Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Take Two: Inside Bill Cassidy's Plan To Replace Obamacare

Another Republican plan to replace Obamacare is looming. The challenge is daunting to revise Obamacare without endangering total insurability for those who want it. And those who refuse coverage are fined by the IRS. How has it come to this?

There have been at least three Obamacare replacement plans that have come to light in the media. There are undoubtedly many others which have not come to the light of day. Political and partisan thinking have not helped. The agenda is which political party will gain, not the welfare of patients or the gordian knot of health systems.

America's health system is a collection of organizations. Medicare, Medicaid, Veteran's Administration, DOD, and Private insurers. During the past five years there have been multiple mega-mergers of insurance plans to maximize profit. Skimming and selective availability diminish the availability of health insurance coverage. While federal regulations have attempted to increase competition and decrease cost the opposite has occured.

The most recent attempt is

Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson

More specifically, GCHJ:

Repeals Obamacare Individual and Employer Mandates.
Repeals the Obamacare Medical Device Tax.
Strengthens the ability for states to waive Obamacare regulations.
Returns power to the states and patients by equalizing the treatment between Medicaid Expansion and Non-expansion States through an equitable block grant distribution.
Protects patients with pre-existing medical conditions.

GCHJ replaces the BCRA. “Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson” builds off of many of the ideas in the Better Care Reconciliation Act, but with one major change.

Block Grants are the key to GCHJ, Federalism at it's worst.

And in further news......

Obamacare Repeal, Thought Dead in July, May Be Revived in Senate

Congressional efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act sprang back to life on Monday as Senate Republicans pushed for a showdown vote on new legislation that would do away with many of the health law’s requirements and bundle its funding into giant block grants to the states. The Republican leaders of the latest repeal effort, Senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, said their effort — considered all but impossible earlier this month — was gaining momentum. The seven-year drive to repeal President Barack Obama’s signature domestic achievement appeared to collapse in July when it fell one vote short in the Senate.

“I’m not interested in only having an up-or-down vote on what’s one-fifth of the gross national product,” Mr. McCain said.

He fails to point out the fact that 100% of Americans are affected by health reform.