Healthcare

[TonyM]

Republicans are getting skittish on repealing Obamacare.

Politics can sometimes resemble a smoldering pile of broken promises.
And the GOP's long-standing pledge to repeal Obamacare on Day One of a
GOP administration is suddenly looking like it might be thrown on the
heap.

Over the past 24 hours, several GOP senators made big news
by urging their party to actually hold off on repealing Obamacare until a
replacement can be crafted.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...obably-smart/?

[jimmyb]

Republicans are getting skittish on repealing Obamacare.



Politics can sometimes resemble a smoldering pile of broken promises.
And the GOP's long-standing pledge to repeal Obamacare on Day One of a
GOP administration is suddenly looking like it might be thrown on the
heap.

Over the past 24 hours, several GOP senators made big news
by urging their party to actually hold off on repealing Obamacare until a
replacement can be crafted.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...obably-smart/?

I say it will be one of the first moves Trump makes.
Once we repeal it you will see what we've got.
Sound familiar Tony.

[TonyM]

Per Senator Corker:
“I think the president-elect’s position is the right position.” “During the campaign he said that repeal and replace should take place simultaneously. That to me is the prudent course of action.”

And Senator Paul:
Trump, is fully on board, too."I just spoke to [him] and he fully supports my plan to replace Obamacare the same day we repeal it," Paul wrote. "The time to act is now."

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/0...istance-233298

[TonyM]

Repealing Obamacare Could Be Trump's First Lesson in the Glacial Pace of Congress

Donald Trump promised voters an immediate repeal of Obamacare, but
Republicans in Congress likely won’t have a bill ready for him on Day
One. Or Day Two. Or perhaps even his first two weeks.

Republican leaders will start deploying fast-track procedures Wednesday to get the
bill through the Senate, but that will require weeks of wrangling, if
not longer.

It’ll be an early lesson for Trump in the sometimes-glacial pace of Congress. And it’s likely to get more
difficult from here, as the incoming president moves on to other areas
where Republicans aren’t in such lockstep, such as infrastructure
spending, where he might need bipartisan support.

https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/a...congress-pace?

[TonyM]

Rand Paul: Trump Backs Plan To Repeal, Replace Obamacare Simultaneously

Paul this week said it would be a “huge mistake” for Congress to move
forward with a quick repeal of the healthcare legislation that delays
replacement until two years down the line. In a Wednesday appearance on
MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” he said “repeal and delay” could lead to
insurance company bankruptcies.

Other senators including Susan Collins (R-ME), Bob Corker (R-TN) and
Tom Cotton (R-AR) have also called for simultaneous repeal and
replacement in recent days, while Lamar Alexander (R-TN) told TPM that the GOP conference should “listen carefully to Rand Paul.”

Republicans have yet to put forward any type of proposal for replacement, citing a lack of consensus on what it would look like.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewir...lace-obamacare

[rlm1966]

Rand Paul: Trump Backs Plan To Repeal, Replace Obamacare Simultaneously


Paul this week said it would be a “huge mistake” for Congress to move
forward with a quick repeal of the healthcare legislation that delays
replacement until two years down the line. In a Wednesday appearance on
MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” he said “repeal and delay” could lead to
insurance company bankruptcies.

Other senators including Susan Collins (R-ME), Bob Corker (R-TN) and
Tom Cotton (R-AR) have also called for simultaneous repeal and
replacement in recent days, while Lamar Alexander (R-TN) told TPM that the GOP conference should “listen carefully to Rand Paul.”

Republicans have yet to put forward any type of proposal for replacement, citing a lack of consensus on what it would look like.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewir...lace-obamacare

So what if they go TU. Is that not one of the basic tenets of capitalism, some survive/thrive while others die off. Again, the insurers wanted this bill as mandated customers, now let them die with this bill as the customers suddenly have the freedom to tell them to go pound sand.

Have you looked at these policies. I have, when considering a job change, and decided to stay where I was for now as the coverage was good compared to the expensive stinking pile of dog crap that govco demands that you buy at extreme prices with little benefit. What they are selling is basically catastrophic coverage at prices that should get you premium plus. It really is useless unless you have extreme medical issues.

[TonyM]

McConnell: Senate will act on Obamacare this week

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The U.S. Senate will take its first
steps toward repealing President Barack Obama's signature
healthcare reform act by the end of the week, Republican Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Sunday.

Speaking on CBS's "Face the Nation," McConnell said: "There ought
not to be a great gap" between repealing the act and replacing it
and that Republicans would be "replacing it rapidly after
repealing it."


http://www.businessinsider.com/r-sen...ll-says-2017-1

[TonyM]

Rand Paul: Trump open to passing Obamacare replacement alongside repeal


President-elect Donald Trump may be joining the growing ranks of
Republicans in Washington who are getting cold feet about plans to rush
through a vote to repeal Obamacare without a plan to replace it.

Trump called Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) this weekend to discuss Paul’s push to
convince the rest of the GOP not to vote later this week on a budget
resolution that includes a framework for a vote to repeal the Affordable
Care Act without a replacement plan. Paul said he spoke with Trump for
approximately 15 minutes Friday and the two agreed on the need for
replacement.

The only hitch: Republicans don’t have one yet.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...gside-repeal/?

Also -- https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/v...ement-day-one?

[TonyM]

Obamacare Repeal Might Have Just Died Tonight

The Republican plan to repeal Obamacare and delay the implementation of
the repeal — with a promise to come up with a terrific replacement later
— is probably its best way to destroy Obamacare. Unfortunately for
Republicans, it’s also the best way to destroy the Republican majority
in Congress.

Something big is happening in the Senate right now:
The Republican plan, affirmed again today by Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell, is facing dire peril from Republican defections.
Republicans need a House majority, 50 Senate votes, and soon-to-be
President Trump to pass repeal and delay.

If Republicans lose three Senate votes, that drops them to 49, and
repeal and delay cannot pass. At least three Republican senators (in
addition to all the Democrats) now oppose repeal and delay.

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer...itter-share-di

[TonyM]

Spicer--

Trump very clearly committed to preserving Medicaid/Medicare; will convey that to Congress as they repeal and replace Obamacare