing at all proposed in its place?
And also lots of talk of cutting Medicare??
His supporters are truly fools. To have taken his bait, hook, line and sinker.
11
Take away our ability to get health insurance! A sure fire winning issue for Trump in 2020.
10
Republicans have been telling voters that they were serious about protecting people with preexisting conditions, and that they had a better health care plan. They lied about both - actually they want to put everything back the way it was. Voters need to wake up to these lies or it might literally kill or bankrupt them.
11
The vicious, sadistic cruelty of this man has no boundaries. If he wins a second term, or even before since the release of pieces of the Mueller report has put DT in an extremely aggressive mode, he will feel vindicated and will pursue dictatorial power. In all my experience of Presidents since Eisenhower, I've never seen such an evil, souless, and psychopathic individual harboring in the Oval Office.
29
Dear Trump Fans :
When you lose your Insurance, be sure and thank your Uncle Donald, and his Collaborators. Perhaps HE will give you a Loan, to save your Life, or that of your Child.
Sad.
20
DNC and all Democrats: a pillar of the 2020 campaign should be preserving the ACA as it was intended, and not Medicare for all.
This is an issue that crosses party divides, and affects millions of people. The overturning of the ACA would be a cruelty to countless Americans who rely on it or could potentially benefit from it. Selling the concept of protecting Americans would be a strong positive message for the American people. It would also help to preserve the legacy of a popular and compassionate president who worked hard to protect those who need it.
116
@Philz Medicare for All is what would protect Americans, not this hodgepodge gift to Big Insurance that we're stuck with.
5
@Lifelong New Yorker I completely agree with you, but going into the 2020 election I think the Medicare for all issue would work against us and give Trump and the GOP easy "socialist" talking points. If Democrats can gain the majority in both houses and the presidency we'll have plenty of opportunity to promote Medicare for all.
4
@Lifelong New Yorker
You do realize it won't be free? Please work to fix what we have with so great an effort passed, and include the original options, not the ones the Republicans have snipped away. Also -- originally there were measures included to make sure that dollars went to healthcare, rather than the administrators who get the lion-share -- in profits.
Please. Purity test help us lose, all of us.
4
The Affordable Care Act, when passed, was a monumental, if flawed, step towards universal health coverage in the US. The lack of a public option, and the Supreme Court’s unconsciously bad decision to allow states to opt out of Medicaid expansion, have obviously kneecapped progress toward universal coverage. At this point, I see no point continuing on with the ACA in it’s enviscerated form as it’s reliance on the private insurance model is not achieving progress towards universal coverage and it never will. Let the Republicans and their corrupt judges invalidate it and live with the aftermath. Once the medical industrial complex starts to loose money, and the public backlash becomes unsustainable, newly elected Democrats can build an equitable and affordable health care system quickly. Yes, there will be disruption and people will be able to afford health services, at least in the short run. Linking each and every horror story to Republican House and Senare candidates votes is an essential part of this strategy.
21
The Democrats need to act in the House supported by all Presidential candidates.
They should propose the following legislation
The “ Anti Gouging “ act that enforces prescription drug prices at a basket of industrialized nations levels.
This will reduce costs for all Americans and end the fact that Americans today subsidize the rest of the World.
Create a public option utilizing the Medicare infrastructure and building in subsidies for low income individuals.
This effectively makes Medicare AVAiLABLE for all and ensures those who have employer insurance can keep it.
Protect preexisting conditions as an imperative , protect Obamacare to the extent they can.
Last but not least , Congress and politicians in general are not capable of coming up with a viable health care system that substantially lowers cost and provides total availability.
A panel of experts should be convened to work on a pathway to Universal Health Care using the German model as a benchmark.
Do this now Speaker Pelosi, Put it on The a Senate leaders desk and watch him prevaricate .
This will ensure the House , Senate and Presidency will all be in Democrats hands come January 2021
10
I have endured the last two and a half years with an increasingly heavy heart--- and now I am reading the news with tears in my eyes.
78
Add to this, Utah and Idaho voters passed referendums to expand Medicaid in their states and and now their GOP legislatures are trying to find ways to rollback or override the will of the majority of their voters. The will of the people is becoming more irrelevant by the day.
130
@L Blair As long as people continue to vote for Republicans who only support policies that benefit the wealthy, this situation will continue. The answer is to NEVER vote for a Republican.
30
Ok folks, pre-existing conditions aren't just for people with heart conditions or diabetes. Any claim you make, you have a pre-existing condition after that.
I fractured a vertebrae in an accident a six months before Obamacare came into effect. In the emergency room, they poked at my stomach and it hurt (I hurt *everywhere*). Insurance company refused to pay for some of the care saying I had a pre-existing condition with "abdominal tenderness" (I hurt head to toe). I had been with the company for eight years and if I had actually had an issue before, it would have been while I was covered with them, not something I came into it having.
I then moved to another state, insurance company would grandfather me in. They cancelled my current plan before moving into the new one. They then rejected my transfer and "couldn't" (read "wouldn't") reinstate my original plan, so I'm stuck without coverage. No other insurance company would touch me since I now had multiple pre-existing conditions that I didn't have a few months ago. Oh, they'd take my money, as much as anyone else paid, but wouldn't cover my back or anything related to my back. "My knee hurts." "Well, that's because your back is off." "My shoulder isn't feeling well." "That's connected to your back isn't it?" Get the picture? Oh, and I also had "abdominal tenderness" to add to the mix. Pre-existing conditions can affect *everyone*.
Luckily it only a few more months until obamacare started.
145
Thank you, Mr. Trump, you just gave us the ball to run all the way to 2020. If The Dems can't run with this it is time for a third party. Get all those Republicans from 2018 who swore they were going to protect the provisions of The ACA and hammer them every day with their own words. Republican Mueller wasn't The White Knight to save us from Trump. The bright light is that Trump can't save himself from Trump.
85
A pattern seems to be emerging with the repealers on one side and the medicare for all people on the other. Nancy Pelosi will recommend tweaking the affordable care act, and that is probably going to save it.
But that just extends the system of unconscionable profits by insurance, pharmaceuticals and hospitals. The ACA was a compromise to begin with between the profiteers and those of us who wanted a government funded system like most other democracies .
26
I'm always shocked when politicians that have first-rate health coverage themselves are so eager to deny their own constituients the right to affordable health care. Nothing will change as long as profit is part of the equation. Perhaps a small percentage of the trillions that America spends on the military could be used for universal health care.
91
@Ron Brown yes and the most galling part Is that we the taxpayers pay for their healthcare and health insurance.
18
Thanks Pres. Trump for handing a big, beautiful issue to the Democrats in 2020. The Mueller report will be long forgotten in 2020, but your position to deprive health care insurance to your citizens will not.
142
@Joe Smith
Health Care is a complex issue. Democrats will only win if it is presented so Americans understand it.
3
@Tom It will not have to be explained to the millions who lose coverage. All that will be necessary is for the Democrats to publicize that it was Trump and Republicans who took it away.
5
@Tom
They do understand it. This is why they generally (now) oppose efforts to dismantle the ACA.
Mueller took away the gun that the Democrats were holding on trump (Russian collusion), and Trump has taken a different one back out of the drawer (ACA repeal) and put it to his own head.
3
To paraphrase only 2 of the many excellent comments here, "Sheesh... America deserves better". The only way to do better it is to vote overwhelmingly for a change in direction.
46
In the best of all political worlds for the Democrats, the Republican legal attack on the ACA finally succeeds in taking the act down completely about six months before the upcoming presidential election in 2020. Remember the blow back against Republican legislators when Congress was trying to repeal the whole thing in 2017? Representatives were afraid to even show up at town meetings, even in Red State districts.
Of course, this wouldn't be so great for the 11 million who would lose their health coverage, but that could be fixed in January, 2021.
22
I sure am glad that HIPPA still exists and that if the PPACA is completely dismantled then people with pre-existing conditions will still be protected.
1
@Tom Graham Who says that they won't try to change that too.
2
If the insurance companies, as you write, largely oppose repeal of the ACA, please explain who will benefit from discarding the law.
18
@fred That is a question for the Trump administration to answer, not for the author of the piece to project. The answer, of course, is that businesses will benefit, individuals will suffer.
5
We knew that this was going to happen because the Republican Party is full of serial liars now who have figured out that no one is actually going to hold them accountable.
Let republicans focus on investigating the investigations. That’s what they are very good at selling. Democrats need to get to work on health care, education, infrastructure and our environment. This is what your base wants.
79
From time to time each side has to remind us what they find insupportable in the other, so they lazily cast about for a cause, with the republicans that cause seems to be limiting health care to people. The sad part is their base of support lets them get away with it. If people in Ohio and Indiana the national redoubt of the republican party would raise a rankle about this the republicans in congress would cut it out immediately. Lets hope this happens, people get sick in Indiana and Ohio like they get sick anywhere else.
4
If Trump and the GOP succeed in repealing the ACA, with the majority of it's beneficiary's Trump's "uneducated" base, will they still brush it off as "fake news" when they lose their healthcare coverage?
37
The ACA benefits everyone, not just Trump supporters. If you’ve been alive on this planet a certain number of years then it’s a good bet you have pre-existing conditions. And there are millions of low income people who need Medicaid and healthcare subsidies who would never vote for Trump.
During the 2016 campaign Trump promised better and cheaper healthcare that would cover everyone. Another lie? The republican war on the working class continues.
39
@Don Francis
Yes, "Promises Kept!"
Vote them out 2020
4
As a practical matter, Judge O'Connor's ruling makes no sense and should be overturned. Just because Republicans zeroed out the tax doesn't mean the tax doesn't exist. For example, the highways where I live have an HOV lane. When there is more than one passenger in the car, the penalty for using the HOV lane is zero. However, I'm still driving in a toll lane.
O'Connor's ruling makes court decisions completely contingent on who controls Congress. A position that clearly undermines the judiciary as an independent branch of government. Democrats can simply raise the tax to one penny the next time they control Congress and Judge O'Connor's ruling is invalidated. Obamacare is back.
That said, I can't think of a better gift to Democrats. They're engaged in a fight with Barr over the Mueller report while Republicans take a victory lap at half-time. Trump comes along and turns the subject towards the absolute worst possible issue for Republicans. The GOP is not going to win the health care debate. Period.
Thanks Trump.
23
Still waiting for the Republican plan to cover preexisting conditions.
66
Let me be the first to congratulate the MAGAs when, at long last, they get what they voted for. It’s a great win for them when the affordable care act gets repealed and we can finally ditch that pesky mandate to cover pre-existing conditions. After all, pretty much no one has a pre-existing condition anyway so it was a totally fake mandate, right.
While I'm sure (not) that insurance companies will be guided by principles of altruism, there is a bright side. When we have to chose between buying life-saving medication or food, we can always eat our bullets.
128
What is it about Trump and his non-stop efforts to rip health care off the backs of low and middle income Americans?
What is with that guy?
How does a country stop Trump and his base's authoritarian ways?
By pointedly, directly arguing issues, going door to door if necessary.
Issues related to:
the removal of support for health care insurance for everyone,
the tax cuts for the rich at the sake of adding trillions of debt on the backs of future generations,
the championing of gun manufacturers over public safety,
the deregulation of worker health and safety and environmental health protections,
the billions of our hard-earned dollars spent on a border wall that has not been shown to provide any increased security of our borders,
the trade sanctions that hurt American companies and American consumers more than any 'benefits' derived from such sanctions,
the disrespect and denigration of immigrants or for that matter any people of color or of 'different' religions,
the trillion dollar cuts to medicare,
the disparagement of our allies and the glorification of dictators, and
the continuous sale of access to America's public officials, offices, and systems which diminishes America's prestige in order to add money to Trump's bank accounts.
And the final way to deal with Trump and his authoritarian ways is to...
Vote Trump Out on November 3, 2020.
169
@Ed
Not mention destroying the expertize of the Federal bureaucracy.
2
Look for more outrageous ideas like this one to come from the Trump administration. As someone else mentioned here, they will attack Social Security and Medicare next, any programs that actually help people.
64
I’m not saying, “eat the rich,” but I am cleaning my bib.
31
The thought is appealing, but be more blunt. It is time for a revolution; time for a constitutional convention to correct outdated flaws to our governance. Some kind of revolution will happen; climate change alone will see to that. By consciously acting now we have some chance to control events, but to wait for spontaneous revolution is to invite chaos. One aid to acceptance of such a convention and its subsequent revolution would be full participation of the citizens, changes made by the voters and not the wallets.
8
Once people realize that the present plutokakistocracy only governs in its interest, they may actually see how elected officials no longer represent their constituents but rather the elite whose money keeps them in office. And then the people may even remember a slogan from the first American Revolution, "No taxation without representation." We the people fund the government, yet even our most basic interests, like healthcare, go unheard and unheeded. It is indeed time for a second American Revolution.
I agree this is a gift to the Dems unless Trump has a plan to replace ACA and "make it better". That is what he sold to rural voters who have benefited so mightily from it. However, if he has no plan in place to replace it, he will, in fact, punch a big part of his base in the nose. Trump was elected because Scalia died and they held his seat open. His base was not big enough to carry him over the line. But without that base the Republicans will go down in flames in 2020. Who's advising him anyhow?
11
What is with these people? Why do they want to deny or abolish health care to millions of people who need it most? If the rich can afford the best health care in the world, why do they want to take away government-assisted health care from those who can't afford it? I understand Trump, a vindictive and venal charlatan who never forgets a slight and wants to destroy Obama's legacy because of the humiliation he suffered at a White House correspondents' dinner so long ago. But what about the rest of the GOP? Sure they voted to "repeal and replace" Obamacare, but McCain had the honor to recognize that there was nothing to replace it with did his now famous thumbs down. Is that what Trump is all about and the GOP is ready to follow him over a cliff? Because if it is, taking health care away from millions is not a road to victory in 2020.
140
@Christy
Excellent post. And on point.
And what is it with the Republican base, a large portion of which is supported through the Affordable Care Act which Trump is doing everything he can to dismantle and destroy? Why do they not open their eyes and see what is happening to their health care?
Sheesh.....
47
Money money money. That's why. Billionaires stealing from taxpayers. That's why.
4
What a shock. This shows, in plain sight, how much contempt the Republicans and their leader, DJT, have for Americans. How they can do this with a straight face just shows how morally bankrupt they've become. They have absolutely no plan for replacing the coverage that they so enthusiastically want to destroy. Is the ACA perfect? No, but it did enable millions more Americans to have coverage where there was none before. The normal course of action would be to amend the law to improve it, as has been done with Medicare and Social Security. But in Republican eyes the law has a fatal flaw that can only be rectified by repeal - it was signed into law by a black man, Obama. They all need to be voted out of office. America deserves better.
71
@Michael Gilbert
Thank you for your post. Every person deserves better, much better than we will ever get from the GOP gang. It gives me hope I will not be as alone as I feared when we move to beautiful Charleston in next few months. I am very concerned about the state’s embrace of Trump, McConnell. I will gladly help vote Lindsay Graham and the GOP out!
1
The rage against the others continues by the cynical and cruel GOP. Limiting healthcare, ruining the environment, undermining education and on and on, the right won't allow America to be a place of equality and a people that speaks and demonstrates concrete actions of respect for all. Trump IS the perfect vilian for this grand assault on America in their dystopian attack on nations citizens and society - lead by the wealthy oligarchs and christain "right".
46
No surprise. If it were called TrumpCare, the president would be doing everything possible to defend it in court. Since it called ObamaCare, it has to go. Does he have a replacement? No. Did he ever have a replacement? No, again.
Correction. Yes, he does have a replacement with the money saved. He can build the TrumpWall.
30
Trump is the death of democracy president. And, he seems to be intent on acting this out directly. Putin is laughing, and soon Americans will be dying if Trump gets his wish.
72
This is the issue for 2020, not the Mueller Report (or, I should say, AG Barr's summary of the Mueller report). Every Democrat should be out there shouting from the hilltops that Republicans, again, are talking out of both sides of their mouths when it comes to health care. Show them what effective "fear" politics really looks like. The difference is that Dems have a legitimate, evidence-based argument - the kind that wins elections, in other words.
96
The Trump administration and Bill Barr have no problem flipping the long-standing policy that the Department of Justice defends statutes duly enacted. Partisan opinion prevails over Constitutional order in this topsy-turvy time.
23
This is terrific! Throwing millions of people off the insurance rolls is a surefire winner in 2020! Repeal and...repeal. Has a nice ring to it, dontcha think?
25
Medicare and Social Security are next on their hit list.
81
If Trump succeeds, people will, in fact, be dying in the streets. In large numbers.
38
This is a Gift from the Republicans to the Dems. Let's hope Trump wins this one. Come 2020, Congress will be filled with Democrats who will create a universal healthcare program, perhaps Medicare for All and there will be no more Republican party.
48
Just as the democrats seem to have a suicide pact about immigration the republicans do them one better by doing the same thing with health care. Really, who elected these people? Each is doing their best to get the other side elected.
17
This effort to destroy the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is Mitch McConnell's baby. He and well funded ultra-conservatives (including the Kochs) backed and paid for the NFIB in its original attack on ACA with Florida and other Republican led states.
This is their ideological battle to kill our efforts to organize as a community of concerned citizens, as self-governed people, to use the resources of our country to help one another.
Their ideological stance is that the only purpose of government is for the little people to fund the military to protect the welfare of America's oligarchs' wealth.
Their cynicism is complete in this continued display to manipulate the system to their ends.
They are fearful that we will expect them to pay taxes to help fund the welfare of the citizens. They refuse to acknowledge that it is only because of our efforts that their wealth even exists. We raise the children (without pay), we pay to educate our children, the future workers and consumers. We work hard and they skim the profits off our sweat leaving us crumbs to try to eke out a living.
The corporations who received the Trump/McConnell tax breaks and drove our country's deficit to its highest level ever, want to escape all responsibility for reinvesting in the American people.
We have barely a thread of democracy left. The moneyed forces are working, hidden behind the scenes, financing these court efforts to further marginalize our highest goals of caring for one another.
395
@Lee Profoundly well said-- a spot on commentary on our nation.
@NYT
THIS is what I click "NYT Picks" for.
32
@Lee see jane mayer's book, dark money.
12
@Lee With Trump nominating Barr, Congress confirming his nomination and now to top it off Barr clearing Trump will any wrong doing, the hanging thread of Semocracy will most likely break. With Trump now to wheel and deal like he wants to the US will became a Banana Republic with a dictator Trump at the helmet. For the US a bleak 2 years and possibly a bleak future lies ahead.
7
Trump will do everything in his power to make America a second rate country. Health insurance and care is one thing that we can do, and we must. Everyone needs it.
55
Melania Trump supposedly had an outpatient procedure last year. But - she stayed in Walter Reed for a week! Do you think the payment for this came out of Trump’s pocket? No, it came from the pockets of us taxpayers. This is just one example of Donald Trump having absolutely no clue, nor care for the sick in this country or what they do for healthcare treatment.
I worked as an RN for many years, in many roles. But as a Case Manager, both for insurance and in hospitals, I get what healthcare insurance can mean for people. I know what it is for people to get sick and end up needing healthcare treatment through no fault of their own. I know what it is for people, such as in the recession, to lose their jobs through no fault of their own and have no means of healthcare insurance.
There is a level of cruelty in this world, I believe, but to absolutely desire that millions of people go without means to receive healthcare treatment, to me, having worked in the trenches of medical protection, in the midst of human suffering, both by adults and little babies, is something I simply find profoundly the most cruel of all.
Americans don’t give a rip who gave them the Affordable Care Act, that it was Barack Obama, in his tenure, that on March 23, 2010, he signed this most important piece of legislation. But someone with a lot of power does care - Donald Trump. He has despised Obama forever, but to take it out on the sick, needy, weary and suffering is hateful and so cruel.
607
@MIMA
Just goes to show that Trump (and Republicans generally) love America, but just can't stand most Americans.
44
@MIMA. In whom there is no sympathy for living beings; know him as an outcast.....the Buddha ( Sutta Nipata)
37
@MIMA
Always keep front & center that it isn't just Trump trying to destroy this law. The Republicans have been totally on board with the ACA's destruction since it was signed into law.
Vote out Congressional Republicans and let's get our country back to working again.
85
The Democrats need to let the NY prosecutors go after Trump. They need to focus on real issues and ACA is one of them - a major one. If you for profit you have Trump in your pocket. The roll back of health and safety standards by the EPA only decreases Americans life expectancy. The lack of oversight on airplane safety led to an unsafe aircraft in the skies. And China just placed a huge order for the Airbus. We’re rapidly sliding down the ladders
43
Terrifying. It’s hard to make it through adulthood without acquiring some kind of pre-existing condition. It’s even more terrifying when the far left in this country seems to be “Medicare for All or bust” (glad the House Democrats are pursuing a more viable approach) and complaining that Democratic presidential contenders aren’t “exciting” enough. I’m not looking for excited. I’m looking for basic health coverage so I can keep my chronic health issues in check and continue to be a contributing member of society and not go bankrupt trying to stay functional and healthy.
79
@AB "It’s even more terrifying when the far left in this country seems to be “Medicare for All or bust” "
You seem to be well covered but under ACA there are millions who have NO healthcare insurance and there are many who can't afford their deductibles or co-pays.
I'm sure that all of 'these people' are also looking for basic health coverage so that they can keep chronic health issues in check. Medicare for All lets the US join the other industrialized countries of the world. US citizens lifespan has decreased and one reason is lack of decent healthcare.
The new average life expectancy for Americans is 78.7 years, which puts the U.S. behind other developed nations and 1.5 years lower than the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average life expectancy of 80.3. The OECD is a group of developed countries that includes Canada, Germany, Mexico, France, Japan, and the U.K.
4
The democrats should make this the number one issue in the 2020 elections, universal, affordable, quality health care like almost all of our peer countries have.
It is a winning issue, most of the country including a good deal of republicans want it since some of the red states embrace ACA.
Don't obsess about identity, social engineering, fringe projects that are either wrong or even if right America is not ready for.
518
What exact is fringe, Paul? Respectfully, just because you might be a white straight cis male - others’ self
Identity and their protections don’t matter?
Democrats should be able to message two issues at one time.
30
@Paul
Exactly correct. Access to healthcare is of paramount importance to every person, and it's long past time we joined the rest of the civilized world and ensured some basic level of health coverage to everybody.
And to do this Democrats have to get elected which, as you point out, depends on them not alienating large swaths of people with too much focus on the social issues you mention. Like it or not, they will cost votes in the crucial places where Republicans have been winning regularly. Take action to support those issues once you're in office, but you've got to get elected first.
42
@Paul universal, affordable, quality healthcare does not exist in our peer countries and is an oxymoron. What you get is universal, affordable care that is spotty in quality
2
What a heartless act. Were there an alternative waiting in the wings it might be, might be considered conscionable, but as any fool knows this administration has no plan. To which I say, who needs a Mueller report?
97
Trump in my opinion just gave The Dems a gift after the Mueller Report gave Trump a great victory. Lets put the Russian Soap Opera on the backburner and run with this. Parents with children under 26 will have to start covering their medical care if Obamacare is killed. Will Trump's base still love him if they know what the ramifications are of an Obamacare kill?
157
Correction: The Mueller report is not out for anyone to see, so it can't give a victory to anyone at this point. The only thing that has happened is a recent Trump appointee, Barr, sent a memo to Congress.
9
The more Trump takes away things (health care, upward mobility) from his base, the more ardently they support him. This confirms both the Cult of Trump (anything is forgivable), and the supreme success of the fear-mongering Fox News Network. As long as Fox keeps its viewers agitated and angry, they don't notice they're poor.
293
@Will Yup. Distract the base with the culture war puppet and pick their pockets with the other hand.
28
Exactly - and if one of those voters read this comment, s/he would be outraged, not at Trump and the Republicans, but at you, the person making the comment. Orwellian.
35
@Will
But at the same time, the more he tries to take away things, the more everyone else loathes him.
Note that the lowest approval ratings of his presidency (around 36-37%) were in the summer of 2017 when he tried to repeal the ACA. If he pushes hard on this again, it will only backfire on him politically.
6
We will get the Muller report in time. But in the meantime Trump wants to take away the little healthcare safety we have, destroy the environment, give gobs of money to the wealthy, run up huge debt during an up tick in the economy, while conducting foreign policy like a dictatorship, and grabbing as much money for himself as he can.
213
Well, so much for the republican claim over the years of judicial overreach. When it is in their interest as now with this judge in Texas it is just fine. I was born under FDR, our greatest leader and now we have in the White House a man who seeks to take away health care from millions not to mention undermining our environment and god knows what else to satiate his enormous ego.
82
So the Democrats are introducing legislation to expand ACA while the Republicans are attacking it? What a mess we live in.
12
I was kind of waiting for that “Big, Beautiful, Better and cheaper” Trumpcare we were told so much about.
Seems about as likely as Mexico paying for that “extra-budgetary” Great Wall of Texas.
But nothing is stopping Trump or the GOP from proposing a valid health insurance / healthcare solution. Nothing at all ........ except maybe a little well timed revenge.
63
@Lars
Well, that and the total absence of any actual ideas.
2
If democrats can say no to campaign contributions from the industry, we might even get single payer and a landslide victory by a democrat.
Or they could do what they have always done.
7
@Corbin
"If democrats can say no to campaign contributions from the industry, we might even get single payer and a landslide victory by a democrat."
Or they lose because they don't have enough money and we ensure Repulican rule forever and watch the ACA, SS and Medicare get destroyed with nothing to replace it, and find ourselves back Sinclair's Jungle.
1
The conservative objection to ACA is because ACA raises taxes on the rich to help pay for care of the non rich and the rich do not want to pay higher taxes.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/business/24leonhardt.html
The bill [ACA] is the most sweeping piece of federal legislation since Medicare was passed in 1965. It aims to smooth out one of the roughest edges in American society — the inability of many people to afford medical care after they lose a job or get sick. And it would do so in large measure by taxing the rich.
A big chunk of the money to pay for the bill comes from lifting payroll taxes on households making more than $250,000. On average, the annual tax bill for households making more than $1 million a year will rise by $46,000 in 2013, according to the Tax Policy Center, a Washington research group. Another major piece of financing would cut Medicare subsidies for private insurers, ultimately affecting their executives and shareholders.
12
Perhaps if the Affordable Care Act is eliminated it will force Trump and Republicans to finally come up with a "big beautiful cheaper and better plan." Here's an idea; if the ACA goes so should health insurance for every member of Congress whose employer (us) pays for it.
222
@Candlewick
One more subset needs to be included in those losing health coverage. All former members of Congress.
24
@BillOR
And also the employees in the executive branch!
8
@Candlewick - I'd suggest cancel health insurance for Congress first and then after a couple of years, see how they feel about going without.
5
The Trump administration lost their battle to repeal the A.C.A. in the Congress, so now they are in the courts. The Republican Party has fought the A.C.A. for most of a decade and lost. It is time to move on, focus on bettering the law we have, and deal with those issues like those Americans still un-or under- insured, or the high cost of prescription drugs. We need action out of Congress and the President that actually matters to American families.
231
@Patrick Stevens
But they don't care.
Wealthy families can afford good health care. If it's not covered they can pay out of pocket.
Nobody else matters.
11
@Patrick Stevens
It is too risky to let this go to the Supreme Court. It might klll the ACA on a technicality.
The result would be tens of thousands more dead Americans each year.
5
@Patrick Stevens Good luck with that.
2
It is odd that a party which preaches national security (a wall, anyone?) is against a true national security concern: the health and well-being of its populace. Unless the GOP can produce a meaningful bill that is more than lip service as a replacement (nothing yet except "repeal!"), Congress should say no. It is imperative for true journalists to interview those who have benefited rather than those who are against the law just because it was passed during the Obama administration.
39
Ending protection for pre-existing conditions is going to make countless people, including myself, uninsurable, especial in this gig economy. It will hurt so many people who support Trump, not understanding the damage until it is done. This better be a focus of the 2020 campaigns.
101