So for almost a decade, ACA/Obamacare repeal has been such an animating part of the GOP agenda. I know the President has claimed that “It’s gone. There is no such thing as Obamacare any more”, but back here on Earth, it’s never been repealed, even if the GOP has managed to rough and scuff it up a lot.
Anyway, at least so far, repeal, replace, whatever has largely (entirely?) been dropped from the Republican brand moving into the midterms (Ted Cruz is one exception, I think). Republicans, are you cool with this? Everyone else, where do you think we go from here? Do you think that, long-term, the healthcare system will become more like it was pre-ACA, or do you think we’ll move more toward something like single-payer (or some variation).
I can see it going back to pre-ACA, with a public option for the high-risk patients. Everyone can go back to some semblance of their old plans, and the GOP and Democrats can do an eternal tug of war on how well the public option is funded. It gives both parties something to run ads on and fire up their bases forever.
I think the hypothetical public option would take pre-existing conditions, but with enrollment periods that would move as if they were on ice-skates depending on which party is in power.
The GOP Plan to repeal and “replace” the ACA/Obamacare also included getting rid of the Medicaid expansion. About 30 states decided to expand Medicaid under the ACA including a few red states. Arizona here also expanded Medicaid under the ACA. Senator McCain was justified to not vote for the repeal of the Medicaid expansion. Remember that Trump while campaigning for President promised that he would not cut Medicaid and Medicare. These few GOP Senators that didn’t vote to cut Medicaid kept Trump to his promise not to cut Medicaid.
Eventually we will have a system like Switzerland or Japan. We desperately need to move out of the Dark Ages and join the 21st Century. We are so far behind the rest of the world it’s pathetic.
“We’re going to have insurance for everybody,” Trump said. “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.” People covered under the law “can expect to have great health care. It will be in a much simplified form. Much less expensive and much better.”
Still want to see it gone. As I’ve explained numerous times, my parents have had to change plans 5 times over the first five years as a result of the ever changing requirement. They didn’t qualify for one of the Obama and Nancy pelosi’s exemptions, and my dad is self employed and made too much for subsidies. Their quality of life has gone down and they’re still paying more than ever before.
Democrats don’t give a ■■■■ about people like them.
