Posted on 01/27/2014 2:40:48 PM PST by Kaslin
President Obama's repeated claim that Republicans do not have a health care plan has never been true (you can read the House Republican Study Committee plan here), and today three Republican senators have challenged Obama again, this time by offering their own new proposal.
Sens. Tom Coburn (R-OK), Richard Burr (R-NC), and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) have introduced a plan that would repeal Obamacare and offer all Americans real affordable health care coverage. No individual mandate. No employer mandate. No HealthCare.gov debacle.
Instead, the heart of Senate Republican proposal would offer targeted tax credits to individuals with incomes between 100 percent and 300 percent of poverty who do not work at large employers that offer health care plans. In addition to being means tested by income, the credit would also be tied to age, with older Americans receiving a more generous credit.
The Senate Republican plan would also limit health care spending by transitioning to a capped allotment for Medicaid funds and by limiting the amount of health insurance premiums employer's can exclude from taxes.
Somewhat worrying, however, the legislation would also allow, but not require, states to auto-enroll uninsured Americans in default health insurance plans. But, states could, if they wanted, create default enrollment options with premiums equal to the value of their tax credit. That way, no individual would be charged an additional premium. The Senate Republican plan would also allow all Americans to opt out of buying health insurance if they did not want to buy the product.
No legislative language is available for examination yet, and it is doubtful any Senate committee will move on the bill, so no official Congressional Budget Office score is likely soon. But the outlines of the plan show that it would cost far far less than Obamacare, cut taxes significantly, but also provide far fewer Americans with health insurance.
However, the CBO already estimated that after spending more than $1 trillion, Obamacare would leave more than 30 million uncovered. And the early returns from Obamacare enrollment shows that number will probably be far higher.
The economically educated don't need an answer to that argument, but the average sheeple do.
Stupid is as stupid does: just repeal ACA (Obamacare). Nothing more, nothing less.
If the several states want socialized medicine then let them enact it. They won’t - because it will make them magnets for slackers nation-wide.
They still don’t get it.
Yeah, there's something better in the House from Tom Price that should become law of the land.
See: HR 2300
tomprice.house.gov
I notice the free market is never considered as the default position, or at least as an alternative.
USA - RIP
You replace it with the way it used to be before Terd Kennedy and the RATs frigged it all up.
Consumer driven healthcare, HSAs that accumulate year to year and can also be used for retirement.
Portability from job to job and state to state.
The ability to purchase across state lines like car insurance.
High Risk Pools.
Total underwriting for better premium discounts and risk assessment.
No guaranteed issue nor community rating.
As long as there’s no mandate, it doesn’t deny anyone the right to control their own bodies.
That won’t work. Healthcare was unaffordable BEFORE the affordable healthcare act (ACA or Obamacare). Obamacare has mad it more unaffordable.
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I have been touting tax credits for decades. Doctors could set up care for indigent and needy by establishing state medical society triage entities to assess financial ability and assign them to doctors on a rotating basisis so docs could see thrm in their own offices. All dics can see a few a month.
If you're talking about paying cash for treatment, probably.
If you're talking about health insurance premiums...it all depends on what state you live in. Some places are downright reasonable.
The Northeast is the last place on earth to look for sensible health-insurance public policy.
Thank you Hilary.
Senate Republicans need to actually start upholding their oaths to protect and defend the Constitution by doing the following. They need to comply with the Constitution's Article V by rallying Congress to propose a healthcare amendment to the Constitution for ratification. And if the states chose to ratify such an amendment then Congress would have the constitutional authority that it requires to regulate, tax and spend for public healthcare purposes.
Hey, better late than never.
Healthcare was expensive in 2 states where I spent the most time.
1. Illinois
2. Washington
The monthly premiums was not the problem. $300-$400 was OK.
Things got expensive when hospitalization with surgery was required. For example a visit emergency room due to onset of gall bladder attack, 2 day stay in hospital with surgery to remove gall bladder, the bill was north of $40,000. First we had to pay individual & family deductible, and then insurance covered 80%. Net out of pocket was $8500. That does not include $4500 in yearly health insurance premiums. May be that is not a problem to you, for us it was a big dent in our budget.
The premium up here for a non-group policy is a little over $400 per person per month...been that way for a while.
The reason hospital costs are so high is because they are gouging cash-paying and insured patients to offset the screwing they are getting by providing "free healthcare" and underfunded medical welfare (MediCaid)
The practice is called "cost shifting".
I have no quarrel with your reasons why healthcare/hospital bills are high. My point is costs WERE high for middle class before Obamacare. Obamacare will make it even more expensive for middle class. Obamacare was sold on the premise that families would save $2500/year and that was and is a blatant lie.
Were you saying your own premium was $400, or a family policy?
heavily subsidized by employer policy for fam.
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