Image 01 Image 03
Sign In or RegisterLogout

Obamacare Tag

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on July 26, 2017 23 Comments
Knowingly or not, Mika Brzezinski has exposed the progressive strategy for ever-increasing government control of our lives. On today's Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough actually made a principled conservative case against Obamacare, saying that many conservatives "do not believe that the federal government should compel people to buy insurance. Should not compel young people to buy health insurance if they do not want to buy health insurance." Mika responded saying that she understood Joe's point about "sticking to conservative principles," acknowledging that "many Republicans were deeply offended by the concept of Obamacare." But Brzezinski then proceeded to give away the liberal game:

"People have it [Obamacare.] . . . Isn't it politically past due to take away health care? Whether you were for it or not?"

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on July 24, 2017 28 Comments
Monday, President Trump gave a brief statement on the current state of healthcare reform. Trump minced no words saying, "every Republican running for office promised immediate relief from this disastrous law."

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on July 22, 2017 29 Comments
One of my favorite things to come out of the Republican ObamaCare flailing is Kemberlee's term for it:  a cluster. It is that.  But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly has one card left up his sleeve, and he intends to use it next week: force his caucus to record for their constituents (and for posterity) their vote on ObamaCare repeal.  (Democrats will vote, too, of course, but we know how that will go.) I like this move.  Put every single Republican on record for once and for all on ObamaCare repeal, and let us see who stands where and how that compares to the numerous repeal votes each cast when Obama was in the White House, veto pen at the ready. This isn't a single-play for McConnell; it's part of one-two punch that he hopes will rally Trump supporters and others who want ObamaCare gone (or those who want to keep it.).  The pressure resulting from a formal repeal ObamaCare vote will help him herd recalcitrant members behind . . . something that is less of a cluster.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on July 18, 2017 49 Comments
Monday night, Sens Lee and Moran effectively killing the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) when they announced they would not support the bill, leaving Senate Republicans with no foreseeable path forward to repeal and replace Obamacare. Sens Lee and Moran joined three other Republican Senators refusing to support the bill.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on July 18, 2017 27 Comments
Late Monday night, the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) was pronounced dead when Republicans failed to whip enough support to debate the bill, much less ensure its passage. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) announced Monday night their refusal to support the BCRA in its current form, joining Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) in opposition.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on July 16, 2017 21 Comments
A few days ago, Kemberlee provided an overview of what is new in the GOP's revamped health care bill.  One thing that has turned out to be absent from the new version is the Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) "Freedom Option" touted by conservatives and a lynchpin in scoring skittish conservative Senators' votes. On July 14th, the America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) and Blue Cross sent a letter to Senate leadership urging them to drop the Freedom Option.
As the U.S. Senate considers the Better Care Reconciliation Act, AHIP and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association urge the Senate to strike the “Consumer Freedom Option” from the bill. It is simply unworkable in any form and would undermine protections for those with pre-existing medical conditions, increase premiums and lead to widespread terminations of coverage for people currently enrolled in the individual market.
It appears that this advice was followed because the Freedom Option no longer appears in the Senate bill.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on July 13, 2017 21 Comments
Thursday, the Senate Budget Committee released a revamped version of the Better Care Reconciliation Act, or the Senate's version of the AHCA. The Senate GOP's first attempt (in this round of discussions) at the BCRA was met with mehs and groans across the caucus. A small contingent of conservative Senators opposed the bill saying it did little to repeal Obamacare. More moderate Republicans expressed concern over the bill's promise to eventually cut Medicaid. And others advocated for scrapping the whole bill for a clean Obamacare repeal.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on July 11, 2017 33 Comments
Republicans have gained historic electoral wins across the board in the past eight years, and one of the driving issues behind these victories has been their repeated promise to repeal ObamaCare. In case anyone's forgotten, the initial outcry from voters was first to reject and then, once it was passed in the middle of the night, to repeal ObamaCare. It was the Democrats who started the "what will you replace it with?" narrative.  Suddenly, the mantra became "repeal and replace," but the American public didn't want ObamaCare.  On principle.  And we didn't want it "replaced" with some other central planning disaster. And we still don't.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on July 06, 2017 67 Comments
The Senate GOP's latest effort to fix Obamacare failed to garner support from the conservative wing of the party. The fractured caucus led Sen. Sasse (R-NE) to call for the complete repeal of Obamacare followed by a completely separate replacement. Sasse suggested leaving Obamacare intact as is for one year to protect its current consumers while the Senate hashes out a replacement.

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 30, 2017 21 Comments
Congressional Republicans cannot agree on health care reform, which has caused frustration and anger among the American public. Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) sent a letter to President Donald Trump with a suggestion in the event members cannot reach an agreement when they return from Independence Day break: Repeal Obamacare now. Work on the replacement later.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on June 26, 2017 9 Comments
Thursday, Senate Republicans released their long-anticipated health care reform bill. We discussed highlights of the legislation here. It's worth reiterating that this bill is only the first step (so we're told) in repealing and replacing Obamacare. The Senate GOP bill is limited in what it can accomplish for one reason — reconciliation. Senate Republicans are relying on the budget reconciliation mechanism to pass their first health care overhaul with a simple majority vote. Reaction on the right has been mixed. Some are calling it one of the Republican's greatest policy achievements and others are less than thrilled about kicking the Medicaid can down the road.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on June 22, 2017 10 Comments
Thursday, Senate Republicans finally unveiled their version of the American Health Care Act (AHCA). It's almost as much of a stinker as its House counterpart. If you were hoping the GOP would make good on their promise to repeal and replace Obamacare, then I have some disappointing news: the latest Republican health insurance brainchild does neither. As we discussed when dissecting the unimpressive House AHCA, the Senate GOP bill is also limited in what it can accomplish for one reason -- reconciliation. Senate Republicans are relying on the budget reconciliation mechanism to pass their first health care overhaul with a simple majority vote.
Accessibility by WAH