Different Takes On The Issues In Play As GOP Lawmakers Wrestle With Obamacare
Opinion writers review the strategies and ideas being advanced as the debate over what to do with the health law continues.
The New York Times:
Obamacare Got Their Goat: An Illustrated Guide To Republicans’ Metaphors
It’s a goat on a bridge eating a flaming rug pulled from a collapsing sand castle! Yes, of course, I’m talking about the Affordable Care Act, which you may also know as Obamacare. Killing the health insurance law is a top priority of Republicans in the White House and Congress. As they try to achieve that, it has brought out some lively and figurative language. Many imagine the health law as a pioneer homestead. Others as a marauding farm animal. Still others direct their rhetoric to its complexity. Just this week, Kevin Brady, the House Ways and Means Committee chairman, described the G.O.P. challenge as akin to a Rubik’s Cube. (Margot Sanger-Katz, 3/3)
The Washington Post:
Republicans Already Think Obamacare Repeal Is A Nightmare. It’s About To Get Worse.
President Trump’s hilariously candid revelation that “nobody knew that health care could be so complicated” may be remembered as the most succinct summary of the Republicans’ dilemma as they try to fulfill their endlessly repeated promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. And now that things are about to get specific, what had been a dangerous situation for them is about to turn into a nightmare. (Paul Waldman, 3/2)
Fortune:
Lawmakers Are Taking Hilariously Extreme Measures To Hunt Down The GOP’s ‘Secret’ Obamacare Bill
Have you seen the House GOP's Obamacare replacement bill? Neither have most lawmakers! And they're resorting to some seriously creative tactics to find it. The House GOP has been keeping its draft Obamacare replacement plan under lock and key. Literally. Like, hidden away in a basement. (Sy Mukherjee, 3/2)
Concord (N.H.) Monitor:
Positive Impact Of Medicaid Expansion Is Real
Unfortunately, instead of working across party lines as we have in New Hampshire to promote healthy communities and a stronger economy, many in Washington are focused on a partisan agenda of repealing the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion – an agenda that would pull us backward. There’s also been talk of turning the traditional Medicaid program into a block grant or instituting per capita caps – which is really just code for a massive cut to the federal support New Hampshire’s Medicaid program receives. These dangerous cuts would shift costs to states, forcing them to cut eligibility, services and provider payments. (Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., 3/3)
Los Angeles Times:
Thanks To Trump And GOP, A California Single-Payer Healthcare System Is Now Possible
Could California have its own single-payer health insurance system providing coverage for all residents? A bill has been introduced in the state Legislature that would do just that — and its chances of success could be vastly improved by President Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress. Thanks, guys! First, a little history lesson. Stick with me because this is important. (David Lazarus, 3/3)
The Washington Post:
Trump’s Health Insurance Proposal Would Start A Race To The Bottom
During his recent address to Congress, President Trump earned a standing ovation for once again declaring that, in place of Obamacare, Americans should have “the freedom to purchase health insurance across state lines. ”Here’s the dirty little secret: Obamacare already gives Americans this freedom. Dirtier still: When Republicans propose “across state lines” legislation, they’re really talking about reducing states’ sovereignty to make their own regulatory decisions. So much for states’ rights. (Catherine Rampbell, 3/2)
Health Affairs Blog:
Invisible High-Risk Pools: How Congress Can Lower Premiums And Deal With Pre-Existing Conditions
As Congress and the Trump administration move forward with plans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), they are looking for proven state-led reforms that maintain access for those with pre-existing conditions in the current exchange market while also lowering premiums for everyone buying insurance in the individual market. (Joel Allumbaugh, Tarren Bragdon and Josh Archambault, 3/2)
Modern Healthcare:
Report Reveals Device Tax Killed 28,000 Jobs, And Could Kill 25,000 More
Devicemakers have long complained that their business has been negatively affected by an excise tax placed on their devices by the Affordable Care Act. A think tank has now crunched the numbers on how the tax affected U.S. jobs. (Adam Rubenfire, 3/2)
