With No Replacement Plan In Sight, Trump Supports Full Repeal Of Obamacare

Donald Trump

With a short two-sentence letter, the Trump administration signaled its intention to support complete repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

That would include removing protections that ensure individuals with pre-existing conditions be covered by health insurers.

In December, a federal judge ruled that the individual mandate of the law is unconstitutional. The ruling was the result of a lawsuit brought by 20 GOP-led states.

U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor, a George W. Bush appointee in Fort Worth, Texas, wrote in his decision: “In sum, the Individual Mandate ‘is so interwoven with [the ACA’s] regulations that they cannot be separated. None of them can stand.’”

Should the law be struck down in its entirety, over 20 million Americans are estimated to lose their healthcare insurance.

On Monday, the Trump Justice Department dispatched a letter saying it supports the judge's ruling.

"The Department of Justice has determined that the district court's judgment should be affirmed," the Justice Department lawyers wrote to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is now considering the case. "The United States is not urging that any portion of the district court's judgment be reversed."

At this time, however, Republicans in Congress have no plan to replace the ACA should it be struck down as a whole.

The Republican Party will become “The Party of Healthcare!”

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 26, 2019

House Democrats call the Trump administration's new legal position "unconscionable."

A coalition of Democratic-led states led by California is fighting the Texas ruling, arguing that the federal health care law can remain in place even without the individual mandate which dictates a small penalty fee/tax for those Americans who choose not to purchase health coverage.

Politico is reporting today that Monday's announcement was opposed by two key Cabinet secretaries: Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Attorney General William Barr.

No matter the resulting ruling at the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, expect the case to land at the Supreme Court. The high court has upheld the constitutionality of the ACA twice - in 2012 and in 2105.

U.S. Senate: Bipartisan Agreement Emerges To Stablize Obamacare

The Hill is reporting that Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) have announced a bipartisan agreement to stabilize the Affordable Care Act.

The deal would extend key Obamacare payments to insurers for two years and give states more flexibility to change Obamacare rules.

President Trump had announced he was cutting off the payments last week, a move that many said would raise ObamaCare premiums and lower enrollment.

More from the New York Times:

“This takes care of the next two years,” Mr. Alexander said. “After that, we can have a full-fledged debate on where we go long-term on health care.”

The deal between Mr. Alexander, the chairman of the Senate health committee, and Ms. Murray, the panel’s top Democrat, is an important step for lawmakers hoping to shore up insurance markets after Republicans’ failed efforts to repeal the health law.

Mr. Alexander told reporters on Monday that Mr. Trump had encouraged him to reach a deal with Ms. Murray.

But it remains to be seen whether conservative-leaning Republicans will get on board with the agreement, and whether the House will entertain it. Some Republicans have said they do not wish to provide what they describe as a bailout to insurers.

Trump On Health Care Fail: "We'll Let Obamacare Fail"

President Donald Trump side-stepped responsibility on health care reform today saying he would let Obamacare “fail” after six months of botched efforts by his own party to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

“I think we’re probably in that position where we’ll let Obamacare fail,” the president told reporters at the White House. “We’re not going to own it. I’m not going to own it. I can tell you, the Republicans are not going to own it.”

According to Trump, “the Democrats are gonna come to us” and ask how to fix it, working with the GOP.

Highlighting how out of the health care loop he was during the past few weeks, Trump added he was “very surprised” when two GOP senators suddenly withdrew support for the Republican health care bill on Monday night, sealing the bill's fate.

“The way I look at it, we’re going to have to get some more people elected that are Republican,” Trump said.

Republicans currently hold majorities in both chambers of Congress as well as the White House. After seven years of voting to repeal the ACA, it's incredible no one had a plan ready to go that Repubs could get behind.

#smh

Watch Trump speak to the press below:

Letting Obamacare fail is a political strategy openly premised on inviting more human suffering

— Sam Stein (@samstein) July 18, 2017

Because "Let Obamacare Fail" sounds better than "Let millions of Americans suffer and die so I can blame it on the black guy." https://t.co/BDEdeNrmuY

— John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) July 18, 2017

Striking thing for Trump to say. To repeat, “let Obamacare fail” would mean millions of poor and sick people who depend on it would suffer. https://t.co/QSzDSDDpB5

— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) July 18, 2017

White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders blamed the minority Democrats, as if that makes any sense:

“I would say Democrats. They're responsible,” Deputy Press Secretary says on who is responsible for failure of health care legislation pic.twitter.com/Bkxavavxhn

— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 18, 2017

Senate GOP Health Care Bill Crashes As More Republicans Announce "No" Votes

The Senate Republican health care bill came to a crashing halt last night as two more senators announced they would not be supporting the legislation.

Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Jerry Moran of Kansas joined Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Maine Sen. Susan Collins in opposition to the bill. With a bare two vote margin in the Senate, those defections were enough to kill the legislation.

House and Senate Republicans have railed against the Affordable Healthcare Act for years promising to repeal and replace if they had the chance. However, seven months of control of the White House, Senate and House of Representatives has yielded nothing.

The news was apparently a surprise to the Trump White House who, hours before the news broke, held a dinner with Republican Senators.

Via Politico:

At a dinner with GOP senators on Monday evening, Trump said the party would look like “dopes” if they couldn’t pass the bill after passing a repeal bill in 2015.

“If the Republicans have the House, Senate and the presidency and they can't pass this health care bill, they are going to look weak,” Trump said, according to a source familiar with the meeting. “How can we not do this after promising it for years?”

Trump had no idea defections were coming Monday night, according to another White House official with knowledge of the meeting. "Why would we have a dinner like that if we knew people were going to drop out?" the official said.

As Sens. Lee and Moran were preparing their announcement, President Trump said publicly, “We’re going to get that done, and I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people.”

Trump, 4 hours before the GOP health bill collapsed: “We’re going to get that done, and I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people” pic.twitter.com/xothzI26vV

— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) July 18, 2017

During the presidential campaign, Trump said over and over again how he and the GOP would definitely repeal and replace Obamacare, and they would do it "very, very quickly."

Let's take a trip in the way-back machine:

Trump today: “As I have always said, let ObamaCare fail and then come together and do a great healthcare plan.”

Let's go to the videotape… pic.twitter.com/1JqJH422A4

— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) July 18, 2017

Remember back in October of 2016 where Donald Trump told his followers, "You're gonna have such great health care at a tiny fraction of the cost, and it’s going to be so easy."

Just four months later, this was President Trump's new epiphany:

FLASHBACK. Trump. February 2017. "Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated." pic.twitter.com/6ZraSdS6hk

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 18, 2017

Trump now says Congress should just repeal and worry about new health care legislation later.

Republicans should just REPEAL failing ObamaCare now & work on a new Healthcare Plan that will start from a clean slate. Dems will join in!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 18, 2017

That doesn't look to be a winning strategy either as Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia have all said publicly they would oppose a vote to repeal Obamacare without a replacement. So, that plan is dead on arrival.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has already scored a repeal-only option and the results are catastrophic. The CBO's analysis shows 32 million more Americans would be uninsured by 2026 and individual premiums would double.

So. Much. Winning.

Congressional Budget Office: 14 Million Could Lose Healthcare Coverage In 2018

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (currently run by a Republican) has issued it's findings on the American Health Care Act which has been proposed to replace Obamacare.

In short, instead of covering more people, fewer folks will have healthcare.

From CNN:

Fourteen million more Americans would be uninsured under the House Republican health care bill than under Obamacare in 2018, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said Monday.

The long-anticipated score immediately puts the writers and supporters of the GOP Obamacare bill on the defensive. It is also certain to complicate the party's already troubled efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

The Republican bill, titled the American Health Care Act, would reduce the federal deficits by $337 billion over 10 years, the CBO said.

The legislation, introduced last Monday, has sparked deep concern among Republican lawmakers in both the House and the Senate. The sources of unease are wide-ranging.

Prominnent conservatives on Capitol Hill, for example, have argued that the bill doesn't go far enough, labeling it "Obamacare Lite." One element of the legislation that has drawn fierce scorn is the refundable tax credits, which conservative Republicans say amounts to an entitlement program.

As proposed Medicaid changes go into effect, the CBO projects this could rise to 24 million by 2026.

President Trump has endorsed the plan.

You may recall President Trump, on January 25, said, "We're gonna come up with a new plan that's going to be better health care for more people at a lesser cost."

"I firmly believe that nobody will be worse off financially in the process that we're going through," Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday.

Bolding is mine.

Poll: 54% Of Americans Support Obamacare

While Congressional Republicans are moving quickly to push their "repeal & replace" of the Affordable Care Act (also known as "Obamacare"), a new poll shows the 2010 health care legislation has hit it's highest level of support yet.

According to Pew Research, 54% approve of the health care law passed seven years ago by Barack Obama and Congress, while 43% disapprove

This past December, the numbers were much closer - 48% approved versus 47% disapproved.

Of course, the results fall right down partisan divisions: Democrats show 85% approval for the ACA, while Republicans disapprove to the tune of 89%.

A slight majority of Independents (53%) approve, with 45% giving a thumbs down.

Matt Baume On How The Repeal Of Obamacare Would Affect LGBTs

From super-smart guy Matt Baume (via Huffington Post):

If the ACA is repealed, as Republicans are trying to do, not only would 32 million people lose health care, according to the Congressional Budget Office, but LGBTs would be disproportionately affected. And “disproportionately affected” is a phrase which here means “get sick and die.”

For example, HIV treatment can cost thousands of dollars per month. Insurance companies that don’t want to pay for that treatment could just refuse to cover all gay people on the basis that gay men are more likely to be HIV positive. Or they could raise monthly premiums just for gays. Or they could create a lifetime cap, so you pay into their system and then as soon as you need expensive treatment, they drop you. All this was legal until the ACA banned it.

Cartoon Of The Day: "Nice Hat"

Man Celebrating Repeal Of Obamacare Finally Realizes He's On Obamacare

A true idiot.

Read the thread below from Imgur.

At least he had the good sense to stopping responding.

10 Ways Obamacare Improved LGBT Access To Health Coverage

(via HealthInsurance.org)

Affordable Care Act - Five Years Later

Just a reminder. As a cancer survivor, I was well aware that no other carrier would take me if I ever wanted to leave my insurer (who I pay myself, thank you).

These four points alone are important. The law can always be tweaked to be better, but that's been the same regarding Medicare and Social Security. The law is passed then constantly improved.

I, for one, am happy this first important step was taken.

#Forward.

President Obama Takes A Victory Lap After SCOTUS Ruling For Obamacare

After a 6-3 ruling in favor of Obamacare, President Obama takes a victory lap.

It should be noted that had the law been gutted by an unfavorable ruling, over 6 million Americans - primarily in red states - could have lost their health insurance.

Most red states refused to set up their own state exchanges to make health insurance plans available, telling their citizens to use the federal exchange which was the target of the SCOTUS lawsuit.

Sen. Ted Cruz Signs Up For Obamacare

RT to congratulate Ted Cruz on being one of millions to sign up for insurance through the Obamacare exchanges: http://t.co/iwqES3BNrU

— The Democrats (@TheDemocrats) March 24, 2015

One court rules against Obamacare, another court rules in favor

On the same day that the Fourth Circuit of Appeals ruled in favor of government subsidies for people signing up for Obamacare health coverage, a second appeals court in the District of Columbia has ruled against such subsidies.

The DC Circuit Court seems to have determined it's ruling on what appears to be the equivalent of a typo.

Via Vox:

The plaintiffs rely on an unclearly worded sentence in the law to argue that Congress never intended to provide subsidies in federally-run exchanges and so the subsidies that are currently being provided in those 36 states are illegal and need to stop immediately.

This is plainly ridiculous. The point of Obamacare is to subsidize insurance for those who can't afford it. The point of the federal exchanges is to make sure the law works even in states that can't or won't set up an exchange.

For Congress to write a law that provides for federal exchanges but doesn't permit money to flow through them would have been like Congress writing a transportation law that builds federal highways but doesn't allow cars, bikes or buses to travel on them.

Meanwhile, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals saw things differently:

"It is...clear that widely available tax credits are essential to fulfilling the Act's primary goals and that Congress was aware of their importance when drafting the bill," the Fourth Circuit Court ruled.

Only 16 states and the District of Columbia set up their own exchanges. This would mean, following the DC Circuit Court ruling, that the 4.7 million who signed up for subsidized health coverage through HealthCare.gov would be affected.

The Obama administration has said it will appeal to the full District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

For now, the law remains unaffected by the rulings until all appeals are exhausted.

Obamacare beneficiary who resisted signing up now says it "probably saved my life"

Dean Angstadt, left, with Bob Leinhauser (Photo courtesy of Bob Leinhauser)

What happens when you ONLY watch FOX News?

Dean Angstadt needed life-saving heart valve surgery but didn't have insurance. He refused to sign up for Obamacare because, since he only watched FOX News he'd only heard bad things about the policy.

Finally a friend pulled an intervention and forced him to sign up for a health insurance policy - a Silver Blue Cross PPO policy that costs him $26.11 a month. The policy took effect just before he had heart surgery.

From the Washington Post:

But what accounts for Angstadt’s resistance to Obamacare in the first place? He says that he “leans” Republican and essentially listened to what the GOP had to say about Obamacare, and not so much to what the Democrats had to say. As for his media diet, Anstadt says he goes online for some of his news, but when it comes to television, “Fox News, of course, and that’s basically what I watch on TV,” in addition to local news, he says. “I like some of those radicals” on Fox News, he says. “I like O’Reilly.”

Asked if Fox News had molded his view of Obamacare, Angstadt responded, “Yeah, yeah — they get people fired up. You know what, I really do have a different outlook on it. It’s really wrong that people are making it into a political thing. To me, it is a life-and-death thing.” Of Obamacare’s namesake, Angstadt says, “I didn’t care for Obama. I can’t say nothing bad about him now because it was his plan that probably saved my life.”

There you have it folks. You can watch FOX News and prepare to die, as Dean Angstadt did, or you can look around and listen to other folks. It just might save your life.

Obamacare enrolls over 7 million by deadline

Obamacare site gets record traffic as public support moves into positive territory

Record traffic continues before tonight's deadline. 1.6M+ visits (2pm) to http://t.co/oZaZC4p00C and 840k+ calls (4pm). #GetCoveredNow
— HealthCare.gov (@HealthCareGov) March 31, 2014

The federal Obamacare website is experiencing "record volume" Monday, the deadline for enrolling in coverage, the Obama administration said.

At the same time, news comes that the Affordable Healthcare Act has more support than naysayers for the first time.

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll found 49 percent of Americans support the law and 48 percent oppose it.

Support surged among Democrats, jumping from 65 percent in January to 76 percent today.

Even among conservatives, support doubled to 36 percent of them backing it now compared to 17 percent in November. Still negative numbers, but a strong sign of improvement.

Also, on the constantly voted upon issue of repealing the law, Americans were also narrowly split: 49 percent of all respondents oppose those efforts, and 47 percent support them.  Among registered voters the split was a slightly wider 50 percent oppose versus 46 percent support.

Obama Administration issues guidance to insurance companies regarding family coverage for same-sex spouses

ThinkProgress points to newly released guidance that requires Marketplaces established by the Affordable Care Act to enroll same-sex spouses in family coverage selected through the healthcare.gov marketplace:

In the guidance, HHS plainly states that group and individual market insurers regulated by the Affordable Care Act cannot deny family coverage to legally married same-sex spouses where family coverage for opposite-sex spouses is offered. Coverage for same-sex spouses must be offered regardless of the state where the couple lives, or where the policy is issued, so long as the couple is legally married. This determination is based on regulations implementing the law, which prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in marketing and plan benefit design.

The guidance doesn't address civil unions or domestic partnerships.

One more reason why folks need to see marriage equality in all 50 states.

Ever wonder why you've heard so much about the "victims" of Obamacare?

Via Occupy Democrats

First of all, we learn that many "victims" of Obamacare were actors with fake stories

Then, we learn other "victims" of Obamacare will actually SAVE money under their new, more comprehensive plans.  (My favorite aspect of this story is the "victim" said the idea that it would be cheaper  - "I personally do not believe that.")

So why do we hear so many "terrible, awful, dreadful" details about the Affordable Care Act?

Because the multi-billionaire Koch Brothers have spent $27 million through their "Americans For Prosperity" fund to spread their lies.

Stop being sheep to Faux News and find the facts.

President Obama thanks Galifianakis for "Funny or Die" support

All tweets that end with "-bo" indicate that the President himself sent the tweet.

Of course, the folks over at Fox News with no sense of humor went insane over how "inappropriate" they felt the President's appearance was. From Fox News host Brian Kilmeade:

(via JMG)