Why the Shutdown and Healthcare
Angry Bear’s, Joel Eissenberg had this commentary on Facebook and I am pirating it for Angry Bear. With an addition. Tru_p and Republicans are wanting to eliminate certain programs and portions of programs which have an impact on the lower income population. Keep in mind too, Tru_p has put into play significant tax breaks for those who do not need such and will benefit greatly from them, So, what are the spineless Republicans and Tru_p proposing?
“About the Shut Down,” Joel
The Republicans control the White House, a majority in both houses of Congress and a majority of votes on the Supreme Court. The notion that the Democrats are responsible for the shutdown is risible.
Wait, what about the filibuster, you say? LOL! The Republicans could eliminate the filibuster any time. They won’t because they know they’ll need it if they lose their senate majority.
OK, so if they leave the filibuster intact, why should Democrats negotiate when they know that any spending agreement will just be overridden by Trump, who will either withhold the funds or spend them on something else?
As long as Trump is free to violate any legally binding agreement—which his SCOTUS says he is—why bother negotiating?
Wait, Congress could impeach him for violating any spending agreement. LOL! Trump was impeached twice without effect. Impeachment is merely an indictment. Conviction and removal from office requires a supermajority vote in the Senate. That will happen co-terminus with the first verified report of porcine aviation.
Well, Trump could declare martial law—something he’s itching to do—and arrest enough Senate Democrats to break the filibuster. And he could just suspend elections and remain president for the rest of his life. Think the SCOTUS will stop him? Don’t be silly.
So how to break the impasse?
Angry Bear’s Explanation
Why are Dems blocking the Senate from Passing Legislation? Bill
The House passed a bill designed to cut Medicaid and ACA subsidies. This would impact millions of citizens who can not afford full price healthcare insurance or any insurance at all. Some detail below:
A stopgap bill designed to avoid the shutdown was passed in the House, or lower chamber, but did not clear the Senate.
The subsidies for ACA healthcare are ending. Subsidies in this case mostly mean the ACA will go from 600% FPL to 400% FPL which will impact thousands of people who will no longer be able to afford normal healthcare and will fall back on less coverage or risk no coverage. Republicans following Tru_p’s lead also want to cut Medicaid which is a program designed to cover healthcare costs for the elderly (not on Medicare), disabled and low-income people.
Democrats want the bill to include an extension of expiring tax credits that make health insurance cheaper for millions of Americans and a reversal of Trump’s cuts to Medicaid, a government healthcare program used by millions of elderly, disabled and low-income people.
Democrats also oppose spending cuts to government healthcare agencies.
As you can see, Tru_p and Republicans will cause serious issues the result of which will hurt all citizens with the exception of a benefit to the upper income bracket.
For years Democrats were proud of ACA with a subsidy schedule ending at 400% FPL. Perhaps an adjustment to 400% based on incremental healthcare inflation over median wages changes since the last year 400% was the cutoff or something on that order could be an accepted compromise. Like 400% is “underpowered” versus healthcare over the past 4 years, but it doesn’t need to go to 600%.
@Eric,
This Democrat wasn’t “proud” of the ACA. It was better than what it replaced, but still a kludge. What we really need is not the ACA. What we need is some form of single-payer, like the other industrialized nations on the planet.
Carping about the ACA is easy. Creating a real solution is hard.
Well Eric:
Any time Repubs and yourself support a Public Option or Medicare for All, I believe something far better will pass. Medical costs have outstripped income increases since 2010, particularly for out-of-pocket expenses and insurance premiums. While the overall growth rate of national healthcare spending has slowed since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), this has not translated into proportional relief for household budgets.
A little more detail:
New technology and treatments: While they may improve care, new, expensive medical technologies and prescription drugs (such as the GLP-1 drugs for obesity) also contribute to higher costs for everyone.
Industry consolidation: Hospital and healthcare system consolidation can lead to higher prices by reducing competition.
Labor and supply chain costs: Increased expenses related to labor shortages and supply chain pressures have recently driven up costs for hospitals.
I suspect the Public Option or Medicare for All would have negated some of those costs.
The Republican concern about the filibuster is laughable. If the Democrats take control, they could change the rules just as the Republicans could now. The real issue is the Republicans don’t want to bear the full blame for the hardships they are about to impose on people for the sake of tax cuts for the wealthy.
Between cuts to regular ACA healthcare from 600% FPL to 400% FPL and whacking those on Medicaid, there will be millions of people in trouble. I suspect ~ 20 million. It is hard to imagine why they will cut their own throats. A lot of political careers will take a nose dive. Trump will not care abot them or the people he will cause serious injury economically.