dagblog - Comments for "New GOP ObamaCare repeal bill gains momentum"

Aha, splains a lot, and also

artappraiser — Sat, 23 Sep 2017 03:38:33 +0000

In reply to New GOP ObamaCare repeal bill gains momentum

Aha, splains a lot, and also why McCain of McCain Feingold & brain cancer gives a damn:

Behind New Obamacare Repeal Vote: ‘Furious’ G.O.P. Donors

By Carl Hulse @ NYTimes.com, Sept. 22

WASHINGTON — As more than 40 subdued Republican senators lunched on Chick-fil-A at a closed-door session last week, Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado painted a dire picture for his colleagues. Campaign fund-raising was drying up, he said, because of widespread disappointment among donors over the inability of the Republican Senate to repeal the Affordable Care Act or do much of anything else.

Mr. Gardner is in charge of his party’s midterm re-election push, and he warned that donors of all stripes were refusing to contribute another penny until the struggling majority produced some concrete results.

“Donors are furious,” one person knowledgeable about the private meeting quoted Mr. Gardner as saying. “We haven’t kept our promise.”

The backlash from big donors as well as the grass roots panicked Senate Republicans and was part of the motivation behind the sudden zeal to take one last crack at repealing the health care law before the end of the month. That effort faltered Friday with new opposition from Senator John McCain of Arizona, the perennial maverick who had scuttled the Senate’s first repeal effort. Now Republicans must confront the possibility that they will once again let down their backers with no big win in sight [.....]

Good news @ the top of

artappraiser — Fri, 22 Sep 2017 21:19:37 +0000

In reply to New GOP ObamaCare repeal bill gains momentum

Good news @ the top of NYTimes.com:

McCain Rejects G.O.P. Health Bill, Likely Dooming It

By THOMAS KAPLAN and ROBERT PEAR 3:16 PM ET

Senator John McCain released a statement saying he would oppose the latest proposal, by Senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.
Mr. McCain’s statement leaves Republican leaders with little hope of succeeding in their last-ditch attempt to dismantle the health law.

Insurers Come Out Swinging

artappraiser — Thu, 21 Sep 2017 04:29:11 +0000

In reply to New GOP ObamaCare repeal bill gains momentum

Insurers Come Out Swinging Against New Health Bill

By ROBERT PEAR @ NYTimes.com, Sept. 20

The health insurance industry said that state-by-state block grants could create chaos in the short term and an uncertain market.

[....] The two major trade groups for insurers, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and America’s Health Insurance Plans, announced their opposition on Wednesday to the Graham-Cassidy bill. They joined other groups fighting the bill, such as the American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association, AARP and the lobbying arm of the American Cancer Society.

“The bill contains provisions that would allow states to waive key consumer protections, as well as undermine safeguards for those with pre-existing medical conditions,’’ said Scott P. Serota, the president and chief executive of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. “The legislation reduces funding for many states significantly and would increase uncertainty in the marketplace, making coverage more expensive and jeopardizing Americans’ choice of health plans.”

America’s Health Insurance Plans was even more pointed. The legislation could hurt patients by “further destabilizing the individual market” and could potentially allow “government-controlled single payer health care to grow,” said Marilyn B. Tavenner, the president and chief executive of the association. Without controls, some states could simply eliminate private insurance, she warned.

Insurers had been reluctant to speak out against the Republicans’ previous proposals in hopes that the White House and Congress would agree to stabilize insurance markets by providing critical funding for subsidies aimed at low-income Americans. But with hopes of securing that money before they finalize their rates virtually extinguished, insurers have less to lose by coming out against the proposal.

And many within the industry are worried that the next two years will be chaotic, with little support for the current market while states scramble to come up with a new way for individuals to buy policies [....]

READ: Obama's speech at Gates

artappraiser — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 17:26:16 +0000

In reply to Obama is giving a speech

READ: Obama's speech at Gates Foundation

CNN.com, Updated 1:01 PM ET, Wed September 20, 2017

Former President Barack Obama delivered this keynote address Wednesday during an event sponsored by Bill and Melinda Gates' organization that marks the release of a report tracking progress on global development. These are his remarks, as prepared for delivery [....]

WaPo has TONS of coverage

artappraiser — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 17:20:52 +0000

In reply to New GOP ObamaCare repeal bill gains momentum

WaPo has TONS of coverage plastering their home right now, am just going to copy it:

Red states would benefit disproportionately in latest GOP health-care plan

Fourteen of the 15 states that would stand to gain from block grants are run by Republicans; Democratic strongholds, including California and New York, would lose billions of dollars under the Cassidy-Graham proposal, a feature the bill’s two main sponsors have talked up to conservatives.

By David Weigel

Cassidy-Graham bill would cut funding to 34 states, new report shows

Analysis: Under GOP plan, health-care spending would drop in all but 16 states. Fifteen voted for Trump.

Why Senate Republicans are in such a rush this month on health care

For the next 11 days, the GOP has the opportunity to pass health-care legislation with 51 votes rather than 60. That could mean the difference between success and failure.

By Elise Viebeck

1 hour ago

Trump endorses GOP health-care bill, swipes at bill opponent Rand Paul

The Health 202: Who stands where on Cassidy-Graham

Ready to deal this time? Alaska’s Murkowski is in the health-care spotlight. Again.

The independent-minded Republican isn’t convinced the current bill is good for her state. But the latest in a long line of transactional politicians isn't a definite “no,” either.

By Sean Sullivan

Jimmy Kimmel says Sen. Bill Cassidy ‘lied right to my face’

The late-night host unloaded on the Louisiana Republican, who said earlier this year that any health-care bill would have to pass the “Jimmy Kimmel test.”

By Emily Yahr

2 hours ago

Obama is giving a speech

artappraiser — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 17:15:04 +0000

In reply to New GOP ObamaCare repeal bill gains momentum

Obama is giving a speech right now, they are showing live on CNN TV with banner "blasts GOP 'trying to undo' Health Care Law". I'll furnish link later. The podium says "Goal Keepers", location: New York.

I’ve covered the GOP repeal

artappraiser — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 14:32:47 +0000

In reply to New GOP ObamaCare repeal bill gains momentum

I’ve covered the GOP repeal plans since day one. Graham-Cassidy is the most radical.

Other Republican plans create a poorly funded version of Obamacare. This one blows the law up entirely.

by Sarah Kliff @ Vox.com, Sept. 20, 9:10 am

The bait and switch at the heart of the new Obamacare repeal bill

Graham-Cassidy is being sold as giving states flexibility. But it hugely cuts health care spending.

by Andrew Prokop @ Vox.com, Sept. 20, 7:30 am

GOP senators are rushing to pass Graham-Cassidy. We asked 9 to explain what it does.

by Jeff Stein @ Vox.com, Sept. 20, 8:00 am

Gay marriage failed and

HSG — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 11:28:05 +0000

In reply to Single payer push taking eye

Gay marriage failed and failed and then it didn't. Were its advocates wrong to keep pushing for it? The fact is that truly universal health care coverage backed by government payment is morally and intellectually superior to any alternative. When Democrats stand for poor, working, and middle-class Americans, they win.

Single payer push taking eye

PeraclesPlease — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 06:53:00 +0000

In reply to New GOP ObamaCare repeal bill gains momentum

Single payer push taking eye off ball

Colorado rejected single payer 79%-21%. Hey, wasn't that a big Bernie win state with 59% of the caucus? (and a state where Hillary beat Trump 48%-43%). Then again, it failed in Vermont as well. isn't there a lesson in there somewhere?

If the GOP passes this

NCD — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 03:34:32 +0000

In reply to New GOP ObamaCare repeal bill gains momentum

If the GOP passes this disgrace some may say Schumer and Pelosi should have made demands to drag out the debt limit/government open stuff until near the last minute (September 30).

Thereby keeping the GOP in turmoil mode, with no time to do this sort of diabolical chicanery.