Senate ObamaCare bill

[Clocker]

"Repeal and Replace" was, of course, only a catchy little campaign slogan. The Senate bill is designed to remove the ObamaCare taxes while making minor changes to the basic provisions and propping it up to avoid the obvious financial collapse it is now headed for. With the specific medical taxes and the mandates gone, it will require even more federal tax money to subsidize the low income policy holders.

Although Senate Republicans had initially indicated that they would scrap the House bill and start from scratch, the Senate plan looks more than a little like its House counterpart, which kept much of Obamacare's structure in place. But even more tellingly, the Senate plan looks even closer to the health care law that is already on the books.

In other words, it is exactly what critics predicted: a bill that, at least in the near term, retains weakened versions of nearly all of Obamacare's core features while fixing few if any of the problems that Republicans say they want to fix. It is Obamacare lite—the health law that Republicans claim to oppose, but less of it. It represents a total failure of Republican policy imagination.

http://reason.com/blog/2017/06/22/th...h-care-bill-is

A summary of the main points of the bill from Zero Hedge:

So you're probably wondering what's in the bill. I perused the bill just this morning and here's a list of 24 items covered in this 142 page healthcare bill.

• Gives subsidies illegal immigrants if they are working in the United States
• Subsidies based on 350% Federal Poverty Level, not 400%.
• Gets rid of business and consumer mandates with no penalty
• Qualified plans don't need to provide abortion coverage unless it's to save the life of the mother
• Each state gets 15-10 Billion for uninsurables
• Cadillac tax is gone
• OTC med tax is gone
• HSA penalty tax is 10%
• Prescription tax is gone
• Medical device tax is gone
• Business owners can deduct part d expense again
• Deductible medical expenses are back to 7.5% instead of 10% AGI
• Tanning tax is gone (ironic)
• Net investment tax is gone
• HSA deductibility will be adjusted every year for COLA
• Both spouses can now make catch-up contributions to a family HSA
• 60 day limitation to setting up an HSA account when first getting the plan for purposes of a current claim
• No coverage for abortion clinics
• Repeal of cost-sharing subsidy
• MLR set by states
• Grants for states battling opiod addiction (like mine)
• CHIP is reauthorized
• $5,000 app fee to create small business association health pool
• Psychiatric coverage is limited to institutionalized individuals only, and for stays up to 30 days but not to exceed 90 days
• The Senate draft health-care bill doesn’t currently include a provision penalizing people who don’t maintain continuous coverage

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-06-22/whats-republican-healthcare-bill-full-breakdown

[davew]

It no longer forces individuals or companies to buy insurance - which seems like an added tax.

[Clocker]

Originally Posted by davew

It no longer forces individuals or companies to buy insurance - which seems like an added tax.

Under the individual mandate, if you didn't have insurance, you had to either buy ObamaCare insurance or pay a penalty. If you bought ObamaCare insurance as a young and healthy person, your rates were greatly out of proportion to your risk. Therefore, your rates subsidized the older, less healthy people on ObamaCare. If you opted out, you paid a penalty, which also helped provide a subsidy.

With no mandate, the money now being paid by the young and the healthy will go away as a source of subsidies. As will the subsidies from other ObamaCare taxes, like those on medical devices and tanning salons. All of that means more spending on ObamaCare out of the general fund.

[delayjf]

Obama convinced the country that healthcare is a right and therefore should be provided by the Government But nobody wants to give up their share of the pie. I'm afraid we are headed towards single payer. Ultimately the losers will be the insurance companies who will see their healthcare business go away and caregivers who will have to settle for working at the rates set by medicare.

Now, CA and NY and a few other states are considering going to a single payer system. How does their dropping out of the healthcare market help or hurt the rest of the country with regards to their healthcare costs? Especially when you consider CA has stated that healthcare will be provided to all residence, legal or illegal; that and an open border will turn CA into the healthcare system for central america.

Anybody got any better ideas? I still like the idea of mandated Healthcare Savings Accounts coupled with catastrophic coverage.

[JustRalph]

DOA

[fast4522]

Originally Posted by delayjf

Obama convinced the country that healthcare is a right and therefore should be provided by the Government But nobody wants to give up their share of the pie. I'm afraid we are headed towards single payer. Ultimately the losers will be the insurance companies who will see their healthcare business go away and caregivers who will have to settle for working at the rates set by medicare.

Now, CA and NY and a few other states are considering going to a single payer system. How does their dropping out of the healthcare market help or hurt the rest of the country with regards to their healthcare costs? Especially when you consider CA has stated that healthcare will be provided to all residence, legal or illegal; that and an open border will turn CA into the healthcare system for central america.

Anybody got any better ideas? I still like the idea of mandated Healthcare Savings Accounts coupled with catastrophic coverage.

In NO WAY should someone have to pay for an illegal who came here benefits of healthcare or anything else. Let California and other states do this and we the Government deny those states, even better watch the illegals flock to those states for the benefits and ICE scoop them up for deportation. Let us see what shakes out, people are making odds on single payer just like they were making odds for Hillary Clinton winning the Presidency . In my mind the only thing Obama convinced the country of was that he was a traitor.

[reckless]

I lay this disaster at the feet of the Republican Party. They should all go to hell.

For eight years they said ObamaCare was the worst thing to ever happen to the American people. That had passed repeal bills a few times but they didn't have the ballz to publicly fight Obama on the issue, even in the congressional 'election' years where they could have put the Democrats on the spot to defend it. What didn't coward Mitt Romney say in the 2012 election to make Obama defend it? Nothing.

Then a Republican gets elected President and -- no more excuses! The GOP held each branch of the Federal government, plus a great majority in the states' executive and legislative bodies. Thanks primarily to the issue called ObamaCare.

On January 2 the House could have repealed ObamaCare and substituted any one of a dozen 'replace' plans that were previously written -- and voted on -- and the Senate could have also up and downed passage of any bill sent them.

But nooooo. Village idiot Paul Ryan needed another bill, his bill, etc., etc. All this was to slow up, show up and thwart Trump, let's not kid ourselves.

The current, new House bill sucked, and the Senate's version sucks even more, if possible. The Ryan bill was laden with tricks, cowardness and idiocy; the McConnell version was written by lobbyists. 'Nuff said, really. There was a great and 'fair' bill already written by Rand Paul which should have been adopted ASAP but was tossed to the trash heap.

The GOP will blame Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Mike Lee and Ron Johnson for this fiasco. And, even sadder, Trump will also blame them as well.

I hope Trump --a quick learner-- soon realizes his enemies in his presidency is the GOP leadership, notably McConnell and Ryan, and not the House Freedom Caucus or the few conservatives in the Senate.

[MutuelClerk]

Well said. Spot on.

[delayjf]

Is this a possible solution.

https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2...ollars-a-year/

[Clocker]

Originally Posted by delayjf

Is this a possible solution.

https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2...ollars-a-year/

That's a solution for some people who want it and can afford it. The solution is to get the government out of health care, let people make their own choices, and provide a safety net for those who really can't afford to go to a clinic or buy insurance.

Under ObamaCare, too many people are forced into worthless policies that they can't afford to use because of high out of pocket costs. At the same time, others are forced to subsidize those worthless policies.

The Senate leaders are very proud of themselves for cutting the income qualification for an ObamaCare subsidy from 400% of the poverty level to 350%. That's insane -- 400% of the poverty level is $98,000 a year for a family of four, and they are cutting that to $86,000 in 2020. Anyone making that much that can't afford insurance is living irresponsibly. This alone is evidence that the government is equally unqualified to make decisions about health care.

[chadk66]

the republicans are no different than the liberals. just have money coming from different pockets most of the time. they are one in the same for the most part.

[riskman]

Reckless and Clocker had some wise words to say on this health care disaster.
Ryan and McConnel and their followers are part of the swamp that needs to be drained.Why Trump is not calling them out, is beyond beleif.They both need a major challenge to their leadership.Both Ryan and McConnel need to be shunned by the american people and their associates in Congress who supported this health care plan.

[incoming]

It is time for the government too get out of the insurance business and focus on health care. A good place to start would be the plan that served the country well for a long time, before the Democrat's BRAINFART. Of course, it needs some tweaks... times change. It was popular with over 80% of the population. Compared to ObamaCare and the plans that are in the works now...I'm sure it would win in a landslide if the population got a chance to vote on it.

[Clocker]

Originally Posted by riskman

Ryan and McConnel and their followers are part of the swamp that needs to be drained.Why Trump is not calling them out, is beyond beleif.

Trump doesn't seem to take much interests in the details of policy. He endorsed the Ryan bill and celebrated passage with a press conference and speech in the Rose Garden. After it was passed and people could see what was in it, the public and the press started complaining that it was just ObamaCare Lite. At that point, Trump said that the House bill was "mean", and he hoped that the Senate bill would have more "heart".

[Lemon Drop Husker]

Tort reform.