By Rick Moran
The Chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, Rep. Mark Meadows, says that a deal to repeal and replace Obamacare is "very close."
A repeal bill never made it to the House floor last week when it became clear that it would go down to defeat. But intense negotiations between the White House and House conservatives has resulted in the outline of an agreement on how to proceed.
Washington Examiner:
Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., told a North Carolina radio station Monday that he is awaiting word from House Speaker Paul Ryan on which direction the House wants to go on Obamacare repeal.
"We're very close," Meadows said. "The biggest thing for all of us is we want to make sure we don't just have repeal, but we have a replacement that drives down insurance premiums."
The House adjourned last week after failing to reach a deal to give states the power to opt out of certain Obamacare insurance mandates. The bill to partially repeal and replace Obamacare, the American Health Care Act, was pulled last month due to insufficient support.
Meadows said that if a deal comes together then the House could vote soon, possibly even returning to Washington early. The House has recessed until April 25.
The biggest sticking point remaining for a deal is which insurance mandates states can choose to opt out.
The Freedom Caucus wants the mandates for insurers to cover people with preexisting conditions, a price control called community rating and a requirement for plans to cover 10 essential health benefits such as maternity care.
But centrist lawmakers are worried about repealing the mandates, especially for people with preexisting conditions.
Repealing some or all of those coverage mandates is the key. If successful, insurance companies will be able to offer a far wider variety of plans than they can currently sell. This should lead to many people being able to purchase more affordable insurance and do away with most subsidies.
But opposition to the AHCA did not only come from conservatives. It also came from more moderate Republicans who shrank from repealing the coverage mandates, among other objections. So the question for Speaker Ryan and the Freedom Caucus is, will there be enough support to pass the legislation?"
Until a final bill is ready, we won't know. But we can be sure that whatever happens, it's going to be close."
There have been proposed several better and more simplified solutions to obamacare removal. What we are seeing from the GoP is how much influence the uniparty has. Ann Coulter (I posted elsewhere--and IMHO one of the better proposals) had some good ideas about a free market solution.
Personally, I would love to see a return to insurance coverage where routine care was separate from major medical expenses. Let the market provide major medical policies across state lines with various coverage's would lower costs. Pre-existing conditions could be pooled. Why should any insurance policy be mandated to cover things that the policy holder would never ever need? With an open market, every policy could be tailored to the specific needs and wants of an individual.
Routine medical coverage could be covered by out-of-pocket cash or HSA accounts without having to deal with government mandated bureaucratic paperwork...a benefit for both the provider and recipients of care in lowered costs and time.
In an environment where coverage returns to sane levels, those that abrogate personal responsibility for their health coverage should also bear the burden of their own failures to do so.
Like it or not (I'm in the not group), federally controlled health care is here to stay. It's damn near impossible to take something away once it's there.
I was promised health care for the rest of my life when I entered the Army in 1990. I went to the VA office (2006 I believe, I would have to reference my letter to see the exact dates) to get signed up for that PROMISED (for my service) health care benefit, and received a letter in the mail a few weeks later that denied me coverage because I was employed, and made above the $ threashold they thought was proper, but I was informed that they would cover any injuries incurred while in the service (good luck proving that).
The letter stated that then Secretay of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld, determined it was to cost prohibitive to meet that obligation and took away what was promised for my service, and anyone in the same boat as me.
So riddle me this...If the Government cannot afford to provide health insurance for every service member who was promised coverage...AND EARNED IT...how the hell can they afford it for every citizen, and quite frankly, many who have done absolutely nothing for their country, AND NEVER WILL!!!!!!!?
But to answer your question...they CAN'T. But that doesn't mean that they won't.
