GOP crafts health care alternative … and leaves its brains behind

2014

If this is the Republican idea of health care reform to help Americans deal with the cost and accessibility of health care, it’s too little, too late, in fact it’s stupid.

I wonder if these people even understand how a HSA works and the amount of financial risk that must occur to use them. Do Republicans realize that like it or not, right or wrong, tens of millions of Americans have already received their little piece of the pie benefiting from Obamacare, not counting the millions enrolled and getting tax credits? Do they understand that much of the so-called opposition to the Affordable Care Act is based on misinformation and ignorance promulgated by people with their own agenda?

Imagine this discussion with a 30-year-old single mother earning $20,000 a year or even a family of four earning $60,000 a year.

“Have I got a deal for you. Forget Obamacare, you don’t want to buy coverage on an exchange and have most of it paid for via tax credits. Try my health savings account. You can pick a cheaper plan with a $2,500 deductible, but here is the good news, you can put your own money away in a health savings account tax-free to pay that deductible. You have extra money to put away, don’t you?”

High risk pools are unaffordable to participants unless highly subsidized which is hardly different from the Obamacare exchanges and high risk pools encourage people to wait until they need coverage to get it. Pooling small businesses means some businesses will pay more in premiums, some less, the total insurance risk is not changed. Buying insurance across state lines; ok, but if you get a good deal from an insurer in Podunk, Montana and your health care is still provided in Baltimore, what do think will happen to your premiums? Malpractice reform, sure, a minor help, minor, but do Republicans not know trial lawyers are among the largest contributors to Democrats?

Human nature guys! Human nature! Obamacare is here to stay, it serves the self-interests of tens of millions of Americans and many more who will never admit it. Of course, eventually it will collapse under its own weight. Costs and premiums and tax credits will accelerate, more taxes to fund it will be needed, patients will better understand out-of-pocket costs and regulations will cause more and more employers to exit the game compounding other problems.

So Republicans, get your head out your butt; take Obamacare apart line by line and make concrete proposals to fix it and to change the health care system at the same time. And by the way, all this free market crap does not work when it comes to health care … unless perhaps Walmart starts offering discount open heart surgery. 😆

Originally reported by the Washington Post 3-17-14

The plan includes an expansion of high-risk insurance pools, promotion of health savings accounts and inducements for small businesses to purchase coverage together.

The tenets of the plan –which could expand to include the ability to purchase insurance across state lines, guaranteed renewability of policies and changes to medical-malpractice regulations – are ideas that various conservatives have for a long time backed as part of broader bills.

But this is the first time this year that House leaders will put their full force behind a single set of principles from those bills and present it as their vision.

via GOP crafts health care alternative | Concord Monitor.