Paul Ryan on House floor. / J. Scott Applewhite | AP Photo
How many times have conservatives criticized Democrats in Congress for exempting themselves from feeling the full effects of Obamacare? Well, now Republicans in Congress have done the same thing, exempting themselves and their staff from the effects of their own proposed health insurance legislation.
The GOP’s proposed reforms to the Affordable Care Act will permit states to apply for waivers to repeal Obamacare regulations driving up the cost of premiums — regulations like the essential benefits mandates and community rating requirements. The tentative proposal is a compromise between the Freedom Caucus conservatives who want to see Obamacare fully repealed and the party moderates who want Obamacare regulations to remain in place. On the face of it, the idea is “if you can’t fix it, federalize it.”
But the GOP plan won’t fix anything. A half-repeal of Obamacare that is optional for the states will not sufficiently lower premiums, nor will it fix the systemic problems in our overregulated health insurance markets. The sicker people benefitting from Obamacare’s regulations at the expense of everyone else may very well lose the insurance coverage they like under the GOP plan while healthy people will continue to pay artificially higher premiums. This is why Conservative Review Senior Editor Daniel Horowitz called any repeal-in-name-only planworse than keeping Obamacare in place.
And Republicans, never ones to miss an opportunity to shoot themselves in the foot with major pieces of legislation, have included a provision in their plan to keep the Obamacare regulations they like for themselves.
The GOP amendment in question, offered by Rep. Tom MacArthur, R-N.J., — a co-chair of the “Tuesday Group” — keeps the mandated essential benefits for members of Congress and their staff if their home state obtains a waiver to repeal Obamacare regulations under the GOP plan. In other words, Congress has exempted itself from the potential harms of its half-assed repeal of Obamacare.
Bad optics much?
Republicans are trying to sell something to the American people they don’t want to buy themselves. Is it any wonder 50 percent of Americans have “little or no confidence” in the Republican plan to reform health care? Not even Republicans believe in it!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Chris Pandolfo is a staff writer and type-shouter for Conservative Review. He holds a B.A. in Politics and Economics from Hillsdale College. His interests are Conservative Political Philosophy, the American Founding, and Progressive Rock. Follow him on Twitter for doom-saying and great album recommendations @ChrisCPandolfo.
Conservatives speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference said they want to see Congress repeal and replace Obamacare. (Photo: Mike Theiler/Reuters/Newscom)
Conservatives and business leaders in the health care market have a message to Congress on Obamacare: Deliver on your promise to repeal the health care law and begin the process of returning to a health sector that can be “America’s greatest.”
During a panel at the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, on Thursday, Grace-Marie Turner, president of the Galen Institute, told attendees to think of Obamacare’s repeal as a “down payment” that will allow Republicans to implement their own health care reforms in the future.
But first, Turner said Republicans need to take action to repeal the law using a fast-track budget tool called reconciliation.
“We have to do this,”she said. “We have to be get this out of here to be able to deliver on the repeal-and-replace pledge to the American people, and then to begin the process of truly returning to a health sector that can be America’s greatest health sector again.”
Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas, Scott Flanders of eHealth, and Dale Bellis of Liberty HealthShare joined Turner on the health care panel at the annual event.
While Republicans campaigned since 2010 on repealing Obamacare, efforts to advance the legislation dismantling the law have slowed over the last few weeks. The GOP-led Congress passed a bill using reconciliation to undo major provisions of the health care law in 2015. But President Barack Obama ultimately vetoed that legislation. Now, conservatives in Congress are calling on their leaders to bring that same bill before members for another vote.
“It’s going to happen,”Burgess said of Obamacare’s repeal. “What [the 2015 bill] demonstrated to me was that if you got the right president in the White House, you could send that bill back down to the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, and you could repeal large pieces of the Affordable Care Act.”
The 2015 reconciliation bill repealed Obamacare’s individual and employer mandates, Medicaid expansion, and subsidies. It also stripped the federal government of the authority to run the exchanges, and eliminated federal funding for Planned Parenthood. Though that legislation passed both chambers of Congress, tensions have emerged among GOP lawmakers over which parts of the health care law to unwind.
Republicans are split over whether to leave the Medicaid expansion in place, while GOP leaders want to include parts of a replacement plan in the same legislation that will repeal the law—a strategy that some conservatives have derided. But Burgess, who serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said the 2015 reconciliation bill will serve as a “starting point” for Congress this year, with Republicans understanding that the repeal bill will be at least the same as that passed in 2015.
In addition to disagreement over whether to include parts of Obamacare’s replacement in the repeal bill, Republicans also split on whether to provide tax credits or tax deductions to consumers. But Turner stressed that the process for replacing the law—what she said will become a “once-in-a-generation reform”—will be a lengthy one that requires thought, particularly since Republicans are starting not from a blank slate, but with an already changed health insurance market.
“It’s really what would we want if we were starting from the right kind of policy for the health sector? We are not starting there. We’re starting with Obamacare,”she said. “We’re starting with some number of millions of people … relying on Obamacare. You have to create a lifeboat for them, and structures that provide the kind of resources people need who don’t have means to purchase health insurance on their own so they can continue coverage.”
Like Republicans in Congress, President Donald Trump campaigned on repealing Obamacare. During his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order addressing Obamacare and giving his federal agencies the discretion to no longer enforce the individual mandate. And he’s repeatedly said that his new Health and Human Services secretary, Tom Price, will present a replacement plan before Congress.
But so far, no proposal has been presented.
Trump will address a joint session of Congress next week, and Burgess had his own wishes for what he hopes the president will tell Republicans and Democrats in Congress.
“I would like for him to say very directly to us, to my leadership in the House, Republicans and Democrats, that ‘this is your job,’”Burgess said. “‘I want you to get it done.’ Simple as that.”
CPAC, the largest annual national gathering of conservative activists, runs from Wednesday to Saturday at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, just outside Washington.
Across the nation, Republican lawmakers have been holding raucous town hall meetings where their liberal constituents have been gathering to complain. From California, to Michigan, to Florida liberals have been filling up venues and yelling at recently elected Republicans (in usually heavily Republican districts) about President Trump, Obamacare, and other hot-button topics.
Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) was reelected with 63% of the vote in his district, but you never would have guessed it if you would have been at a recent town hall where police had to escort him from the premises.
Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) was reelected with 60% of the vote in his district, but at a recent town hall in Grand Rapids, Michigan you would have thought that no one in his community had voted for him.
There are many other examples of the ridiculous rise of liberal complainers. Folks who are so incensed at losing (even when the winner got more than 60% of the vote) that they simply have to complain about everything, but I’ll just share one more…
In Florida, Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) won his district with 69% of the vote. 69%! And yet, when he held a town hall in New Port Richey, Florida you would have though that the man would soon be looking for other work. The venue was filled with liberal Democrats screaming and complaining about the GOP majority doing things that Republicans elected them to do. The insanity was epic, stirred by one man’s demand that Obamacare be “ripped to shreds,” but it was an elderly gentleman in a trademark “Make America Great Again” hat that made the crowd apoplectic.
The man asked three simple questions, and had the Democrat crowd cheering him on… but when he answered his own questions it was as if he’d just poured hot coals over their liberal heads.
“Every American should have health care coverage—would you agree,” he asked. The crowd cheered their approval. “That pre-existing conditions should be covered—would you say,” the man continued. Again the crowd cheered the man on. “If you are 26 years old, or at least up to that, you should be able to be covered by your parents’ insurance—would you agree,” he asked one last time to raucous applause. But there would be no cheering from the liberals after his final statement… “OK, Mr. Price, the cabinet member, has said he’s committed to those three things. Yes, yes, yes! So you need to find out the facts before you start complaining.”
Ouch.
Watch the epic dress down for yourself:
The Independent Journal Review proves the man right, and lays out Dr. Tom Price’s (the new Secretary of Health and Human Services) position on healthcare.
On the issue of health care for all, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said:
“I think it’s absolutely imperative that we have a system in place that has patients at the center and allows for every single American to have the opportunity to gain access to the kind of coverage they want.”
Price also recently vowed, “we will not abandon individuals with pre-existing illness or disease.”
Finally, even President Donald Trump said he wants to keep the Obamacare provision allowing people up to 26 years old to be covered by their parents’ insurance plans.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Onan Coca
Onan is the Editor-in-Chief at Liberty Alliance media group. He’s also the managing editor at Eaglerising.com, Constitution.com and the managing partner at iPatriot.com. Onan is a graduate of Liberty University (2003) and earned his M.Ed. at Western Governors University in 2012. Onan lives in Atlanta with his wife and their three wonderful children. You can find his writing all over the web.
Republicans are facing a new public relations war in their effort to repeal and replace ObamaCare. The GOP Congress has repeatedly approved legislation to repeal ObamaCare, but those proposals went nowhere with President Obama in the White House. Now that Republicans also hold the White House, the challenge for the GOP is taking the long-promised action in a way that won’t backfire politically. And that’s turning out to be harder than many anticipated.
Polls show the public is divided on whether to repeal ObamaCare, which doesn’t make the task of unraveling one of the largest social programs passed in recent history any easier.
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Republicans say the key to winning the public relations battle is for their party to highlight the weaknesses of ObamaCare, a law even most Democrats admit could improve from legislative changes.
“I think the thing that, simply from a Republican standpoint, is to point out it’s a failing system,”said GOP Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), who pointed to rising insurance premiums and fewer choices for consumers as significant problems that will spur public support for the GOP’s plans.
The GOP arguments are being made to a politically polarized population on edge after the 2016 presidential election. Democrats are doing everything they can to make it tougher for Republicans to take action on ObamaCare. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) says Republicans want to “Make America Sick Again,”playing off of President Trump’s campaign slogan. Other Democratic senators have said repealing ObamaCare will lead to the deaths of thousands of people.
Republicans have faced angry crowds at some town halls, where people have expressed their displeasure at possibly losing health benefits. While Republicans contend that much of the opposition at the local events is being ginned up by Democrats, it appears to have had an effect. Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) tells upset constituents that Republicans are aware that repealing ObamaCare must result in a “much-improved health system.”
“We will be judged on our success in doing so,”he said.
A GOP aide to a congressman who faced a contentious town hall earlier this month said it’s about finding common ground.
“Even though they may disagree on the overall repeal of the ACA, he still believes it’s not sustainable…. From what he’s heard so far, I think he understands there is room for common ground and solutions.”
Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has been on a media blitz to paint ObamaCare as a disaster. But his efforts have been challenged by disunity on the GOP side. Some Republicans are now talking about repairingObamaCare, while others are in more of a repeal or bust camp. The party still hasn’t coalesced around a replacement plan, which makes taking on Democrats tougher.
“Until everyone is on the same page, it’s very hard to combat a lot of those allegations,”said Ford O’Connell, a GOP strategist.
“If they’re not looking like they’re walking in a unified front and like they have the perfect solution, it’s going to be very hard to get public support on your side.”
Republicans blew past a self-imposed January 27 deadline to have repeal legislation drafted. Leaked audio of Republicans speaking at their GOP conference highlighted differences within the party. If Republicans want to get, and keep public support as they try to repeal ObamaCare, they need to appear to be on the same page, said GOP strategist Matt Mackowiak.
“Republican unity is crucial. Finding a bill that Susan Collins and Jim Jordan can support and agree on is difficult,”he said, referring to two Republicans who appear to be on the opposite side of their party.
“If Republicans are divided and Democrats are unified, that’s a great way to lose this battle before it begins.”
Republicans believe they have a mandate to take action on ObamaCare. For evidence, just look at the election, they say.
Rep. Diane Black, who faced a fiery crowd at a townhall in Tennessee on Thursday night, doubled down on the Republican’s goal to repeal ObamaCare.
“While there were strong feelings at this forum, there is no mistaking the clear message Tennesseans sent last November at the ballot box when they sent Congressman Black and President Trump to Washington to repeal ObamaCare and put patients back in control of their healthcare choices,”her office said in a statement Friday.
“As a registered nurse, Congressman Black ran for office on a platform of providing relief from this disastrous law, and she is intent on keeping that pledge.”
The outspoken critic of the Affordable Care Act has been tapped to
Georgia Rep. Tom Price (R) / Image added by WhatDidYouSay.org
be the head of the agency that will be ‘repealing and replacing’ it. Georgia Rep. Tom Price (R) has been selected as Secretary of the HHS, and that is FANTASTIC news!
Price — a former orthopedic surgeon — has been one of the strongest opponents to the Affordable Care Act and currently serves as chairman of the House Budget Committee. In a statement, Trump said Price has “earned a reputation for being a tireless problem solver and the go-to expert on healthcare policy, making him the ideal choice to serve in this capacity.”
“He is exceptionally qualified to shepherd our commitment to repeal and replace Obamacare and bring affordable and accessible healthcare to every American,”the president-elect continued. “I am proud to nominate him as Secretary of Health and Human Services.”
Read more: The Daily Caller
Image created and inserted by WhatDidYouSay.org
Tom Price: Conservative and full of ideas:
Mr. Price, a 62-year-old former orthopedic surgeon, is one of several GOP physicians who sought to carve out a leading role in shaping the party’s health policy and, in particular, the party’s alternative vision to Democrats’ Affordable Care Act.
Much of his criticism of the law has centered on the authority it gives to the federal government, and to the agency that he may now head.
“We think it’s important that Washington not be in charge of health care,”the six-term congressman said in an interview this summer. “The problem that I have with Obamacare is that its premise is that Washington knows best.”
Mr. Price has championed his own legislation, the Empowering Patients First Act, since 2009, taking a position on a number of hot-button issues for conservative health policy thinkers. In its latest iteration, the proposal includes refundable, age-adjusted tax credits for people to buy insurance if they don’t have access to coverage through an employer or government program. People in a government program, such as Medicare, Medicaid or Tricare, would also be allowed to opt out of it and get tax credits toward the cost of private coverage instead.
Mr. Price had previously included tax deductions in his plans, a tool typically favored by harder-line conservative health-policy thinkers, but said he had “moved towards credits because we felt it was cleaner.”
The plan offers a one-time credit aimed at boosting health-savings accounts, long described by supporters as a way of bringing down medical spending, and derives part of its funding from capping how much employers can spend on providing employee health care before being taxed. The plan seeks to make health insurance available to individuals with pre-existing medical conditions by helping states set up new “high-risk” pools or other programs for such enrollees, and sets new rules allowing insurers to sell policies across state lines.
Read more: Wall Street Journal
One year ago, every network, every member of Congress and certainly HHS and CMS watched or tried to log into HealthCare.gov. It proved to be a long, long wait. The collective frustration at the end of the day was the site did not work.
Despite repeatedly assuring both Congressional committees and the American public that the new marketplace and this bold new experiment on shopping for government controlled health insurance was to be smooth as silk and easy as pie, the rollout was a colossal failure for the HHS Secretary and her team. Ultimately, she admitted being responsible for the ‘debacle’ but not much has been done to eliminate the problems and clean up the process. HealthCare.gov is still broken.
The rollout was a failure, but my hope is the bureaucracy has learned some lessons. Here are five things I hope we can file away as lessons learned.
1) The Federal government does not have the ability to build an aggregate web site in order to provide medical care for all Americans.
In July of 2014, the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that HealthCare.gov failed to launch as promised by the Administration. GAO put the blame for this failed launch squarely on the shoulders of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Despite spending $840 million for the development of the website, it is still not working as it should. The GAO report shed light on this when they reported that CMS rushed the job and took shortcuts around critical issues in order to meet the October 1, 2013 launch goal.
Worse yet, the GAO report concluded that if CMS did not take action to improve oversight and adhere to standard contract practice, that this current enrollment period would encounter problems.
2) The Federal government cannot safeguard personal health information.
When HealthCare.gov was hacked in July of 2014, investigators denied that any personal information was taken. However, the hack demonstrated that the Federal government is not able to secure the massive amount of data that they are collecting.
3) Whenever the Federal government attempts to provide a service, prices go up.
In order to provide a one-size fits all, government-compliant insurance program, people have had their insurance policies canceled. Government regulations have caused premiums and out-of-pocket costs (including coverage for prescription drugs) to skyrocket, forcing many to chose between healthcare and other necessities.
President Obama promised that under his government-run healthcare that the annual premium for a family would decrease by $2,500. In fact, Tennesseans are facing double digit increases in their health insurance policies this enrollment period
4) When Federal cost control “experts” weigh in, taxpayers lose choice.
Narrow network refers to the manner in which insurance companies limit the number of doctors and hospitals that beneficiaries may use in order to save money. Under Obamacare, these networks have become extremely narrow – excluding some cancer treatment centers as well as children’s hospitals. Narrow networks are a key central cost controlling idea of the drafters of Obamacare.
5) When the Federal government runs healthcare, patients lose the ability to see the doctor of their choice.
In part, because of the narrow networks in Obamacare, patients are finding that their doctor is no longer available.
However, there is another factor at play. One survey of 700 doctors found that the majority of them have considered leaving practice because of Obamacare. Doctors understand what Washington bureaucrats do not and that is having an insurance card is not the same as having healthcare. As more and more rules from Washington are placed on our trusted healthcare providers, they will become increasingly discouraged and find other outlets for their talents.
As we all reflect on these five lessons, one thing is clear – Obamacare does not work and must be repealed and replaced with real reforms. American families expect and deserve patient-centered solutions that will provide them with access to more affordable health care coverage. They deserve a health care system that works for them.
Marsha Blackburn is a Member of the House of Representatives serving the Seventh Congressional District of Tennessee. She serves as Vice-Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and is a Member of the Budget Committee.
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