WA Senator Murray Thinks She has a Deal to Save the CSR
“Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), chairman of the Senate health committee, said he hopes to release a bill this week, in collaboration with Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), the senior Democrat on the committee, to fund the cost-sharing reduction payments and give states more leeway on insurance rules.”
Not sure why Senator Murray feels the need to go down this avenue when the preceding Executive Order already wandered into greater flexibility for states, states rights, and who decides what. As has been explained by the CBO, Drum, other pundits, and myself; the loss in out-of-pocket subsidies will result in increased premiums which are “still” paid for by the ACA between 138% and 250% FPL. In some cases, Bronze plans can be had for free, Silver plans become cheaper, and Gold plans offering better care and lower deductibles attainable.
Senator Murray is giving away the store if what Senator Alexander says is true. “Alexander said Murray agreed to a deal giving states ‘meaningful’ flexibility on coverage rules. Asked what the stumbling blocks to the deal are, Alexander replied: ‘The definition of meaningful.'”
We have already seen what the word meaningful means with regard to the expansion of Medicaid in some states . . . it never happened. I am hoping Senator Murray has second thoughts and decides not to go farther with her thoughts on negotiating with the Republicans as she is off base and we will be better off by not altering what is law already and it is the ACA.
Premiums will go up in 2018 as no one is going to trust Trump regardless of any deal reached with the Republicans.
Some good news — from the last person you would expect:
October 17, 2017
How Team Rauner hustled to protect Obamacare from Trump
By Kristen Schorsch
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20171017/NEWS03/171019869/trumps-obamacare-moves-sidestepped-by-rauner-action
Wonder if going progressive for one time in his life will give Rauner a warm fuzzy feeling — and maybe he’ll convert if he likes it. :-O There’s always time to repent.
Any idea why Senator Murray (WA) is doing this with Alexander in the first place? Who is Dem Senator’s paying / vote getting constituency in WA?
LT:
I do not know. Perhaps a do-gooder who in the end will screw things up. Most of them do not know what is in the ACA.
Run,
Are you saying that if nothing more is done, people will get tax credits instead of reduced premiums, etc. which, more or less, offset each other?
Yes . . . which will “still” be paid out to the insurance companies directly.
I’m noticing a seeming total absence of an explanation of how they are ‘dodging the bullet’ by the insurance commissioners who seem like they might be doing that. So maybe somehow this doesn’t work out as well as it seemed like it might.
I mean, they have two weeks before people start making choices. And its potentially disastrous to choose wrongly. And the feds aren’t going to be advertising.
Maybe they are still locking it all down, and hope to make a big media push when open enrollment actually opens?
Jeff:
The taking away of CSRs is not as bad as his other executive order building insurance associations to sell minimalists policies across state lines.
Do have to keep in mind they are presumably working every minute they are awake right now.
Ryan says he won’t support the deal. If it can’t get through the House, it’s dead.
JackD:
I am not the decider. I just report and explain.
Ok, it is spreading across the news now. Perhaps it just took a few days for the reporters to do their research and write their stories.
What about people below 138% or have insufficient taxable income?
Medicaid