Rising from the grave to eat the health care of the living …
While some of the details are different from the varied attempts in the summer to get rid of the ACA, the end results remain much the same:
- Getting rid of the ACA individual mandate (thus instantly shrinking the risk pool and increasing the cost for those remaining)
- Getting rid of the ACA employer mandate (ditto)
- Allowing states to opt out of essential health benefits (making insurance plans more bare-bones and making any state that chooses not to do so face even higher premiums and deductibles)
- Kneecapping Medicaid
It’s the last one that seems to be the real long game here. Medicaid currently works through matching funds — if states are willing to pony up money within the program, the federal government matches it. That provides tremendous resiliency, especially when economic downturns happen and the population eligible for Medicaid (largely based on the poverty line) shoots up, as happened in 2008-2009, or as can happen when a natural disaster that affects employment occurs.
Not only does the new Graham-Cassidy bill get rid of the ACA’s expansion to Medicaid (making folk eligible who are tick above the federal poverty line), but it turns Medicaid into a block grant, only so much given to each state per person at existing levels, with growth due to inflation ratcheted well below medical inflation rates. So if a state’s Medicaid needs go up during a medical or economic crisis — well, the feds are off the hook to help.
So not only do millions of Americans lose their insurance, but those who are the most needy end up with a shrinking level of assistance that will be utterly wiped out in case of an emergency. All so that the most wealthy taxpayers can get a tidy federal tax cut, and the GOP can claim victory.
The folk behind this have only two weeks to push it through (this time), in terms of getting the bill pushed through the Senate, getting a matching bill in the House, and re-voting on any differences in the two — before the budget reconciliation shortcut expires on 9/30 and they go from only needing 50 Senators (plus the VP) back to needing 60 Senators to close debate.
So … contact your Senator. Take action now. Because they will keep coming, and it only takes once for them to get through and take it all away.
Senate Republicans Making One Last Effort To Take Down Obamacare
Yes, again: After spending the spring and summer trying and failing to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Republicans in the Senate have come up with one last Hail-Mary bill to take down the ACA and r…
Last I saw they were up to 48, so I'd say it's pretty much a done deal.
+Stan Pedzick Well, that's what the supporters are claiming. And, as we saw last time, the margin of error here is so slim that it's certainly not over until it's over.
+Dave Hill true, but McCain says he supports this one (since his buddy Graham is behind it).
+Stan Pedzick True as well. On the other hand, we have a number of GOPers ostensibly on the record pushing for a bipartisan effort (albeit McCain is part of that pack), so there's at least some pressure to put a stop to this.
+Dave Hill considering that to McCain, bipartisanship means every republican and joe Lieberman, I guess they are looking for the new Lieberman.
I hope they get the takedown in 2018.