Trump's Full Court Press on healthcare

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Wed Jul 19, 2017 5:29 pm

Captain Caveman wrote:The CBO is out with its analysis of a straight repeal of the ACA. Compared to current law, 17 million more uninsured next year, 32 million by 2026; premiums increase 25% by next year and by 50% by 2026.

link

Freedom isn't free.

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Wed Jul 19, 2017 5:39 pm

Holman wrote:
Captain Caveman wrote:The CBO is out with its analysis of a straight repeal of the ACA. Compared to current law, 17 million more uninsured next year, 32 million by 2026; premiums increase 25% by next year and by 50% by 2026.

link
Freedom isn't free.

Agreed! Those 32 million probably don't *want* insurance anyway. Let's see them liberated!

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Wed Jul 19, 2017 5:40 pm

Sounds like the McConnell et al. are meeting tonight with the holdouts from the attempted repeal and replace bill to see if they can offer enough concessions to at least get the bill debated on the floor.

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Wed Jul 19, 2017 5:58 pm

Interesting piece from Frum arguing that McConnell is enforcing personal fealty to party leadership. The political math is IMO pretty straightforward here. McConnell banks on the electorate forgetting about all this in 2018. Which is a fair gamble. Especially if nothing passes and actually inflicts pain on the populace. Plus 2018 is fairly safe for the Senate no matter how bad it gets with Trump. The Repeal only vote is about purity and punishing the defectors. What a loathsome creature he truly is.

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Thu Jul 20, 2017 10:05 am

WTF? What a vile misuse of taxpayer money.

https://twitter.com/samstein/status/888001713742983169

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Thu Jul 20, 2017 2:34 pm

Has this come up yet?

Laws and regulations aside, Trump doesn't remotely understand how health insurance works.

Asked by the Times’ Maggie Haberman about the political difficulty of taking away a benefit that the American people have gotten used to—namely, Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion and generous tax credits—Trump gave a rambling answer describing a fantastical system where insurance costs just $12 per year and that money accrues in some sort of account over one’s lifetime:

“As they get something, it gets tougher. Because politically, you can’t give it away. So pre-existing conditions are a tough deal. Because you are basically saying from the moment the insurance, you’re 21 years old, you start working and you’re paying $12 a year for insurance, and by the time you’re 70, you get a nice plan. Here’s something where you walk up and say, “I want my insurance.” It’s a very tough deal, but it is something that we’re doing a good job of.”

He appears to be confusing health insurance with life insurance, and he appears to believe it costs $1 a month.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Thu Jul 20, 2017 2:43 pm

First Don Jr. with some "light treason" and now the head of the family doesn't understand what things actually cost. I think the Arrested Development comparison might actually be correct.

Don’t you judge me. You’re the selfish one. You’re the one who charged his own brother for a Bluth frozen banana. I mean, it’s one banana, Michael. What could it cost, ten dollars?

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Thu Jul 20, 2017 5:53 pm

Holman wrote:Has this come up yet?

Laws and regulations aside, Trump doesn't remotely understand how health insurance works.

Asked by the Times’ Maggie Haberman about the political difficulty of taking away a benefit that the American people have gotten used to—namely, Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion and generous tax credits—Trump gave a rambling answer describing a fantastical system where insurance costs just $12 per year and that money accrues in some sort of account over one’s lifetime:

“As they get something, it gets tougher. Because politically, you can’t give it away. So pre-existing conditions are a tough deal. Because you are basically saying from the moment the insurance, you’re 21 years old, you start working and you’re paying $12 a year for insurance, and by the time you’re 70, you get a nice plan. Here’s something where you walk up and say, “I want my insurance.” It’s a very tough deal, but it is something that we’re doing a good job of.”
He appears to be confusing health insurance with life insurance, and he appears to believe it costs $1 a month.

I can accept that he just pulls $12 out of the air as an example. It's the by the time you're 70 part. WTH?

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Thu Jul 20, 2017 5:59 pm

Holman wrote:Has this come up yet?

Laws and regulations aside, Trump doesn't remotely understand how health insurance works.

Asked by the Times’ Maggie Haberman about the political difficulty of taking away a benefit that the American people have gotten used to—namely, Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion and generous tax credits—Trump gave a rambling answer describing a fantastical system where insurance costs just $12 per year and that money accrues in some sort of account over one’s lifetime:

“As they get something, it gets tougher. Because politically, you can’t give it away. So pre-existing conditions are a tough deal. Because you are basically saying from the moment the insurance, you’re 21 years old, you start working and you’re paying $12 a year for insurance, and by the time you’re 70, you get a nice plan. Here’s something where you walk up and say, “I want my insurance.” It’s a very tough deal, but it is something that we’re doing a good job of.”
He appears to be confusing health insurance with life insurance, and he appears to believe it costs $1 a month.

Maybe he's talking about health savings accounts?

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Fri Jul 21, 2017 11:30 am

Max Peck wrote:
Holman wrote:
He appears to be confusing health insurance with life insurance, and he appears to believe it costs $1 a month.
Maybe he's talking about health savings accounts?

No, I think he's talking about the life insurance accounts advertised on late night TV.

$1/mo over 50 years at a 6.5% return (most savings accounts are closer to 1%) would yield $4560 over the course of 50 years. $4560 is roughly what we paid for 3 hours in the emergency room for an incident that occurred the day after my wife left the hospital after our first kid was born.

Captain Caveman · Post by **Captain Caveman** » Fri Jul 21, 2017 11:40 am

Jeff V wrote:
Max Peck wrote:
Holman wrote:
He appears to be confusing health insurance with life insurance, and he appears to believe it costs $1 a month.
Maybe he's talking about health savings accounts?
No, I think he's talking about the life insurance accounts advertised on late night TV.

Oh dear, I hadn't thought of this. Could it really be ignorance borne out of his Fox News addiction? Do we know if he also takes a lot of vitamin supplements and invests in gold?

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Fri Jul 21, 2017 11:43 am

Where else do you think Trump gets his "stamina"?

I expect Trump's gold investments do not show up on his tax returns.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Sat Jul 22, 2017 12:02 am

Senate rules could complicate prospects for GOP health bill

The Senate parliamentarian signaled Friday that Democrats could block several key elements of the Senate GOP health-care bill, including abortion coverage restrictions, a one-year ban on funding for Planned Parenthood and changes to Medicaid coverage requirements, if the legislation comes up for a vote next week.

While not a final ruling, Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough’s assessment threatens to further anger conservatives such as Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) who say the GOP health-care bill does not go far enough in repealing the Affordable Care Act.

Democrats released the guidance Friday after weeks of consultations with GOP leaders and MacDonough, who determines whether legislation is in line with complex Senate rules. MacDonough advised party leaders that roughly a dozen provisions in the bill may not meet the requirements and would need 60 votes to pass, meaning the 52 Senate Republicans could not pass the measures on their own.

Senate Republican leaders plan to hold a vote next week on some version of the health-care bill but it is unclear what that legislation will include. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has struggled to convince his badly divided party to coalesce around a single option for repealing the ACA.

Leaders planned to vote on a version of a repeal measure that passed the Senate in 2015 before being vetoed by then-President Barack Obama. Under heavy pressure from President Trump, McConnell reopened negotiations over a version of the plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act similar to the one that was the subject of MacDonough’s assessment.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the top Democrat on the Budget Committee, celebrated the guidance as a potentially fatal blow to the Republicans’ already troubled attempt to gut the Affordable Care act.

“The parliamentarian’s decision today proves once again that the process Republicans have undertaken to repeal the Affordable Care Act and throw 22 million Americans off health insurance is a disaster,” Sanders said. “It is time for the Republican leadership to junk this bill and work with the American people on legislation which improves the Affordable Care Act, not destroys it.”

Captain Caveman · Post by **Captain Caveman** » Sat Jul 22, 2017 1:03 pm

Captain Caveman wrote:
Jeff V wrote:
Max Peck wrote:
Holman wrote:
He appears to be confusing health insurance with life insurance, and he appears to believe it costs $1 a month.
Maybe he's talking about health savings accounts?
No, I think he's talking about the life insurance accounts advertised on late night TV.
Oh dear, I hadn't thought of this. Could it really be ignorance borne out of his Fox News addiction? Do we know if he also takes a lot of vitamin supplements and invests in gold?

https://twitter.com/octonion/status/888796242586722304

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Sat Jul 22, 2017 8:35 pm

During the commissioning ceremony for the U.S.S. Gerald Ford, Trump called on sailors to call their senators in support of the Republican health bill.

$iljanus · Post by **$iljanus** » Sat Jul 22, 2017 8:45 pm

Holman wrote:During the commissioning ceremony for the U.S.S. Gerald Ford, Trump called on sailors to call their senators in support of the Republican health bill.

Always the real estate mogul huckster that Trump. Stay classy!

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Mon Jul 24, 2017 9:03 am

Captain Caveman wrote:
Captain Caveman wrote:
Jeff V wrote:
Max Peck wrote:
Holman wrote:
He appears to be confusing health insurance with life insurance, and he appears to believe it costs $1 a month.
Maybe he's talking about health savings accounts?
No, I think he's talking about the life insurance accounts advertised on late night TV.
Oh dear, I hadn't thought of this. Could it really be ignorance borne out of his Fox News addiction? Do we know if he also takes a lot of vitamin supplements and invests in gold?

https://twitter.com/octonion/status/888796242586722304

He is dumb as fuck. There is just no other way to say it.

PS those baby life insurance things are a scam anyway.

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Mon Jul 24, 2017 1:31 pm

The plan this week:

And yet the substantive problems that scared Democrats off from using this method to write their bill remain in place. The Republican Congress has made a mockery of the legislative process in large part because they have used reconciliation to avoid committee hearings and normal law-making steps.

The exercise will reach a nadir of sorts later this week, if things go as planned. The Senate is scheduled to begin debate on a measure whose contours are unknown to the senators voting on it. Mitch McConnell’s plan is to introduce the House version of Obamacare repeal, then subject the bill to a lengthy series of amendments, after which he will introduce as a substitute a new bill that cannot be debated. Senators do not know what features this new bill will contain. The Congressional Budget Office will not have time to analyze it, nor will any outside experts. The strategy to pass it rests on subjecting a handful of holdout senators to intense partisan pressure, combined with reassurances from the Trump administration’s advisers that they have added in new money or new protections to alleviate concerns about blowing up the insurance markets and throwing millions off their coverage. The Senate is flying blind into a social catastrophe.

Disgusting.

It sure *sounds* like the bill won't pass via this method this week, but...on the other hand when people aren't fully paying attention to the health care process is the perfect time for McConnell to get something passed.

Chaz · Post by **Chaz** » Mon Jul 24, 2017 1:51 pm

This is why I was super against taking a victory lap last week when it was "dead". The GOP and McConnell have made it clear that they want something, anything, passed, they don't particularly care if the thing they pass is terrible for millions of people, they don't care about public support, and they're willing to ignore any number of rules, norms, and guidelines in order to get it done.

I really don't know how you win a fight against someone who actively doesn't care about burning the whole thing down around them just so they can say they won.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Mon Jul 24, 2017 1:53 pm

El Guapo wrote:Disgusting.

It sure *sounds* like the bill won't pass via this method this week, but...on the other hand when people aren't fully paying attention to the health care process is the perfect time for McConnell to get something passed.

My wife and I started watching House of Cards last week. I was thinking "man this is crazy"... and then I watch the news and read R&P.

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Mon Jul 24, 2017 2:57 pm

The same asshole who complained about Republicans not being part of the legislative process when Obamacare was passed is going to try an end run around the legislative process so that neither Republicans nor Democrats can participate in the specifics of its repeal.

There is a special layer of hell reserved for McConnell and others who engage in this level of hypocrisy.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Mon Jul 24, 2017 3:18 pm

I don't think I've ever seen McConnell's name not associated with political hypocrisy.

But he brings home the federal dollars for Kentucky better than most senators do their states and apparently that's all a senator needs to do to stay a senator, especially a senator of his ilk, of which there are more than a few.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Mon Jul 24, 2017 3:31 pm

Call your senators, people: (202) 224-3121.

That line is for the whole senate. There's no waiting: you give your state and you're connected to the mail box of the senator you choose. It's very quick. I thanked Bob Casey and told Pat Toomey what I thought of his bill in under two minutes.

I've read that calls are usually tallied daily while emails and paper letters are not. Call today.

Defiant · Post by **Defiant** » Mon Jul 24, 2017 8:47 pm

“They [Democrats] say, death death — well, Obamacare is death,” Trump said, standing in front of a group of children he identified as victims of Obamacare, which he described as a “big, fat, ugly lie.”

The president also claimed that, “for the past 17 years Obamacare has wreaked havoc on the lives of innocent hardworking Americans,” even though Obamacare was signed into law in 2010.

link

To be fair, I'm sure we all feel like we've aged ten years in the last six months.

Captain Caveman · Post by **Captain Caveman** » Mon Jul 24, 2017 10:01 pm

McCain is returning for the motion to proceed tomorrow. Hard to imagine that he'd come back for a failed vote, but it's also hard to imagine that immediately after recieivng a terminal diagnosis, he'd want travel cross-country to help rip healthcare away from millions to give a "victory" to a draft-dodging President who said he wasn't a hero because he got captured. I'm preparing to be disappointed.

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Mon Jul 24, 2017 10:39 pm

Looks like Collins is a hard no on the MTP (to her credit), so McConnell can only lose one other vote. Looks like there are a few other undecideds - what a crazy mess.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Mon Jul 24, 2017 10:42 pm

Holman wrote:Call your senators, people: (202) 224-3121.

I'm pretty confident that I persuaded Warren and Markey to vote No.

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Tue Jul 25, 2017 7:21 am

This has to be the most wretched use of political capital in modern times. They are struggling mightily to get a 'huge political victory' for McConnell (thanks Politico for injecting ever divisive horse race garbage once again). And that is just an ordinary debate for what probably is a vile bill that will kill the most vulnerable people in our society. So much for the shining city on the hill. This is a farce. If 2018 isn't anything but a bloodbath we deserve this shit pie we've baked ourselves.

As an aside, doesn't it seem odd that (the same) brain cancer has figured so prominently in the healthcare battles of the last 10 years?

Fitzy · Post by **Fitzy** » Tue Jul 25, 2017 8:44 am

Kraken wrote:
Holman wrote:Call your senators, people: (202) 224-3121.
I'm pretty confident that I persuaded Warren and Markey to vote No.

Hey that's four for OO, I got Cardin and Van Hollen to a hard No.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Tue Jul 25, 2017 9:09 am

Fitzy wrote:
Kraken wrote:
Holman wrote:Call your senators, people: (202) 224-3121.
I'm pretty confident that I persuaded Warren and Markey to vote No.
Hey that's four for OO, I got Cardin and Van Hollen to a hard No.

..and I got Cruz to a hard "Fuck you!"

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Tue Jul 25, 2017 10:33 am

Here's a lovely John McCain hot take for you:

David Corn wrote:Will cancer-stricken @SenJohnMcCain help a draft-dodger who called him a loser take health care from millions? Then this will be his legacy.

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Tue Jul 25, 2017 10:57 am

Will McCain have the strength to fight the cancer in his own party?

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Tue Jul 25, 2017 11:06 am

I think people tend to give McCain too much credit on policy just because he occasionally says 'mavericky' things before mostly reliably voting with GOP leadership. What's the evidence that he's bothered by ending health coverage for millions?

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Tue Jul 25, 2017 11:16 am

I don't know, according to 538, there are only 3 Senators who have voted less consistently with Trump. Granted, he's still at 90%...

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Tue Jul 25, 2017 1:00 pm

Zarathud wrote:Will McCain have the strength to fight the cancer in his own party?

No he was brought in because he always bridged tough divides in the background. This is going to happen and a lot of Trumpaloos are going to suffer. I guess that is some sort of justice, right?

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Tue Jul 25, 2017 1:26 pm

Granted this was last night but still think it is relevant. There are more stories today but mostly horse race coverage...not analysis of how flagrantly crazy the process is.

Octavious · Post by **Octavious** » Tue Jul 25, 2017 2:33 pm

I'm so confused by the whole thing at this point. All they are doing today is voting if they should work on amending the bill? If that's the case why is everyone freaking out like they have accomplished something? I'm sure Trump will hold a parade, but no actual laws have been changed right? God I can't wait until this fucktard is out.

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Tue Jul 25, 2017 2:36 pm

The idea is that they'll start a huge vote-e-rama and pass something. Something that will inevitably be terrible and then move on in victory. Victory being defined by passing a bill that no one understands at all. It is a huge mess. Tldr; It'll be chaos and fighting it will be a quagmire.

Captain Caveman · Post by **Captain Caveman** » Tue Jul 25, 2017 2:36 pm

All the GOP hold-outs seem to be caving on the motion to proceed. Heller, Portman, Capito and others just announced they're voting YES. Passing the motion to proceed would clear a significant hurdle towards getting a final bill approved that could decimate health coverage for millions of Americans. A bill that likely only a small percentage of Americans will approve.

And for what? To save face, give the administration a victory, and line the pockets of wealthy donors?

Captain Caveman · Post by **Captain Caveman** » Tue Jul 25, 2017 2:40 pm

Captain Caveman wrote:All the GOP hold-outs seem to be caving on the motion to proceed. Heller, Portman, Capito and others just announced they're voting YES. Passing the motion to proceed would clear a significant hurdle towards getting a final bill approved that could decimate health coverage for millions of Americans. A bill that likely only a small percentage of Americans will approve.

And for what? To save face, give the administration a victory, and line the pockets of wealthy donors?

Edit: the roll call is happening now. It looks like only Collins and Murkowski are voting NO. It's going to eek by... shameful.