Trump Deliberately Tries to Break Obamacare. Does He Own It Now?
WASHINGTON — Remember Colin Powell’s “Pottery Barn Rule” — if you break it, you own it? Well, consider the actions that the Trump administration has taken, including over the last 24 hours:
- Way back in February, it announced it was shortening Obamacare’s enrollment period , which begins on November 1, from 12 weeks to just six weeks;
- In August, it slashed Obamacare’s advertising budget by 90 percent, from $100 million to $10 million;
- It cut funding for non-profit groups that help sign up Americans to purchase insurance under Obamacare, the New York Times reported earlier this week;
- President Trump personally pulled the plug on Iowa’s work to fix its state marketplace, the Washington Post said last week;
- Then Thursday morning, Trump signed an executive order that could allow some Americans to purchase cheaper insurance plans , which would reduce the ranks of healthy, younger people in the Obamacare markets;
- And then last night, the White House announced it was ending key Obamacare subsidies that help pay out-of-pocket costs for low-income Americans.
Any one of these moves, by itself, could be considered neglect. But taken together, they make a strong case that the Trump administration is deliberately trying to break Obamacare. After all, if fewer people enroll in the marketplaces, premiums will go up and fewer insurers will participate.
“Cutting health care subsidies will mean more uninsured in my district. @POTUS promised more access, affordable coverage. This does opposite,” Rep. Illeana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., tweeted last night in response to the Trump administration’s subsidy announcement.
Trump himself seemed to suggest that he was ending this subsidy to force Democrats to negotiate (which they’re ALREADY doing, given the ongoing negotiations between Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.)
“The Democrats Obamacare is imploding. Massive subsidy payments to their pet insurance companies has stopped. Dems should call me to fix!” Trump tweeted this morning .
Republicans might think the law is already broken. But why make it worse? Can anyone say — with a straight face — that these actions, together, improve the law?
So who gets blamed if premiums go higher than they currently are? And who’s at fault if more insurers bolt the Obamacare markets?
Back in April, a Kaiser Family Foundation poll found 64 percent of Americans saying that Trump and Republicans control the government, and they are responsible for any problems with the health-care law going forward, versus just 28 percent who said they’d point the finger at Barack Obama and congressional Democrats for passing the law.
Does Congress try to fix things? Trump’s actions on health care raise a separate question
Does Congress try to fix things, especially given the ongoing Alexander-Murray negotiations? Are Democrats patient enough to remain at the negotiation table? Do Republicans extend a hand?
Oh, remember one other thing: There is no confirmed HHS secretary (after Tom Price resigned).
Read more:
Tags
Who is online
94 visitors
Please. It was already broken. A system in which 85% of participants get federal help and the insurance companies do too? Anyone with half a brain and 3rd grade math skills can see it is unsustainable. NOTHING "affordable" about it.
Ok....then if it's such a bad thing, why has a better replacement been created? If it's a disaster, why all the time and energy to make it worse?........Face it, they own it now!
And those bailouts paid to the insurance companies were illegal. Congress never appropriated tax dollars to bail out insurance companies which cant make any profit via Obamacare
I have not been a supporter of the ACA, I was one that could not keep my plan nor my doctor - that said, this is not the way to end ACA with death by a thousand cuts .. with nothing to replace it.
Offering up cut rate insurance from across state lines is not exactly helping anyone but the young and healthy - I lost my plan to ACA .. now those old plans do not exist, yet once again 'we' are going to have to find a new plan after ACA bleeds to death ... YAY!
I am still hopeful the (D)'s and (R)'s can come together and work for the people for a change..
Good morning and Happy Friday
Sadly I think the only way to bring the democrats to the table is to let the ACA crash completely and refuse to patch it up. Trump needs to let that happen and then say publically "I and the Republicans in Congress stand ready to build a new bipartisan healthcare system to replace the broken mess they created without Republican input - if and when the Democrats are willing to stop their obstruction tactics. They only need ask - they know where they can find me."
I think you are correct, and that is very sad!
Tax 'reform' .. immigration .. health insurance all needs bi partisan discussion and compromise in order to work. I strongly dislike the way things are unfolding.
I wish Biden was President : )
On that I fully agree
It's the Democrats fault because they did not want to work with the Republicans. Same thing happened when ACA was created.
Then you fully don't know Joe Biden.....out of all that petri dish of inadequacy If he would have ran, him and John Kasich was the only that would have been worth voting for
The only reason I bring up Biden, is because I feel the country needs some time to heal. I always thought that a man like Biden (crazee or not) would be the man in the White House that could possible get the healing started - not create the even deeper divide that is 'seemingly' happening now...
First of all, Trump is full of B.S. and does not mean a word he says. Secondly, with Republicans in complete control why does Trump whine and complain about Democrats?
Well you cant come to a party you were never invited to! the Republican request nor asked for no Democrat input in those bills they tried to slim through, what they thought is that they could get enough Republicans votes that it didn't matter if it was complete garbage!
No it was nothing like that, Republicans had serval opportunities to introduce amendments to the PPACA in both the House and the Senate bills. Not only that but it was debated in three House committees and two Senate Committees, as well as Republicans filing over 700 amendments in which 161 of them were adopted in the whole and revised bill.
You understand what "rhetorical" means - yes? So why make a demonstrably false statement as your main point if you seek to have an intellectual discussion?
Again - a completely false narrative. While he is in charge - as it were - the dim-ocrats are intentionally obstructing for political reasons alone - which was the point I made in my initial post.
As for being "full of BS" - until chuckie shumer can show he has any interest in actually helping his constituency - or the lot of the American people - then both he and anyone supporting his assault on our nation is PROVABLY FOS.
The question I have is this: Why go the effort of crafting a post when you had nothing of value to say?
Go waste someone else's time.
Comment removed for skirting the CoC [ph]
No - I don't think you have the first idea why you should be in favor of anything - proven by the fact that you seem to stand for nothing except rhetorical hyperbole. I think you are still seeking your first clue in understanding what's a stake, what's important - the very basics of what's going on around you.
Heck sparky - you've already proven over and over that you don't understand what an "elitist" is - and for the umpteenth time - it is not people you don't like, it is not conservatism - it's not even something found on one side of the political isle.
BTW - It's so quaint - yet ultimately predictable see that you STILL vote up your own silly posts - but, I suppose that if you didn't vote for your posts then who the heck would? Right sparky?
Over 100 changes were made to the ACA that were requested by Republicans in an attempt to get them to support it after 9 months of bi-partisan debates with even the Republican leadership being invited to the white house numerous times in an attempt to be bi-partisan. The only reason no Republicans voted for it was purely a political stunt by Republicans who were told by their leadership that "If (Obama) was for it, we had to be against it". which they decided the very day he was inaugurated. It had ZERO to do with what was best for the country. In fact, the ACA was essentially designed by Republicans back in the 1990's.
"Republican Sen. John Chafee of Rhode Island was the point man. The bill he introduced, http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/t2GPO/ http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-103s1770pcs/pdf/BILLS-103s1770pcs.pdf"> Health Equity and Access Reform Today, (yes, that spells HEART) had a list of 20 co-sponsors that was a who’s who of Republican leadership. There was Minority Leader Bob Dole, R- Kan., Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and many others. There also were two Democratic co-sponsors.
Among other features, the Chafee bill included:
An individual mandate;
Creation of purchasing pools;
Standardized benefits;
Vouchers for the poor to buy insurance;
A ban on denying coverage based on a pre-existing condition.
"You would find a great deal of similarity to provisions in the Affordable Care Act," Sheila Burke, Dole’s chief of staff in 1993, told PunditFact via email. "The guys were way ahead of the times!! Different crowd, different time, suffice it to say."
www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2013/nov/15/ellen-qualls/aca-gop-health-care-plan-1993/
I hate to point this out, but the GOP/TP are very proud that they do NOT compromise. They issue their list of demands and that's it. They pay have to give up something if it's small enough.
Also, the two-cares are the exactly opposite to each other, one wants to insure more people hopefully everybody, some day like every other advanced Country and some not so advanced. The other wants to get rid of the ACA to replace it with trash, and when that fails...well, the private sector does everything SO much better, better give it all back to the Health Insurance Companies, let them run that.
But you know what? I'll bet the cap on Insurance PROFITS well get lost, as well of the rest of those pesky regulations. They can make insane profits again by excusing themselves from paying for Hospital Care just on that and the "previous conditions" alone.
You'll be able to buy that little stiff paper card that allows for sub-standard care and you'll snicker and grin how cheap it is until you try to use it, at which time you'll find out how CHEAP it is. Hey you'll all get those Doctors you all loved SO much if they gave you sub-standard care before they'll be happy to do it again.
From the link you provided..
20 Senators were cosponsors of the (not a bill) that went NO where ... here is a list of those Senators...
No congress still owns it. He’s waiting for the repeal to reach his desk so he can own it and get rid of this horrible theft and redistribution program. Right now the blame goes to the Dems and the Rinos like McCain.
Umm...no, you all aren't getting off that easy, Trump campaigned on REPEAL AND REPLACE, he stated he would immediately replace it with something terrific and affordable for EVERYONE remember.....but hey! all Trump did was put more money in my pocket by signing that EO, now I can go back to selling those junk plans the insurance companies had before the PPACA, you know those plans that you paid 50 bucks a month but covered little to nothing and reimbursement rates were even less!
Do you know if some people practice before a mirror or tape recorder so they can be a perfect part of a echo-chamber? Or if that kind of person takes notes at least of the catch phrases?
Nah, you wouldn't know anything about it, never mind.
What other other RINOs are you referring to Dean? Can't blame the whole thing on "Songbird".
I guess Chucky Schumer should've tried to work something out with Trump.
I really do hope you are a billionaire, 'cus, if you aren't you are going to be hurting in a few years, maybe sooner.
Trump is screwing over his own base, economically. The tax cuts will benefit the wealthy the most. The destruction of Obamacare will hurt the "working class" the most. The subsidies he just cut went to the very lower class working people that say they love Trump. But the GOP needs that 7 billion to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy.
Now we see the reason Trump is working people up over the national anthem and the immigrant "dreamers" and the "wall". He wants to get his base fired up over non-economic issues to smokescreen his decimation of them on their economic issues.
He is a fraud con man and he has his suckers, er, followers eating out of his hand.
The Dems don't do anything to help the working class. They are only interested in helping the non working class that will support them out of fear of having to hold a steady job. Too many welfare programs are designed to discourage holding a job and preparing for the future. They do however encourage fraud and having as many kids as possible for more of the taxpayers $$$.
Trump didnt cut health insurance for the non working today. Unemployed people are generally eligible for medicaid . He cut subsidies to the working poor who bought insurance on the individual exchanges. Those are people with jobs.
Ummmmmmmmm no he didn't. He cut the subsidies to the insurance companies that would ensure they didn't lose money by cutting rates in their participation in the Obamacare fiasco. Tax credits and "subsidies" for individuals if they are eligible are relatively untouched.
Please, read more than just the headlines before you draw conclusions.
The Affordable Care Act includes two different types of cost-sharing subsidies, both of which are available to enrollees with incomes between 100 percent and 250 percent of the federal poverty level (in states that have expanded Medicaid , enrollees are eligible for Medicaid with incomes up to 138 percent of the poverty level; cost-sharing subsidy eligibility starts above that point).
In both cases, HHS reimburses insurance carriers directly to reduce the insured’s cost-sharing, and unlike the premium subsidies , cost-sharing subsidies do not have to be reconciled when insureds file their taxes. Both subsidies are automatically incorporated into Silver plans when eligible enrollees shop for plans through the exchanges.
Lower out-of-pocket maximums
The first subsidy reduces the maximum out-of-pocket exposure on a Silver plan for households with incomes between 100 and 250 percent of federal poverty level. This subsidy was originally intended for enrollees with incomes up to 400 percent of poverty level, but HHS later ruled that the subsidy would end at 250 percent of poverty level.
For 2017 coverage, the unsubsidized out-of-pocket maximum for an individual is $7,150 ($14.300 for a family). Enrollees who are eligible for cost-sharing subsidies can select Silver plans with lower out-of-pocket limits : For applicants with income between 100 and 200 percent of poverty level, the subsidized Silver plans have a maximum out-of-pocket of $2,350 ($4,700 for a family). Those with income between 200 and 250 percent of the poverty level can select a Silver plan with a maximum out-of-pocket of $5,700 ($11,400 for a family). These plans only appear on the exchange websites for applicants who qualify for them.
Source:
Follow us: @EyeOnInsurance on Twitter | healthinsurance.org on Facebook
The subsidies go went to the benefit of the working poor who are not eligible for medicaid and the lower middle class.
No shit, they went to coverage for the working poor and the lower middle class. That is the purpose of insurance, sufficient coverage. The subsidies insured that the lower income people could afford to meet dedictibles and out of pocket expenses if they needed to use their health insurance. Duh?
did you sterilize it first?
No shit, they went to coverage for the working poor and the lower middle class. That is the purpose of insurance, sufficient coverage. The subsidies insured that the lower income people could afford to meet dedictibles and out of pocket expenses if they needed to use their health insurance. Duh?
JOHN please don't make yourself a useful idiot for Insurance companies....
If anyone doubts that Obamacare is massive wealth transfer from the middle class people to Big Insurance, this information puts those doubts to bed. Profits to the six largest insurers are up 29 percent over the same quarter last year. Why? Government payments. From CNBC :
Should have gone to the emergency room. They have to treat you.
Realizing that there's almost no chance of any of this getting through the concrete but I'll give it a try anyway: those subsidies are what allow low income people to afford any kind of health insurance. If they're cut off, insurers are going to quit offering any policies and at least 7 million people will who used to not be able to get a policy but could under OCare will be back with no insurance.
Everything in that sentence is false except the period at the end.
Possibly that remains to be seen. And they have no one to blame at that point than one Barack Hussein Obama. He is the one who pushed and got the illegal payment to insurance companies through.
Got a serious question for you. Why, in your posts to just about everyone, are you such a hateful nasty bastard?
Or, and, they will be offered bad plans by the insurance companies which will be nothing more than "fluff policies", those policies are basically if you are injured you are covered but, don't get sick, then you aren't covered. The idea of Obamacare or, it's real name the PPACA was to set up a pool of funds so that when people bought insurance there would be enough in the funds to help pay for those who couldn't afford insurance, ie, the poor working class, now that there is an "out" for the younger, poorer working class to "buy" into the ACA "pool" will gradually lose funds and, it will become more expensive for the rest of those who are really ill to afford their insurance.
Hi hope you used a #11 blade, otherwise Ouch !
You act like you alone carry the horrible burden of everybody, and only you have skin in the game. If you live in this Country, you already have skin in the game as a citizen. The only people who live for free are probably politicians and people who are completely disabled, and they didn't do it to get all that free stuff.
Say, this isn't one of those "I don't want MY tax dollars spent on.." things, is it? That always makes me cry, it's so sad. It's like wealthy people complaining how hard their life is. That one always gets me too.
Was that 'waxed' or 'greased'. Two different things, I would imagine.
That's because the wealthy pay almost all the taxes.
Exactly the government punishes hard work and success and rewards laziness and stupidity.
How does he break Obamacare by following it? Obamacare doesn't authorize illegal subsidy payments to billion dollar insurance companies. If the democrats wanted to subsidize insurance companies, they should have put it in their bill.
80% of the people using the ACA voted for trump because he said, "repeal and replace". I wonder who they will vote for when the ACA is gone and there is no replacement? I don't have a dog in this fight, I am a vet so I use the VA system, but I have friends that DO use the ACA, none lost their doctors and 18 of those 20 voted for Trump. None of them will do so again.
I agree that there are certainly some in the liberal voter base so naïve and ignorant that they don't see just how chuckie shumer and friends are working overtime to keep Trump form fixing the hot mess the liebrals themselves created.......and Gruber was right and honest when he said he and Dingle-Barry were depending on liberal stupidity to get the ACA passed........but you my friend are assuming waaaaaay too much hoping that all liberals are that unengaged in reality.
New record set every week for the stock market, lowest unemployment in 12 years, highest participation in the job market, GDP increase percentage has doubled since Trump took office, China and Russia working WITH us in the UN for the first time ever, illegal border crossing reduced to a trickle.....and a new Tax plan on the way that will reduce tax burdens and further invigorate the economy.
Sure sparky - lots for the liberals to be unhappy about.
HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Too true. I assume - perhaps much too optimistically - that most people would rather work, support themselves, captain their own ship - and avoid being a parasite. Our system of SS, Medicare and even welfare worked while that was mostly true.
Unfortunately - as you allude to - there are many that don't.
The goober party is hard at work, importing and hiding as many illegal immigrants as it can, keeping minorities as poor and uneducated as it can - all to ensure it's own political existence. The truly sad part of this is the existence of people like Frost that celebrate the illiteracy, the poverty and the ignorance used by the liberals to enslave the minorities while playing a version of three card Monty to hide the facts from them.
After all - all the poor and uneducated really need to do is tear down enough statues to fix everything - right? And what better way to advertise their struggle by pissing on the American Flag, LEOs and first responders on a football field during the national anthem - right??
This is why the Left is so unhappy:
Two presidential campaign slogans:
Each are vague but what are the results? The first slogan resulted in 8 years of fantasy, racial and religious divisiveness, failures, and lies. The second slogan, in less than 10 months, has produced documented success/growth and the re-establishment of the USA as the leader of the Free World.
The Left will always blame Trump for the Obama Administration's lies, failures, and ineptitude.
Yes, it is officially Trump Care. He owns the pile of shit he's created.
It seems to me, after watching all the two year old things Trump has said and done since taking the wheel of America, is to jealously denigrate, disparage and undo anything and everything Obama and prior Presidents did that was for the good of the country and its people, while doing nothing of any real value for the country or its people himself. Many of his childish antics and knee jerk actions have been blocked or overruled by Congress. Even his own Republican owned Congress recognizes the difference between what is right and what is wrong where Trump does not seem to be able to determine it for himself, and refuses to listen to anyone who does.
Thus, he takes the dictatorial position and strikes his own blow below the belt with his executive pen authority.
The American people and America will pay dearly for his childish acts of jealousy, arrogance and stupidity.
Just my take on it.
No I'm paying big time for Obamas stupidity. Not only do I get stuck paying way too much for my healthcare but i'm also stuck paying way too much for the lazy bums that Nancy Pelosi told to quit their jobs and play a musical instrument. Trump is trying to help me.
Yeah...Yeah.....Trump adorers are so ready to accept any and everything he says as gospel.
As P.T. Barnum said, "There's one born every minute."
Save your Obama hate for someone who cares.
And how would you know that for a fact? You know NOTHING about me personally, yet, you feel free to make the ass-umption of what and where I get my news from. YOU don't have the right to presume anything at all about my private life. Catfish are a dime a dozen.
So go blabber at someone ho really cares what you think. I don't.
I am non-political, I have no political affiliation, but, that does not mean I am brain dead. So your abusive political labels mean jack to me. I have every right to express my own views as a Member of NT just as you and everyone else does, that you don't agree with me does not give you the right to denigrate me or throw you personal political derogatory labels at me merely because you don't agree with me.
If you don't like what I say then use your personal ignore button, every adult is capable of having one. I will be using mine hence forth.
Don't waltz in here as a newcomer and act like you know all about me. And I don't care what he said or she said. IT means nothing to me. If it means anything to you then revel in it, but, don't put their words in my mouth. I can speak well enough for myself. Now go play with the other kiddies. I have no interest in your childish drama.
Are you having fun yet? Do continue. Spout all you like. I won't be listening.
You're right Dean, you won't be paying for Obama's "stupidity", but you will at some point have to pay for your own. But some people always have to learn the hard way.
Question::
If something ANYTHING is " Unsustainable " think now, .... that by default means what, would it last .... or is it on " deaththrows"?