Tag: Obamacare

How The Republican Obamacare Repeal Shuts Out The Poor

The following article by Alex Kotch originally published in the Washington Spectator was posted on the National Memo website March 1, 2017:

Throughout his campaign, Donald Trump vowed to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, calling President Barack Obama’s signature domestic policy achievement “a disaster.” With a Republican majority in Congress, and a secretary of health and human services who was a leading critic of the ACA while he served in the House, Trump may very well get his wish.

The new HHS secretary Tom Price, in fact, is eager to assist in this venture. The former Georgia Congressman wants to get rid of the ACA and make big cuts to Medicaid, the federally funded state insurance program for the poor and disabled. But as Price settles into his new role, North Carolina’s newly elected Democratic governor is racing against time to expand Medicaid as allowed by the Affordable Care Act. Continue reading “How The Republican Obamacare Repeal Shuts Out The Poor”

Trump Concedes Health Law Overhaul Is ‘Unbelievably Complex’

The following article by Robert Pear and Kate Kelly was posted on the New York Times website February 27, 2017:

WASHINGTON — President Trump, meeting with the nation’s governors, conceded Monday that he had not been aware of the complexities of health care policy-making: “I have to tell you, it’s an unbelievably complex subject. Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated.”

The president also suggested that the struggle to replace the Affordable Care Act was creating a legislative logjam that could delay other parts of his political agenda. Continue reading “Trump Concedes Health Law Overhaul Is ‘Unbelievably Complex’”

Republican leaders feel pressure over health care reforms

The following article by Robert Pear and Kate Kelly was posted on the New York Times website February 28, 2017:

PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS/ASSOCIATED PRESS
President Trump met with health insurance company executives Monday in the Roosevelt Room of the White House to discuss possible options to the current health plan initiated by Barack Obama.

WASHINGTON — President Trump, meeting with the nation’s governors, conceded Monday that he had not been aware of the complexities of health care policy-making: “I have to tell you, it’s an unbelievably complex subject. Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated.”

The president also suggested that the struggle to replace the Affordable Care Act was creating a legislative logjam that could delay other parts of his political agenda.

Many policy makers had anticipated the intricacies of changing the health care law, and Trump’s demands in the opening days of his administration to simultaneously repeal and replace Barack Obama’s signature domestic achievement made the political calculations far more complicated.

Governors of both parties added still more confusion Monday when they called for any replacement to cover all the people already benefiting from the landmark law. Continue reading “Republican leaders feel pressure over health care reforms”

If Obamacare Exits, Some May Need to Rethink Early Retirement

The following article by Austin Frakt was posted on the New York Times website February 27, 2017:

Oscar Gronner

Here’s another possible consequence of repealing the Affordable Care Act: It would be harder for many people to retire early.

Americans reaching 65 become eligible for Medicare. Before reaching that age, some can get retiree coverage from their former employers. But not very many companies, especially small ones, offer medical insurance to retirees. If early retirees are poor enough, they could turn to Medicaid. To retire early, everybody else would need to turn to the individual health insurance market. Without the subsidies and protections the A.C.A. put in place, health care coverage would be more difficult to obtain, cost consumers more where available, and provide fewer benefits than it does today.

That means that if the A.C.A. is repealed, retiring early would become less feasible for many Americans. Continue reading “If Obamacare Exits, Some May Need to Rethink Early Retirement”

Obamacare just hit its highest popularity ever

The following article by Bob Bryan was posted on the Business Insider website February 23, 2017:

Americans are learning to love the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.

As the law faces possible repeal and replacement by Republicans, a new poll from the Pew Research Center shows that the ACA’s popularity is soaring and has hit its highest point since it was passed. Continue reading “Obamacare just hit its highest popularity ever”

Obamacare

The following article was posted on the TrumpAccountable.org website February 15, 2017:

In 2015 Republicans in Congress overwhelmingly passed a measure to repeal Obamacare. The repeal package, embedded in a budget reconciliation bill, never had a chance to become law as long as President Obama was in office and could veto it.

Now that Republicans have both chambers of the legislative branch and the executive branch, why don’t they simply roll out the same repeal package, that also defunded Planned Parenthood, and vote on it? It seems easy, doesn’t it? Continue reading “Obamacare”

Threat of repeal making it easier for Democrats to finally sell Obamacare

The following article by James Hohman with Breanne Deppisch was posted on the Washington Post website February 9, 2017:

THE BIG IDEA:

BALTIMORE—Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare could help Democrats do what they have been unable to for seven years: sell the American people on the benefits of the health law.

Poll numbers are moving in their direction. Grassroots organizing – from protests to town halls – is en fuego. For years, the national and local media focused on the problems with the rollout of the law. But reporters have begun writing much more, instead, about the people who stand to lose benefits they’ve obtained. Continue reading “Threat of repeal making it easier for Democrats to finally sell Obamacare”

Two top Republicans open to repairing Obamacare ahead of repeal

The following article by Kelsey Snell and Mike DeBonis was posted on the Washington Post website February 2, 2017:

Two top Republicans long expected to lead the Senate’s role in repealing the Affordable Care Act said publicly this week that they are open to repairing former president Barack Obama’s landmark health-care law ahead of a wholesale repeal, which has been a GOP target for eight years.

Coming one week after a closed-door strategy session in which Republicans expressed frank concerns about the political ramifications of repealing the law and the practical difficulties of doing so, statements this week by Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) and Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) brought into public view the political and policy challenges the GOP is facing. Continue reading “Two top Republicans open to repairing Obamacare ahead of repeal”

5 Things The GOP Won’t Tell You About Obamacare

The following article by @LOLGOP was posted on the National Memo website February 1, 2017:

This article originally appeared in USA Today.

When it comes to repealing and replacing Obamacare, many have compared the GOP to the dog that caught the car, or the ambulance.

Republicans know better than anyone that Democrats paid a steep price for insuring millions of people. Now, after televised scenes of furious Americans rallying against repeal even before the new president took office, they’re beginning to see that uninsuring millions won’t be as much fun as slamming snout first into a bumper at full speed.

“We’re going to have insurance for everybody,” Donald Trump told The Washington Post a few days before he was sworn in. Continue reading “5 Things The GOP Won’t Tell You About Obamacare”

Rep. Brat: “… Women are in my grill”

Republicans and women have had a strained relationship for decades. Rep. Brat, who defeated Eric Cantor, was recorded speaking at a recent conservative group. It will do nothing to improve that:

If you’re a woman, if you have a wife, daughter, mother, aunt, niece, good friend who happens to be a woman, this is something you should pay attention to.