Sen. Mitch McConnell today released ObamaCare repeal and replace legislation. (AP pix via WSJ)
You can’t drive a stake through its heart. It looks like ObamaCare will live on — or at least until the death spiral of premium and deductible hikes force Congress to pass single-payer, as was the plan all along.
Today the Senate Republicans released their revised repeal and replace legislation, according to The Wall Street Journal, and it would include steep Medicaid cuts. With only 52 Republicans in the Senate and no Democrat likely to get on board, that likely means Republicans like Dean Heller of Nevada will balk and the 50 needed votes can’t be found.
“If you want my support (on repealing Obamacare) … you better make sure that the Republican governors that have expanded Medicaid sign off on it,” Heller was quoted as saying by a morning newspaper columnist a few weeks ago. “I’ve been saying that for months. … Where is Governor (Brian) Sandoval? What does he think?”
Sandoval was one of 31 governors to expand Medicaid with the promise that the feds would pick up 90 percent of the cost. He was quoted as saying, “As a result of [expanding Medicaid] we’ve added 210,000 Nevadans and allowed them to access health care,” Sandoval said. “These are our friends. These are our families. These are our neighbors.”
In addition to Heller several moderate Republicans have voiced opposition to Medicaid cuts.
So, when the death spiral hits bottom, that’s when the Democrats’ plan will kick in. Nevada’s former Democratic Sen. Harry Reid admitted four years ago on public radio here that the country will eventually drop private health insurance for the single-payer government-run-and-funded medical coverage.
Reid said the country has to “work our way past” private health insurance.
“What we’ve done with Obamacare is have a step in the right direction, but we’re far from having something that’s going to work forever,” Reid was quoted as saying by the Las Vegas Sun. “We had a real good run at the public option … don’t think we didn’t have a tremendous number of people who wanted a single-payer system,” but he could not get enough votes then.
That was then.
At a meeting with constituents in April in Las Vegas, Reid’s successor Catherine Cortez Masto was repeatedly asked about single-payer legislation.
At first she said, “We are fighting Republicans who want to take away health care. […] We have to be realistic.” But when asked again about single-payer, she replied, “I will take a look at it.”
4TH ST8 
And the Republicans are speeding that process along!
They should have totally repealed it first. that would have forced the issue. The way things are now, they are pissing it all away and by not funding ACA, giving Democrats all they need to push single payer through in just a few years.
And, if you want a preview of so called “single Payer” and how effective it will be;
look no further than to the state claiming it will create that very system on its own.
California.
Medi-Cal is the perfect example. More lawyers, lawsuits and legal wrangling less service, fewer doctors and more ER visits.
we are from the government, we’re here to help.
http://www.dailynews.com/general-news/20150122/californians-stuck-in-medi-cal-backlog-win-lawsuit-against-state
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-ln-medi-cal-lawsuit-20170711-story.html
Couldn’t agree more Steve…it’s just too damn bad the timid Republicans are listening to the clamor created by the progressive left, and not to the hundreds of millions of Americans who can’t afford the increases in their premiums and who are footing the bill for both themselves AND the Medicaid recipients. They promised to REPEAL the un-affordable care act (rip it out by the roots, stick a stake in it’s heart and bury it), anything else is just the usual DC kabuki theater!
It’s pretty obvious that the majority of the Republican Party establishment are not just listening to the progressive left, they are part and parcel in sink with the progressive left. They repeatedly pass conservative party platforms with no intention of ever passing legislation to see the platform become law.
We have two major national parties that are intent on moving us to a centralized, all powerful government controlling every aspect of American’s daily lives. At least the Democrats are open in their leftist ideology and elitism. Republicans hide behind conservative rhetoric. I doubt most even understand conservative ideology.
The only hope, and it is a small one, is for States to assert their power under Article V and adopt amendments to the Constitution to reign in the unlawful power of the central government and courts, returning us to the original intent of the provisions passed by the Founders.
I wonder how it feels to so utterly betray those who have supported your election to office. Democrats lost over 1000 state and national seats after they passed the ACA. I think the Republican Party has misjudged the electorate and will regret repeatedly lying to the American people.
Do the small band of hard core right wing “libertarian” types that populate this board REALLY believe that something more than an insignificant number of them, who believe in what the small band churn out here as their “principled small government stands” really exist among the more than 300 million Americans?
I mean it’s one thing to profess these beliefs when even they mostly can’t abide by them (I recall some mention by a stalwart here about never being able to vote for a man who called Ted Cruz a liar and said his father was involved with the Kennedy assassination on some principled basis, but then….) but to constantly have those people look down at everyone for not having principles “like those of our believed founding fathers” is laughable.
If libertarians were….”right” you wouldn’t be able to stop Americans from voting for their candidates for office, or at least a “conservative” would be elected on a platform mirroring a libertarian philosophy. Instead, across the entire country, if a candidate were to ever hold, express, and VOTE as the libertarians here seem to suggest is required, they’d be out on a rail or they’d have never been elected to begin with.
For some reason though, this fact just slides right off the backs of these folks, like facts slide off the back of the winner of the electoral college last election (winning, I might add, with the support of some of the same “libertarian” types who regularly bemoan the election of other than small gov’ment candidates)
Funny in a “how do these people keep a straight face when they say this stuff” sort of way.
By blatantly changing the subject and going off on a diatribe of bullshit, Patrick acknowledges ACA was only a step on the path to nationalizing health care, lock;stock and barrel, in the USA.
Noted
Bingo!
The so called capitalists have had more than 50 years to make so called capitalistic health care work and they have failed miserably. Since single payer is the only system to withstand the test of time, the end result can’t arrive too soon.
Think of the stupidity of our system. We have group policies, individual policies (which differ radically), Workman’s Comp, Medicare, Medicaid and the Veteran’s Administration health care system. Health care costs are sometimes also paid by defendants when someone who doesn’t bother to have insurance becomes injured when on someone else’s property. In addition, I guess hospitals still charge the other patients when forced to give health care to the uninsured for free. The rules for these various circumstances differ greatly. Prices are routinely concealed from patients. Patients are routinely gouged by MSRP’s when they mistakenly allow some peripheral caregiver who isn’t “in network” to touch them. The list goes on and on.
My wife still sees her doctor in Australia for routine care and pays nothing (although Australian taxpayers certainly do). She considers our system somewhat primitive and undependable, although she is insured here as well. Both her parents have had joint replacement surgery, done promptly and efficiently. A family friend had bypass surgery and was quite satisfied with the level of care. Australians pay somewhere around 40% less than we do per person and they live longer than we do. Their infants survive better too. But Americans feel that we have nothing to learn from countries like Australia. Sad.
Sounds like paradise,
lost
“By examining cross-border spending for medical services in 176 countries, the report found the US to be the single largest hub for medical tourism.”
“HIGH PRICES AT HOME
“It’s not only for the price but the quality of the service they get,” said Ms Gupta.
“We tell our patients (doctors’) qualifications are matched to Australian doctors but their experience is greater and that tends to lead to better results especially for cosmetic surgery.”
Read more.
http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/countries-compete-for-medical-tourists-as-market-for-overseas-treatments-explodes/news-story/34a676bed5f8b8780d151456f681c84d
If Dean Heller joins the nitwit Susan Collins and refuses to vote for this minor revision of the disastrous ACA…he will suffer the same fate as Joe Heck come next November!
Heller’s a no unless Sandoval tells him to vote yes.
Sandoval is Heller’s ace in the hole for re-election.
He’s going to need more than an ace…he’s going to have to draw out a Royal Flush.
That’s what was said about Ried all those years.
Heller knows what’s up and the Nevada GOP is quietly getting itself together under Sandoval’s leadership, bet me. They learned from the so called “Ried Machine”.
Heller will be their first big push.
My hope is for a “Bob Bennett” primary moment for Mr. weak kneed Heller.
From who?
I’d vote for a desert tortoise over Heller in the primaries…
Not primary, caucus.
No credible candidate has, yet, appeared. Heller is the best Republicans have to hold that Senate seat.
General election, Rosen has been revealed and is a weak Dem (for this instance), Titus could take the seat away and might just do so in spite of losing her safe house seat.
If Heller is the best Republicans have to run for the Senate, kiss that seat goodbye. I guess they think his 3 million war chest will win him the seat. I will vote none of the above or 3rd party. Serial liars don’t get my vote.
Wish Dan Schwartz would run for the Senate instead of Governor. I’m supporting Laxalt in that race.