115th United States Congress

[Andalusian girls]

Also if they were allowed to sell across state lines unilaterally, you would see a race to the bottom for states to impose to least amount of regulations to attract insurers to base in their state ala credit card companies

perhaps we should only be allowed to purchase cars that were built in our state, or fruit that was grown in it. have fun in your terribly avacadoless world nerds.

but if the concern is truly infantilizing the consumer and assuming they cannot make their own decisions regulatory guidelines to establish a basement level of coverage is clearly the way to go. dissecting a national market into 50 constituent parts is not. i don't pretend it is a panacea for all health insurance ills, but the AMA's annual reporting finds 72% of health insurance markets lack competition. that is shall we say not good in a capitalist system.

[archibaldcrane]

the AMA's annual reporting finds 72% of health insurance markets lack competition. that is shall we say not good in a capitalist system.

I'm not sure what the AMA considers "competition" but currently 81% of the people insured by the ACA exchanges have at least 2 insurers (competing with each other) to choose from.

[Andalusian girls]

and those exchanges cover 3% of the population

[archibaldcrane]

Uh...are you trying to imply that there is more competition on the exchanges than there is for employer plans?

[Andalusian girls]

well you didn't source your data and with multiple healthcare insurers withdrawing from the ACA exchanges i imagine the cited figure is trending downwards, but if the figures are even accurateish that is the logical conclusion nay.

[archibaldcrane]

If their definition of competition is 4 or more companies competing or something, and anything fewer is an oligopoly or something like that, then it could entirely be correct (while still skewing the definition of competition).

[archibaldcrane]

There are legit questions as to whether the AHCA as written would pass the Byrd rule (and therefore be allowed to pass with a simple majority under reconciliation) - specifically the change on age banding from 3:1 to 5:1 and the 30% penalty insurers could charge those without continuous coverage, as neither are directly related to the budget. It's also questionable whether the ban of Medicaid payments to clinics who also provide abortions would qualify.

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politi...nate-obamacare

However, while this has never been done, the Republicans could ignore the Byrd rule if they liked.

[Xajii]

There are legit questions as to whether the AHCA as written would pass the Byrd rule (and therefore be allowed to pass with a simple majority under reconciliation) - specifically the change on age banding from 3:1 to 5:1 and the 30% penalty insurers could charge those without continuous coverage, as neither are directly related to the budget. It's also questionable whether the ban of Medicaid payments to clinics who also provide abortions would qualify.

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politi...nate-obamacare

However, while this has never been done, the Republicans could ignore the Byrd rule if they liked.

fascinating case of the rule's grey area but i don't think it will come into play. major R players and donors are denouncing this bill on day 1. i don't think it can pass regardless as it stands.

[Ragnus]

It all depends on whether R's are going to talk big and then just get whipped into voting for it as usual. If this doesn't pass, it could signal the ignored fracturing of the party that Trump just stuck a band-aid on.

[tyven]

fascinating case of the rule's grey area but i don't think it will come into play. major R players and donors are denouncing this bill on day 1. i don't think it can pass regardless as it stands.

Man I'm really on the fence. Between Trumps words last night and the enormous pressure to get something done a substantial setback could be disastrous for R's. Wonder what kind of amendments we'll see today. Ryan said there will be another bill down the line that will include provisions that can't go into reconciliation i.e. interstate health sales, tort reform, who knows what else

[Xajii]

Man I'm really on the fence. Between Trumps words last night and the enormous pressure to get something done a substantial setback could be disastrous for R's. Wonder what kind of amendments we'll see today. Ryan said there will be another bill down the line that will include provisions that can't go into reconciliation i.e. interstate health sales, tort reform, who knows what else

So this is challenging because I usually apply logic and reason when I try to predict what other people will do yet I find that these politicians - and especially the R - don't often operate that way.

But for the sake of argument - I reckon the reason we see immediate and strong pushback is that many Rs believe the fallout and impact on thier party would be worse if this did pass. I mean, this is basically going to be looked at as Republicare, and if Republicare is a fucking disaster, guess who gets blamed?

It wouldn't be that hard to have this bill fail and try to paint it as Democratic obstruction or an issue with a bad apple or two. It would, however, be pretty much impossible to repair the short-term party image if they campaigned so hard on repeal & replace then replaced it with this garbo.

But who knows man

[Day]

That sounds like pretty much what I'm seeing on social media from the R's. There is a definite divide on hard repeal and replace vs rushing this Ocare light garbo. Some of Trumps strongest supporters hate this bill. They've really bungholed themselves into a tight spot here it seems.

[Day]

https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-...bill/1275/text

[Xajii]

https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-...bill/1275/text

Already dying at the title.

[Day]

Yeah rofl I was like is this a joke/fake news site

[Xajii]

Yesterday I saw people bitching about how this bill spent 6 pages on making sure lotto winners aren't eligible for medicaid. I dont see that in here. was that FAKE NEWS or is this not the bill in question or what

[6souls]

How this new healthcare bill affects Minnesota;

Higher-Income residents who didn't qualify for premium subsidies would receive Tax Credits
Lower-Income residents would get Smaller Subsidies and Fixed-Dollar Tax Credits
http://www.startribune.com/in-republ...ges/415629194/

Federal Assistance for Elderly could drop by a lot, Younger Rural Trump supporters drop by a little, & Clinton supporters in major cities would see a Rise

A Kaiser Family Foundation analysis indicates residents in southern Minnesota and much of the western part of the state would see subsidies drop by one-quarter to one-half in 3 years. For 60-year-olds in some areas, federal assistance could drop $10,000 a year. In Morrison County, where nearly three out of four voters supported Donald Trump, a 40-year-old making $30,000 would see a drop in federal assistance of $540 — a 15 percent drop. By contrast, several Twin Cities counties which voted for Clinton would see their assistance levels rise.

http://www.mprnews.org/story/2017/03...nce-could-drop

[Talint]

https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-...bill/1275/text

Is this bill written in crayon, complete with backwards Rs and fun drawings by 3 year old children.

[Dantrag]

https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-...bill/1275/text

Really... ahahahahah. God this bill is probably the flat out worst thing I've seen in a long...long...long...time. All this so the top .1% can save trillions over the next few years. This is the biggest issue I have with the Rs is that they're willing to let 95% of the population be crushed for the top .1%.

[Yuri-G]

https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-...bill/1275/text

I don't. I can't. I mean. that title... words just freaking fail me.