The House GOP yanked its health-care bill on Thursday ahead of a planned vote, and perhaps they’ll reconvene on Friday or later. But as Republicans contemplate wasting this historic reform opportunity, they should start thinking about the costs and responsibility of failure. The delay is said to be a defeat for President Trump and Speaker Paul Ryan, but both men have done about as much as they can. They’ve listened to different points of view across a diverse coalition of Members and 33 Governors, and the House bill is a realistic compromise that can improve health-care markets, protect the federal fisc and, by the way, has a chance of becoming law. No one has offered a better policy alternative to the American Health Care Act that could pass the House and Senate. The real obstacle to progress has been the 29 or so Members of the House Freedom Caucus, who have the power to deny Mr. Ryan a majority of 216 with a mere 22-vote margin of error. The Freedom Caucus blocked incremental reform progress after the GOP took Congress under President Obama, and the question is whether they will indulge the same rule-or-ruin tactics now against Mr. Trump. The President’s status as a deal-maker is being mocked in the media, but he has played a constructive consensus-making role. As he’s asked the Freedom Caucus holdouts—we’ll paraphrase—you’ve won multiple elections on repealing and replacing ObamaCare, and then voted more than 90 times for symbolic repeal you knew Mr. Obama would veto. Now I’m prepared to sign the genuine article—and you’ll sink this over details? Their answer is apparently yes. As recently as Wednesday, the White House and congressional leadership had nearly whipped a majority for the bill. But the coalition broke down as the Freedom Caucus made 11th-hour demands about ObamaCare’s “essential health benefits,” or EHB. ............................................... If the Freedom Caucus thinks a more conservative bill will emerge if this one fails, they have more illusions than the Hillary Clinton campaign. If Mr. Trump concludes he can’t win with the Republican majority, he may well try to negotiate with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi and the cost of their votes will make the Ryan bill look like free-market heaven. By insisting on the impossible over the achievable, these self-styled guardians of conservative purity could become the worst friends conservative ideas and free markets have had in decades. https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-freedom-from-reality-caucus-1490311693?mod=rss_opinion_main At this point, I agree. The FC seems to be making demands strictly based on their 22 member Caucus's "conservative" moral grounds without any regard for what's achievable in the real world of DC politics or what's better (marginally better or not) for the American HC system. The fact is, if what they're demanding was part of the bill, it would have zero chance of Senate support anyway. So, why squander a chance to at least get the train out out of station, to move the legislative process forward, instead of refusing to supply fuel to the train before it has a chance to advance down tracks and allow the legislative process to work? After all, isn't that what the system is designed to do?
It's not just the Freedom Caucus, moderate Republicans also won't vote yea for this "Trumpcare". At last count there is somewhere around 30-40 Republicans who won't support this bill. Geez, they've had 7 years and have tried 50+ times to repeal the ACA - one would think the Republicans & Trump would have brought something saleable to the table. Instead they've presented Trumpcare, a piece of junk that is universally despised by individual Americans as well as pretty much every stakeholder group. The only people who can truly be counted on to support this nonsense are the ultra wealthy, who will make out like bandits. Even Trump admitted Clinton voters would fare better than his own supporters with Trumpcare... Republican representatives have a lot to think about, Trumpcare is polling very, very badly, Trump's approval rating is tanking and his polling numbers on how he is handling healthcare are even worse. All in all, a disaster for Republicans........
Agree, they do have a lot to think about. 1st on their list, IMO, should be ousting Speaker Ryan. I mean, if he can't negotiate a better HC plan than O'care, especially after having years to plan something, I don't see him doing to well with Tax Reform, Immigration Reform, Trade, or any other type of legislative proposals. When the rubber meets the road, he seems great at alienating just enough Rep's to fail. I can't help but think Trump see's it too.
I think this might highlight just how momentous Obama's original achievement was. If the republicans can't even agree between themselves on an alternative, Obama achieved a real political feat to get it through in the first place...
LOL....Momentous? More like monstrous! He lied, Pelosi lied, Reid lied, the MSM covered for it, brides had to be handed out & he had the "D" majority in both houses! Even AFTER it passed 90% of the yea votes had no clue what was in the damn bill. It was a disgrace!
\ So that makes the republican plan just as much a disgrace, since you have no clue what a) the regulation revisions will be or b) what the 3rd phase actually consists of. No committee meetings, no real discussion or input and meanwhile virtually every major medical association has major objections that aren't being aired. The disgrace is that after 7 years and 90 votes to repeal, it turns out the republicans were only united in obstructing Obama, not at all in ideology, and sure as hell not in detail. Meanwhile, 20 million or so americans will lose their coverage, and older americans are going to get whacked. Brilliant clustermuck. But hey, WHO KNEW HEALTHCARE WAS SO COMPLICATED.
Ryan is only the symptom, The Congressional Republican Party is the disease. This is largely the same Republican House that passed the Omnibus spending bill, giving Obama everything he wanted and plenty he didn't even dare ask for. There is a reason why the GOP is referred to as the stupid party. Democrats have bills ready to go, just sitting on a Congressional hard drive. When the opportunity occurs, they just hit print and take it to the floor of the House. Considering how difficult Health Care was going to be, it's hard to believe that there was not a framework of a consensus health bill already drawn up. Instead, the House gives every appearance that it never thought it would actually have to ever vote on a Health bill until a few weeks ago.
Well, by almost any measure O'care isn't going to survive as is. It was a shame it ever became law & it was a shame Roberts allowed it to remain law. And, yea, HC is complicated.
I don't know if stupid is the term I'd use, but lets face it, "D"'s, by and large, are better at winning the big messaging wars and thus getting their way in the end. They never seem to play defense for more than a day & Rep's seem to fumble the ball even when they have it. True, Dem's have an "the end's justifies the means" mind set, which tends to inspire them when they're down, but, for better or worse, the fact it is it served THEIR purpose. Rep's don't have a solid defense it, either.
Real problem is that HealthCare has been on the top of the list of American problems for the last 50 years - both Republicans and Dems have tried to tackle it, and have failed. Too many special interest groups and too much money at stake. I'm for capitalists systems, but healthcare just doesn't fall into a neat package for capitalists to tie up with a bow. People don't shop for healthcare when they're having a heart attack and the insurance industry holds all the cards. In this one case - Single Payer might be the only solution. I can afford $700 - to $1,000 a month for health insurance, but it's looking like it's going to be well over that if you have the slightest pre-existing condition on the Republican plan - or the 'Democrats, for that matter. We need to start looking outside the current box of ideas. As I've said before - it's entirely possible for both sides to be wrong.
If you want to insure all American citizens single payer, not for profit healthcare is the only way that would give healthcare to everyone. I think the majority of people polled want single payer, from what I can tell. The will is there for it, but special interests who have mucho power on congress and right wing ideological beliefs will continue to rule over what the majority want. That is where we are. The special interests are looking out for themselves, and the ideologues are enslaved to beliefs. And to date they have wielded more power on DC than the People. This is just the fact and the crux of the matter. Healthcare certainly should be a part of our Commons, just like the defense of American lives are via our military. In once case we need protection, all of us, from disease and illness, and in the other we need protection from those who would do just like disease and illness, take away life. It really is a no brainer. We also have the technology today to manage healthcare, like never before, minimize the paperwork and minimize the fraud coming from businesses involved in healthcare.
There is no substitute to having virtually the entire press corps on your side, so it makes messaging easy when you are a Democrat. Every major news network and newspaper is a Democratic surrogate. But messaging is only part of the problem with the Republicans. What have they been doing the past couple of years?
Great question. Trying to figure out the motivation of the GOP has always been a murky undertaking. Do you have an answer?
I'm sure Trump was of the naive presumption that the GOP actually had several viable options to the ACA. Several of his opponents in the primary indicated they had health care proposals in hand. The GOP had 7 yrs to prepare for this moment. Trump had 7 weeks.
No. I don't have an answer There is a major disconnect between Republican office holders and Republican voters. That's why we have the first totally anti establishment President since (ironically) Andrew Jackson in office today. The Democrats don't have that problem. Their voters and establishment and office holders are much more in synch. That's why the revelations that the DNC had their thumb on the scale in the primaries ultimately didn't cause a ripple. Something like that from the RNC might have wrecked the party. You guys for whatever reason, will follow orders and not question them.
A lot of interesting points. It is interesting to note (based on your premise) that a party made up predominantly of White people is more likely to splinter than a party made up of several races and lifestyles.
Well the Republicans have had several health plans over the years. Some have been introduced as bills, but it seems obvious now they weren't serious about them.
For Dems and their supporters, once an entitlement is received, it becomes an "inalienable right". Feinstein just claimed abortion was such, and Roe v Wade couldn't be overturned (super precedent). Getting the poor to give up free health care presents an odious task indeed. Mid-terms loom.
Your thought on single payer is on the money, in my opinion. The Pareto Principle applies in everything, which is precisely why virtually all western industrialized nations have some form of single payer healthcare system. We know that 20% of people will require 80% of the healthcare services and, it is quite likely, 10% will require 50%. As civilized societies, these nations have decided these people / families will NOT be forced into bankruptcy, penury etc. due to ill health - "we're all in this together" - so to speak. This isn't communism or socialism, it is human decency. IMHO. Not to mention single payer saves a boatload of money and leads to better outcomes in life longevity and infant mortality rates etc.
Great question! I mean, other than just the playing the role of the opposition, sending an endless stream of ACA repeal bills and holding hearings, it hard to say. But, sadly, we at least know what they weren't doing, working TOGETHER to craft a good HC bill to replace the ACA.
