GOP promises to rid nation of healthcare law (Commiecare™)

The Hill ^ | 6/23/12

[Libloather]

GOP promises to rid nation of healthcare law
By Ian Swanson - 06/23/12 06:00 AM ET

Republicans are using their weekly radio address to reiterate their promise to repeal President Obama’s healthcare law.

The address is timed for this week’s decision by the Supreme Court, which is set to announce its ruling on the controversial law as early as Monday.

The justices could uphold the law, they could throw it out, or they could throw out the mandate that consumers buy health insurance but leave the rest of the law standing.

Many expect the ruling to at least go against the mandate — a survey of former Supreme Court clerks and attorneys who have argued before the court this week found 57 percent believe the mandate will be struck down.

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) this week reiterated his pledge that the whole law will be repealed by House Republicans if the High Court does not rule the law is unconstitutional. Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) repeated that message in his address.

“Not only is President Obama’s health care law not working – it makes things worse by driving up health care costs, making it harder for small businesses to hire workers,” Cassidy said. “The only way to change this is by repealing ObamaCare entirely.

“So, unless the Court throws out the entire law, we should repeal what is left and implement common-sense, step-by-step reforms that protect Americans’ access to the care they need, from the doctor they choose, at the lowest cost,” he said.

One difficult issue for Republicans is that if the court does just strike down the mandate, repealing the rest of the law would eliminate some provisions that are popular, such as a provision requiring insurers to allow parents to keep their children on their insurance through the age of 26. Cassidy handled this issue by stressing that Republicans “would not repeat Democrats’ mistakes.” He said the party would not rush through a law to replace the existing healthcare law, and that the party would instead stay focused on jobs and the economy.

Republicans have repeatedly used members of the House and Senate who, like Cassidy, are practicing physicians to make the case against the law.

“I have practiced medicine for nearly three decades primarily treating the uninsured … I still see patients almost weekly,” Cassidy said. “Good health care starts in a doctor’s office, not a Washington backroom.”

Cassidy said the cost of healthcare remains a significant problem, but offered no specific solutions in his address to deal with that problem. Instead, he said containing costs “step-by-step” and not through expanding government is the “right approach to healthcare reform.”

“Families should be able to make their own health care choices, visit the doctor of their choosing, and receive the health care they and their physician feel is best,” he said. “That means implementing patient-centered solutions that lower costs and restore Americans’ freedoms over their health care decisions.”

[Libloather]

"...not a Washington backroom.”

Pelosi's backroom.

[SkyPilot]

People have to understand (but I am convinced that 95% of them do not) that the entire ObamaCare tyranny had a very ugly component - racial politics.

Everything that motivated Michelle and Barack Obama about ObamaCare was "giving" health care that would be "free" to "their people" at the expense of people who "had lavish plans."

There is a reason there are is the "Office of Minority Health" in the ObamaCare organizational chart - and if you read about what this "office" can and will do it will make your hair stand on end.

If ObamaCare is not repealed (through legislation or by the courts); ObamaCare is going to make Affirmative Action look like a pinprick in comparison.

Oh, not to mention the various "Low Income" and "Cultural" offices that are in ObamaCare. This thing is a Marxist nightmare.

It was all designed to make Whitey pay. And if people cannot fathom that, they are either lazy, stupid, or both.

[Artie]

“reiterate their promise to repeal President Obama’s healthcare law.”

Seems like we’ve been hearing this since the 2010 election but yet nothings been done. Business remains paralyzed and no one with half a brain can correctly plot a path with such uncertainty patrolling the landscape. how about plain and simple like... we can’t afford it

[ronnie raygun]

Zero care is thier attempt to nationalize healthcare at our expense. Remember they passed it without our blessings, therefore it should go down in flames.

[Nickname]

It sounds like the GOP wants to go there, but in increments. They’re going to give us the tasty little morsels that “everyone” wants. But after 20 years of “common-sense reforms” we’ll have the great big, convoluted mess that’s ObamaCare today.

It’s rather like Obama’s recent amnesty. They don’t disagree with the objective, but with the method.

And what’s up with treating 26 year olds as children? If they want to dumb down adulthood, then perhaps we need to reexamine voting age, military enlistment, etc. while we’re at it.

[no-to-illegals]

This one here will believe it when seeing it. Eagle rising from the GOP? Most of the gop-e will give us another turkey (can we say another turkey in every pot) and say get back in line lemmings. The democRATs want us moving FORWARD in lock step (over the cliff) so they (the RATs) may pick our bones clean. Decisions ... Decisions. Yep ... as for me and my family we will trust neither the gop-e or democRATs.

[no-to-illegals]

common sense just does not happen anymore. And if one is in D.C. one plans on being reelected. Leading means to all in D.C. FORWARD march ... over the cliff. May possibly be too late to stop the FORWARD march. Those who try may still wind up being thrown with their families, FORWARD, over the cliff.

You are an eagle, Artie. May more eagles come forward to not join in the march FORWARD.

[nonliberal]

Name one entitlement the Republicans have repealed.

I'm waiting.

Still waiting.

[preacher]

FWIW
Intrade is a betting website. They have a very good record at predicting outcomes. They have ObamaCare very likely to be declared unconstitutional.

The US Supreme Court to rule individual mandate unconstitutional before midnight ET 31 Dec 2012 (78.2% Chance)

http://www.intrade.com/v4/home/

[trebb]

Seems like we’ve been hearing this since the 2010 election but yet nothings been done. Business remains paralyzed and no one with half a brain can correctly plot a path with such uncertainty patrolling the landscape. how about plain and simple like... we can’t afford it

There is that pesky thing called the Senate, who won't even let a budget go through despite the fact that it migh actually make them look a little bit rational. If the Repubs in the House can't get ANYTHING through the Senate, they surely can't get anything major done. It will take a shift in power in the Senate to effect any positive changes.

[WashingtonSource]

The Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988 was repealed in 1989. It was the first big expansion of health care for the elderly since Medicare was created. The public hated the law and a group of elderly people booed and chased Dan Rostenkowski down the street when he refused to meet with them. He was chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, who was holding a town hall meeting.

See YouTube video of the whole scene here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qre7DzEtxyc

[varmintman]

The country does need medical reform, but not Obungacare.

The size of obungacare indicates to me that it is about power and not about health care. Likewise Mark Steyn notes that the job of director or head of public health has become the biggest govt. job in European countries which have public health care i.e. it would be a step upwards from PM or President or King or Grand Duke or anything else to head of health care. In other words, European health care is ultimate bureaucracy. If I had the power to I would institute a sort of a basic health care reform which would be overwhelmingly simple and which would resemble the thing we're reading about in no way, shape, or manner. Key points would be:

1. Elimination of lawsuits against doctors and other medical providers. There would be a general fund to compensate victims of malpractice for actual damage and a non-inbred system for weeding out those guilty of malpractice.

2. Elimination of the artificial exclusivity of the medical system. In other words our medical schools could easily produce two or three times the number of doctors they do with no noticeable drop off in quality.

3. Elimination of the factors which drive the cost of medicines towards unaffordability. That would include both lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies and government agencies which force costs into the billions to develop any new drug. There should be no suing a pharmaceutical for any drug which has passed FDA approval and somewhere between thalidamide and what we have now, there should be a happy medium.

4. Elimination of the outmoded WW-II notion of triage in favor of a system which took some rational account of who pays for the system and who doesn't. The horror stories I keep reading about the middle-class guy with an injured child having to fill out forms for three hours while an endless procession of illegal immigrants just walks in and are seen, would end, as would any possibility of that child waiting three hours for treatment while people were being seen for heroin overdoses.

All of those things would fall under the heading of what TR called "trust busting". There would also be some system for caring the truly indigent, but the need and cost would be far less than at present.

By far the biggest item is that first one. I don't know the exact numbers but if you add every cost involved in our present out-of-control lawyering, it has to be a major fraction if not more than half of our medical costs. The trial lawyers' guild being one of the two major pillars of financial support for the democrat party is the basic reason nobody is saying anything about that part of the problem.

[Graybeard58]

Name one entitlement the Republicans have repealed

The one that probably bothers me the most is the negative income tax called the Earned Income Tax Credit. Not only will it never be repealed, it was started by republicans.

This bit of socialism was proposed by Nixon, signed into law by Ford and increased under every administration since without exception.

Have a bunch of kids you cannot afford, pay in little or no taxes, get a $4,000-$6,000 "refund". Party, party, party. I've witnessed it personally, it's disgusting and it's not just "Holder's people".

[Graybeard58]

The country does need medical reform, but not Obungacare.

I have insurance, yet in 2009, I paid out of pocket $16,000, 2010, $14,000, 2011 about the same, premiums and copays and deductibles. Something's definitely wrong with the system but obama/romneycare is not the answer.

[cableguymn]

last I checked the House did not need the Senates seal of approval to defund something.

[trebb]

last I checked the House did not need the Senates seal of approval to defund something.

I agree, but since when has the House been able/willing to take any action to keep Obama from using his "Executive Orders" to stop anything he has done? Without the Senate, we can continue the love affair between our lips and butts...

The ONLY way to be sure we are rid of Obama care is to do away with it - the House cannot do it w/o cooperation from the Senate.

[cableguymn]

Correct. but cutting off funding should be a first step. Something Bonehead and Co are unwilling to do.

[ChildOfThe60s]

I’m still waiting for someone to name a Democrat’s unlawful executive order that was voided by a succeeding Republican President.

Does anyone here honestly believe that Romney will void *any* of Obama’s unconstitutional EOs?

[Graewoulf]

” - - - - repeal what is left and implement common-sense, step-by-step reforms - - - “

This PERFECTLY illustrates why the esteemed Sobber-of-the-House Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Son-of-a-Mitch McConnell need to be replaced ASAP in their official leadership roles in Congress.

Nothing the US Federal Government ever does turns out better than planned.

The ONLY acceptable fate of Obama”care” is to REPEAL and ABOLISH it FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!