115th United States Congress

[6souls]

Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson refuses to hold a Town Hall, Is now threatening to have Constituents Arrested if they keep bugging him about it
http://www.snopes.com/2017/03/02/ron...se-and-desist/

Cards Against Humanity begin a "Send a Potato" campaign in response
http://johnsonpotato.com

[tyven]

National Retail Association just dropped an anti BAT tax commercial during SNL. Tax reform gonna be so lit

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=...&v=23SXAYWZHc8

[Fiye]

The Border Adjustment Tax Tax?

[Athas]

They should make a tax on ATM machines.

[tyven]

new ACA repeal and replace is imminent. health insurance tax cap is dropped, some offset will be provided by income limits for tax credits. Medicaid expansion repeal still included. The income limits will not pay for the whole thing so idk maybe they are just going to add to the deficit lel. E&C is scheduled to get markup this week, I've heard some of the bill does not sate the appetite of the freedom caucus, many of whom populate the E&C committee. Rumor that E&C will cede jurisdiction to W&M if Freedom Caucus won't play nice.

[Day]

I do believe this is it, correct me if I am wrong Tyven

http://energycommerce.house.gov/site...lthCareAct.pdf

fact sheet: https://waysandmeans.house.gov/wp-co...ct_Summary.pdf

[tyven]

yea and 3 minutes ago Ways and Means issued a press release that they would be doing the markup wednesday so idk why it is posted on Energy and Commerce site LOL

Here's a useless two pager that actually explains nothing https://waysandmeans.house.gov/wp-co...ct_Summary.pdf

[tyven]

I do believe this is it, correct me if I am wrong Tyven

http://energycommerce.house.gov/site...lthCareAct.pdf

fact sheet: https://waysandmeans.house.gov/wp-co...ct_Summary.pdf

NICE EDIT WITH THE FACT SHEET DICK

[archibaldcrane]

new ACA repeal and replace is imminent. health insurance tax cap is dropped

Wasn't the cadillac tax the entirety of the funding proposed for it? Where else are they getting funding from?

[archibaldcrane]

http://www.vox.com/obamacare/2017/3/...-act-full-text

This says that Medicaid expansion continues at least until 2020, after which no new enrollees allowed but people can stay on as their incomes allow.

Also says it's continuing the ACA taxes - so basically the only change over 2018-2019 is to shift the subsidies from income-based to age-based, with phase-outs starting at 75k ind. / 150k family income.

I mean, for fuck's sake, that's hardly a replacement - although dope for people like me whose family just squeaks under 150k/year (although with my wife going back to work shortly...goddamnit).

[archibaldcrane]

Also no more tax penalty for not having insurance, but if you go without insurance for more than 2 months, your premiums will be jacked up 30% on the individual market for the next year upon enrolling (to discourage people from only buying insurance when they're sick).

[archibaldcrane]

So basically better for the young, the healthy (debatably) and upper middle class, worse for the old, the sick, and the lower middle class.

[Byrthnoth]

Also no more tax penalty for not having insurance, but if you go without insurance for more than 2 months, your premiums will be jacked up 30% on the individual market for the next year upon enrolling (to discourage people from only buying insurance when they're sick).

Does this part mean that if you have an insurance gap or are currently uninsured, there's a disincentive to becoming insured (perhaps again)?

Please tell me it means something else.

[Deftscythe]

So about the individual mandate going away:

https://twitter.com/charles_gaba/sta...91364477714433

Edit: Beaten. Though I'll add that by essentially taking the penalty of the individual mandate and turning it into a fee hike, the GOP has successfully closed another avenue of revenue for the government to fund the rest of their plan while also doubling down on insurance company profits.

[archibaldcrane]

Does this part mean that if you have an insurance gap or are currently uninsured, there's a disincentive to becoming insured (perhaps again)?

Please tell me it means something else.

That's exactly what it means if this goes into effect, for those who don't get insurance through work or Medicaid/Medicare.

And on top of that, a 30% increase in premiums isn't NEARLY enough to cover insurance company losses, given that most of the people who have a gap and then jump in despite the penalty are going to be significantly sicker than the continuously insured population - costing way, way more than 30% more to the insurer.

Freeing the "young invincibles" of an immediate penalty will discourage healthy people from buying insurance at all (which makes the pool sicker) and then penalizing them from signing up will mean only sicker people will do so (which makes the pool sicker). It's a doubly shitty policy if the goal is to keep rates down.

[Deftscythe]

And just in case anyone wasn't absolutely sure who's really behind the repeal effort:

[Byrthnoth]

That's actually the part that doesn't add up for me. In the long term, it's terrible for health insurance providers to:
1) Not have the mandate
2) Have people be actively disincentivized from purchasing their products.

I know that trading longterm potential for shortterm gains is the flavor of the decade on wall street, but isn't this horrible for them in the long run?

[archibaldcrane]

That's actually the part that doesn't add up for me. In the long term, it's terrible for health insurance providers to:
1) Not have the mandate
2) Have people be actively disincentivized from purchasing their products.

I know that trading longterm potential for shortterm gains is the flavor of the decade on wall street, but isn't this horrible for them in the long run?

I really don't see why insurers would go for this plan - I'll be curious to see if they lobby against it. It's just changing stuff to change stuff to say they did something honestly. In some ways I don't hate that since if this passes then the Republicans will own health care, and it will be bad for them as it is implemented - of course people will be hurt in the process. It could be significantly more devastating changes, even as bad as it is right now.

[archibaldcrane]

Also, "A Day Without Women" is on Wednesday, March 8th. Curious to see if this amounts to anything at all, I feel like I haven't heard much about it on social media.

[Headspace]

Also, "A Day Without Women" is on Wednesday, March 8th. Curious to see if this amounts to anything at all, I feel like I haven't heard much about it on social media.

Some school district closed for the day because so many teachers requested leave for the day.

That's all I've seen so far.


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