So does Trumpcare pass the house?

[boutons_deux]

[Chucho]

Wow. Awful, awful, awful.

He only had to do three or four things to fix the lousy ACA:

Remove the facist tax for not being allowed autonomous control of our bodies unless we are murdering babies.

Make more plan choices available for single-payers and take some burden off employers, would help with wage increases with some employers.

Put some regulations in check on the pharmaceutical and medical supply companies that put out products that cost pennies to manufacture and sold at 50000% markup to where the actual supply products are covered by plans, as most pharmaceuticals, or ensure absolute price gouging isn't happening.

Something in place to prevent annual premium surges that we have been seeing. If you're going to eliminate, or make it more costly for pre-existing conditions to get covered, that's the wrong start.



, even reverting back to medicaid systems would be preferential to this crap and it's lousy predecessor. ing ugh.


Sad that partisanship is sooooo thick in this nation that it's going to be y one way or the other. Sucks because both parties are going to be absolute drizzling s in the coming years. More Fascist attacks laden with hypocrisy and continued condemnation of the black race and elimination of the middle class with the Left that lead to Trumps rise or a big bag of "what the is this" with the huge hole that is left in the GOP once Trump is out in 4 years?

the Left. the Right. Let's clone a love child of Ron Paul and JFK.

[baseline bum]

The reason this POS bill got passed is because the GOP house is expecting the senate to block it. This is Paul Ryan passing the buck to Mitch McConnell. However McConnell wasn't born yesterday. He's not going to let this albatross hang around his neck.

The senate will amend this and send it back to the house, the house won't approve the changes. That way, when 2018 rolls around, the teabaggers in the house can tell their base that they did everything to repeal the black man's law, while the moderates in swing districts won't be impacted by people losing coverage. Everyone saves their hide, and the games continue.

You're putting a lot of faith in McConnell. I wouldn't.

[boutons_deux]

yep, ACA is such disaster for Americans

“Pre-existing conditions” that were routinely declined by insurers before the ACA

Breast cancer
Uterine cancer
Pregnancy or expectant parent
Mental disorders (severe, e.g. bipolar, eating disorder)
AIDS/HIV
Lupus
Alcohol abuse/ Drug abuse with recent treatment
Alzheimer’s/dementia
Multiple sclerosis
Arthritis (rheumatoid), fibromyalgia, other inflammatory joint disease
Muscular dystrophy
Any cancer within some period of time (e.g. 10 years, often other than basal skin cancer)
Obesity, severe
Cerebral palsy
Organ transplant
Congestive heart failure
Paraplegia
Coronary artery/heart disease, bypass surgery
Paralysis
Crohn’s disease/ ulcerative colitis
Parkinson’s disease
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)/emphysema
Pending surgery or hospitalization
Diabetes mellitus
Pneumocystic pneumonia
Epilepsy
Hemophilia
Sleep apnea
Hepa is (Hep C)
Stroke
Kidney disease, renal failure
Transsexualism

Conditions that insurers often used to increase the cost of insurance

Urinary tract infections
Menstrual irregularities
Migraine headaches
Acne
Allergies
Anxiety
Asthma
Basal cell skin cancer
Depression
Ear infections
Fractures
High cholesterol
Hypertension
Incontinence
Joint injuries
Kidney stones
Overweight
Restless leg syndrome
Tonsillitis
Varicose veins
Vertigo

https://www.vox.com/2017/5/4/1554705...a-repeal-women

As long as US health care is for-profit, Americans are ed and un able.

[boutons_deux]

Trump’s health care victory could be a Pyrrhic one


He’s setting up bigger policy and political problems for himself and his party down the road.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-polit...h-house-passes


Is America sick of winning, yet?

[DMX7]

Reason to look forward to 2018 seeing Trump go nuclear on Twitter after the GOP gets smashed.

It's going to be an annihilation. I think voters are taking names right now and the 2018 election will be pay back.

[Reck]

Insane.

Pretty much a wet dream for the rich republicans.

[boutons_deux]

It's going to be an annihilation. I think voters are taking names right now and the 2018 election will be pay back.

never underestimate the stupidity, ignorance of Repug voters. They've been told they've been screwed, persecuted by Mexicans, LGBT, Jews, Muslims, knitters, and they believe that bull .

And don't underestimate the $Bs the VRWC has to buy votes, legislators, judges.

America is ed and un able.

[boutons_deux]

What’s in the AHCA: The Major Provisions of the Republican Health Bill


■ To help people buy insurance, if they do not have coverage at work or under a government program like Medicare or Medicaid, or through the Department of Veterans Affairs, the bill would offer $2,000 to $4,000 a year tax credits, depending mainly on age. A family could receive up to $14,000 a year in credits. The credits would be reduced for individuals making over $75,000 a year and families making over $150,000.

■ Under current rules, insurers cannot charge older adults more than three times what they charge young adults for the same coverage. The House bill would allow them to charge five times as much. The Congressional Budget Office said this change would reduce premiums for young adults and increase premiums for older Americans.

■ The bill would end Medicaid as an open-ended en lement to health care and would put the program on a budget. States would receive an allotment of federal money for each beneficiary, or, as an alternative, they could take the money in a lump sum as a block grant, with fewer federal requirements. Medicaid cuts would total $880 billion over 10 years.
■ The bill encourages people to maintain “continuous coverage” by requiring insurers to impose a 30 percent surcharge on premiums for those who experience a gap in coverage.

■ Under the bill, states could opt out of certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act, including one that requires insurers to provide a minimum set of health benefits, such as maternity care and emergency services, and another that prohibits them from charging higher premiums based on a person’s health status.

Insurers would not be allowed to charge higher premiums to sick people unless a state had an alternative mechanism, like a high-risk pool or a reinsurance program, to help provide coverage for people with serious illnesses.

■ The bill would provide states with $138 billion over 10 years that could be used for various purposes like subsidizing premiums, providing coverage to people with pre-existing conditions and paying for mental health care and the treatment of drug addiction.

■ The bill would cut the taxes of high-income people by nearly $300 billion over 10 years by repealing a payroll tax increase and a tax on their investment income imposed by the Affordable Care Act.

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/05/0...care-bill.html

[boutons_deux]

Who Wins and Who Loses in the Latest G.O.P. Health Care Bill


Winners

High-income earners: The bill eliminates two taxes on individuals earning more than $200,000 or couples earning more than $250,000: a 0.9 percent increase on the Medicare payroll tax, and a 3.8 percent tax on investment income. It also allows people to save more money in tax-excluded health savings accounts, a change most useful to people with enough money to have savings.

Upper-middle-class people without pre-existing health conditions: The Affordable Care Act cut off subsidies to help people buy their insurance at an income of around $48,000 for a single person. The American Health Care Act would let people get government subsidies much higher up the income scale — up to about $150,000. But the bill allows states to waive rules on minimum benefit standards and rules that prevent insurance companies from charging higher prices to customers with pre-existing illnesses. That means, over all, the gap between the tax subsidies and the cost of needed care could widen, even for some people who will get extra financial help.

Young, middle-class people without pre-existing health conditions: The bill would change how insurance companies price their products in a way that would lower prices for young customers. It also gives them a flat subsidy that is, in many cases, higher than what they would receive under Obamacare. There is some variation by region, and people with pre-existing conditions could be charged higher prices in some states.

People who wish to go without insurance: The bill would eliminate the individual mandate, which charges a tax penalty to Americans who can afford insurance but do not obtain it.

People who want less comprehensive health coverage: The bill allows insurers to offer health plans with higher deductibles and co-payments, a change likely to lower premiums. Customers in states that waive benefit rules may also be able to buy plans not covering as many medical services, like maternity coverage
.
Large employers: The bill eliminates Obamacare’s employer mandate, which required large employers to offer affordable coverage to their workers. If the bill becomes law, companies that do not wish to cover their workers will face no penalty. It frees all large employers of the complex reporting necessary to enforce the provision. It also pushes back enactment of a tax on high-cost employer health plans.

Medical device companies, indoor tanning companies and a few other medical industries: The bill rolls back taxes on devices, tanning, prescription drugs and health insurance products. Some of those industries may lose a little as well — insurance companies, for example, may have fewer paying customers.

Losers

Poor people: Many states would be expected to roll back their expansions of the Medicaid program to cover childless adults without disabilities. The bill would also substantially reduce subsidies available for Americans just over the poverty line, the group that benefited most from Obamacare’s subsidies. Poor Americans are much more likely to become uninsured under the bill, according to the Congressional Budget Office, and those who retained coverage would pay much more of their limited incomes on premiums and deductibles.

Older Americans, in most states: The same factors that make the bill better for many young Americans make it worse for those who are older. Insurance companies could charge a 64-year-old customer five times the price charged to an 18-year-old one, to cite the most extreme example. The changes in the subsidy formula would also require older middle-class Americans to pay a much larger share of their health insurance bill. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that far fewer older Americans would have insurance coverage under this bill than under the Affordable Care Act.

People with pre-existing health conditions, particularly in some states. The bill allows states to waive rules on minimum benefit standards and rules that prohibit insurance companies from charging higher prices to customers with a history of serious illness — or even minor diseases. And it could mean their insurance covers fewer medical services. The benefit changes could also affect Medicaid beneficiaries, and they could mean cutbacks on coverage for mental health and drug addiction treatment. States that waive the rule about prices would be required to set up a program for high-risk customers, and would get some federal funding to do so, but the details are unclear.

State governments: The bill cuts back substantially on federal funding for state Medicaid programs, while offering states only limited new flexibility in how they manage them. Over time, the changes are likely to shift an increasing share of Medicaid costs onto states.

Hospitals: Assessing an earlier version of the bill, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that some 24 million fewer people would have health insurance in a decade. Some of those people would still have medical emergencies and require hospital care. Obamacare made substantial cuts in how much Medicare pays hospitals, on the theory that they would make up the difference with more paying customers. The Republican bill does not restore any of the Medicare cuts. Hospitals in poor communities where a lot of people signed up for Medicaid would probably experience the biggest hit.

Planned Parenthood: The bill would prevent Planned Parenthood from receiving any federal money for one year, a major hit for a health care provider that relies substantially on payments from Medicaid and the le X family planning grant to provide contraception, cancer screenings and other women’s health services. The bill would also seek to reduce access to abortions, by preventing federal subsidies from going to any health plan that covers abortions.


https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/05/0...care-bill.html

[boutons_deux]

The GOP's big lie: Healthcare bill 'protects people with preexisting conditions'

it protects people with preexisting conditions much as starving people may be welcome at a restaurant, but only if they order the most expensive dishes on the menu.

"The MacArthur Amendment is a Band-Aid on a very bad plan, and it likely won't staunch the bleeding,"

This much is clear: Republican lawmakers have provided a textbook example of how not to enact major legislation.

They’re aiming to radically overhaul the $3-trillion U.S. healthcare system yet have shunned the input of major stakeholders such as medical organizations, hospitals and patient-advocacy groups, which are uniformly against the measure.

The MacArthur Amendment would empower states to waive protections for those with preexisting conditions as long as they come up with some alternative way of making insurance available.

The catch, however, is that the amendment would not require insurers to charge the same rates that healthy people enjoy. That’s why the likes of the American Medical Assn. and AARP have warned that, under the Republican plan,

sick people could face rates so high that they’d be unaffordable for any but the wealthy.

claims the MacArthur Amendment would protect people with preexisting conditions are “illusory.”

High-risk pools have been tried in nearly three-dozen states, and in almost all cases resulted in limited access to coverage and skyrocketing costs.

http://www.latimes.com/business/lazarus/la-fi-lazarus-gop-healthcare-macarthur-amendment-20170504-story.html

[boutons_deux]

TRUMP SUPPORTERS CELEBRATE IMMINENT LOSS OF THEIR HEALTH INSURANCE

WASHINGTON —Moments after House Republicans voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act on Thursday, millions of Trump supporters celebrated the imminent loss of their health insurance.

From coast to coast, Americans who cast their votes for Donald J. Trump expressed

jubilation at finally being relieved of the burden of being insured in the event of catastrophic illness.

“Ever since President Trump was inaugurated, I’ve been counting the days for him to take away my health insurance,” Carol Foyler, a Trump supporter in Houston, said. “Today I just want to say

thank you, Mr. President, for keeping your promise.”

Harland Dorrinson, a Trump voter from Tallahassee, Florida, said that he was

“excited as about losing my health insurance” but sounded a more cautious note.

“I just hope the Senate doesn’t come in and give me back my health coverage,” he said. “Right now this all feels too good to be true.”

Most Trump supporters, however, would not let such gloomy predictions about the future ruin what for them was a day of unbridled celebration.

“Knowing that Trump could take away my Obamacare

makes me feel super optimistic about what he’s capable of,”

Tracy Klugian, of Columbus, Ohio, said.

“I can’t wait until he gets rid of my Medicare.”
http://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/trump-supporters-celebrate-imminent-loss-of-their-health-insurance

[BanditHiro]

Rape and Domestic Violence are pre-existing conditions lol.

[Warlord23]

You're putting a lot of faith in McConnell. I wouldn't.

I'm not putting any faith in McConnell's decency, but I do expect him to act in self-preservation. If the Senate passes this version, he and his colleagues will be in deep trouble for at least the next 2 election cycles.

[BanditHiro]

I'm not putting any faith in McConnell's decency, but I do expect him to act in self-preservation. If the Senate passes this version, he and his colleagues will be in deep trouble for at least the next 2 election cycles.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/0...ate-doa-238000

yeah already happening. House just wanted any kind of victory to seem productive.

[cd021]

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/0...ate-doa-238000

yeah already happening. House just wanted any kind of victory to seem productive.

Based on the article, it was just for show. Sort of feels like a major unforced error by the GOP. I don't recall people being quite this angry when Obamacare was initially passed (then again, recency bias, but still). It seems like there is significant backlash for something that isn't going to pass through the Senate without being drastically altered.

[BanditHiro]

Based on the article, it was just for show. Sort of feels like a major unforced error by the GOP. I don't recall people being quite this angry when Obamacare was initially passed (then again, recency bias, but still). It seems like there is significant backlash for something that isn't going to pass through the Senate without being drastically altered.

Trumpcare had a 17% approval rating the last time they tried to pass it a month ago and this bill is a worse version of it, the backlash was expected. They just wanted any kind of win really but this one might hurt them during the mid-terms

and here's Trump being a moron per par praising Universal Healthcare contradicting the very bill he is endorsing.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefi...lthcare-system

[pgardn]

The reason this POS bill got passed is because the GOP house is expecting the senate to block it. This is Paul Ryan passing the buck to Mitch McConnell. However McConnell wasn't born yesterday. He's not going to let this albatross hang around his neck.

The senate will amend this and send it back to the house, the house won't approve the changes. That way, when 2018 rolls around, the teabaggers in the house can tell their base that they did everything to repeal the black man's law, while the moderates in swing districts won't be impacted by people losing coverage. Everyone saves their hide, and the games continue.

Interesting.

Makes sense.

[baseline bum]

The reason this POS bill got passed is because the GOP house is expecting the senate to block it. This is Paul Ryan passing the buck to Mitch McConnell. However McConnell wasn't born yesterday. He's not going to let this albatross hang around his neck.

The senate will amend this and send it back to the house, the house won't approve the changes. That way, when 2018 rolls around, the teabaggers in the house can tell their base that they did everything to repeal the black man's law, while the moderates in swing districts won't be impacted by people losing coverage. Everyone saves their hide, and the games continue.

I don't think that's the reason. The house just needed to send something to the senate so that McConnell can rewrite it into something that can get 50 votes to pass his chamber in reconciliation. Then it can be sent to the house to be passed and written into law, just like when the senate rewrote the ACA to let states opt out of Medicaid expansion and to kill the public option. It was a terrible bill that the democratic house had to hold their nose and vote for, and I expect the same to happen again too. McConnell will get the 50 votes for something a little to the left of the original AHCA proposal, probably with a delayed transition away from the ACA so they don't murdered in the 2018 midterms. And then the teabaggers will hold their nose and vote for McConnell's bill the same way liberal house democrats did for Nelson's and Lieberman's bill.

[Reck]

The Freedom Caucus will reject anything that gets changed in the senate. They're calling the shots at the house level.

[baseline bum]

The Freedom Caucus will reject anything that gets changed in the senate. They're calling the shots at the house level.

I don't buy it. When the senate gives them a bill that will actually undo the ACA they're going to fall in line at the risk of being primaried in these hard right safe districts in 2018. The teabaggers represent districts that love Trump. The repeal is going to happen and the democrats are going to have to hope the 2018+2020 elections swing for them in a huge way like 2006+2008. The people who are so convinced this bill is DOA in the senate are the same people who said president Clinton was a foregone conclusion.

[da_suns_fan]

Its funny that Trumpers would rather talk about ANYTHING besides the bill that got passed today.

[Splits]

I don't think that's the reason. The house just needed to send something to the senate so that McConnell can rewrite it into something that can get 50 votes to pass his chamber in reconciliation. Then it can be sent to the house to be passed and written into law, just like when the senate rewrote the ACA to let states opt out of Medicaid expansion and to kill the public option. It was a terrible bill that the democratic house had to hold their nose and vote for, and I expect the same to happen again too. McConnell will get the 50 votes for something a little to the left of the original AHCA proposal, probably with a delayed transition away from the ACA so they don't murdered in the 2018 midterms. And then the teabaggers will hold their nose and vote for McConnell's bill the same way liberal house democrats did for Nelson's and Lieberman's bill.

I don't buy this for a second. It is either going to die in the Senate, or they're going to pass something that leaves the Medicaid expansion in place for at least 10 years so CBO score doesn't show 10s of millions losing coverage. There are too many Senators from states that expanded Medicaid.

I think it'll die.

[Splits]

[RandomGuy]

The reason this POS bill got passed is because the GOP house is expecting the senate to block it. This is Paul Ryan passing the buck to Mitch McConnell. However McConnell wasn't born yesterday. He's not going to let this albatross hang around his neck.

The senate will amend this and send it back to the house, the house won't approve the changes. That way, when 2018 rolls around, the teabaggers in the house can tell their base that they did everything to repeal the black man's law, while the moderates in swing districts won't be impacted by people losing coverage. Everyone saves their hide, and the games continue.

You nailed it on the head.

Senators, unlike Representatives are state-wide elected officials.

GOP gerrymandering has created a lot of really safe seats. (good wapo article here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/poste...=.2e361f178198

Thing is that the failure of the Republican party to do what they promised they would will really really piss off their voters, who may very well stay home in 2018.

Dems will have all sorts of ammunition for ads "X voted to take away your health insurance", and that will be used to clobber them.