Friday, January 13, 2017

McCaskill: Republican health care plan is repeal and chaos

(From Sen. Claire McCaskill)

I don’t know what kind of delusions they’re under, but without offering a plausible alternative, Republicans’ plan to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act will turn into “repeal and chaos.”

That’s how you describe throwing 30 million people off of their health coverage, re-opening the prescription drug “donut hole” for seniors, and letting insurers again deny coverage to folks who’ve been sick – and it’s totally unacceptable.

This train is moving fast, so I’m asking you right now: Will you add your name to demand Congress protect our health care programs to keep tens of millions of Americans insured?

Add your name today to tell Congress: Protect our health care programs and the millions of Americans who depend on them.
TELL CONGRESS: PROTECT OUR HEALTH CARE PROGRAMS. ADD YOUR NAME.


I’m all for sensible solutions and practical improvements – but an outright repeal of our health programs without any plan to replace them is a devastating, partisan move. Not to mention it’s doggoned dangerous: It would double the number of uninsured Americans.



Regardless of what color pin you put on your lapel, or whose sign you had in your yard, we should agree that we simply cannot abandon millions of people and take away their lifesaving health care. Republicans are trying to put insurance companies back in charge of Americans’ health care instead of Americans themselves – and I’m not about to let them.

I need you to join me right now: Sign your name to tell Congress to protect the health programs that millions of Americans rely on.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

She wants a :sensible" program...why did she vote for the unaffordable care Act? Time to get her out of office...

Harvey Hutchinson said...

Donald Trump rebuilt the skyline of Manhattan, and saved New York! He and his great team, and the tremendous Republican Senate and House will save our health care system, which thanks to Obama and Demicratic leaders has imploded anyway. He's here just in time. Six more days!!!

Harvey Hutchinson said...

Mr Anonymous 1:54 is 1000% correct!!

Anonymous said...

Obamacare's pre-existing conditions provisions saved my life. Losing them could easily put insurance financially out of reach for me. My husband purchases his insurance on healthcare.gov and it works just fine - it is no more unaffordable than the insurance we paid for via employers - where deductibles and copays had steadily risen prior to Obamacare. I wish Republicans would stop lying about Obamacare.It just makes them look stupid.

Nor did Trump save New York. He did lots of deals, failed often and stiffed his workers just like he and his "great" team will stiff the poor bozos who voted for him thinking he would "make America great again. Letting congress kill Obamacare will be the first step, the following steps, privatizing Medicare and gutting Social Sedurity are already moving to the front burners in spite of Trump's facile campaign promises. Of course, Trump has trouble remembering what he has said from day to day (the beginning of old-age related dementia perhaps?)

What his Mafia, in the persons of HHS secretary designee Price along with Paul Ryan, is proposing for pre-existing conditions is nearly criminal - high risk pools are a known and failed quantity. They have resulted in outrageous costs for those with dire illnesses - subsidies discussed by Paul Ryan are totally inadequate to deal with the 52,000,000 people with a pre-existing condition.

Obamacare could be improved, but the folks who stood in the way of the potential tweaking - which is all that has been needed - over the last six years are the folks bent on destroying it right now. Lots of people are talking about how Republicans are bickering about moving to repeal with replacing, but that's what they have really wanted to do all along. The talk about replacement has never been anything other than PR. That's why their solutions, selling insurance across state lines, tort reform, health savings accounts, and high risk pools are so petty and essentially amount to nothing more than tweaking what was before Obamacare a totally broken system.

Anonymous said...

337...government run Healthcare for the 5% of population who are chronically ill and cannot afford to pay is a goal,but,stop forcing others to follow bloated government policies.Providing this care should mean no smoking,no government bought sugary foods/drinks.Obama's legacy is not looking good..Why didn't he have a strong scholarship program to pay for the med/nursing school education....

Good Idea said...

1:32 - "Why didn't he have a strong scholarship program to pay for the med/nursing school education...."
Great idea; is it part of the new healthcare plan?

Anonymous said...

Good Idea asks

"1:32 - "Why didn't he have a strong scholarship program to pay for the med/nursing school education...."
Great idea; is it part of the new healthcare plan?"

The answer is obvious!

They have to repeal it before they can replace it.

I am not sure where encouraging either education or good health care falls in their list of priorities.


Anonymous said...

Don't be too shocked if this rumored replacement turns out to be more unicorn farts and sparkly rainbows just like Trump's Kenyan birther fixations and bloviating..

Trump vows ‘insurance for everybody’ in Obamacare replacement plan

Trump said his plan for replacing most aspects of Obama’s health-care law is all but finished. Although he was coy about its details — “lower numbers, much lower deductibles” — he said he is ready to unveil it alongside Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

“It’s very much formulated down to the final strokes. We haven’t put it in quite yet but we’re going to be doing it soon,” Trump said. He noted that he is waiting for his nominee for secretary of health and human services, Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), to be confirmed.




Anonymous said...

Anonymous 1:32: When I look carefully I fail to see "bloat" in the ACA. It slowed price growth from near 20% a year to less that 12% until this year which saw what is generally considered a one-time adjustment as the market shakes out. ACA innovations also slowed Medicare cost growth.

Congress could have tweaked the law in ways that would have insured that this year's adjustment was less dire, but partisanship, and pure anti-Obama spite precluded sufficient GOP cooperation to do what would have been best for their constituents.

As for subsidies for those with serious illness who can't afford it, very few Americans who don't get insurance from their employers will be able to afford coverage if we drop the ACA without a comparable replacement (let me remind you that the outlines of the ACA were developed in a conservative think tank - the only thing more conservative apart from the petty tinkering the GOP has haltingly put forward over the past few years, is nothing at all). And given the broken nature of our private healthcare delivery system, healthcare coverage from private employers may soon become a thing of the past as it grows too expensive for businesses. We need the ACA and we need to make it even better.

As for the only suggestions GOPers have had, buying and selling insurance across state lines will do little to make healthcare cheaper while it is likely to lower quality standards. Health saving plans and high risk pools do little for those who aren't well-off - we tried them out and they have failed. Giving Medicaid to states to administer in block grants is a tried and true formula for massive cuts in coverage.

Let me also suggest that we should be careful when Republicans promise that after they repeal the ACA, everyone will have access to healthcare - access that I can't afford is not the same as coverage. Ask yourself why can't they aren't promising that nobody will lose coverage after their wrecking crews go to work? Republican smoke and mirrors.

Seriously Impressed said...

11:37 - There you go talking in complete sentences, using statistics, facts and not insulting anyone.

Anonymous said...

Yeah Harvey, Trump rebuilt Atlantic City too. His workers are still waiting to get paid. I guess it is hard to do that when the Casinos go bankrupt. How in the hell do you go bankrupt with a casino when house odds dictate a profit?