GOP healthcare overhaul goes on life support: Distinctly Catholic: Even though two more senators announced their opposition to the current repeal-and-replace Obamacare bill, I remain worried that the Republican base will rise up and insist on action.
MGB:_A subsidized public option would give insurance companies a safety valve for dropping both really poor and really sick patients, lowering premiums while raising taxes. Taxes under the bill could be shifted from the top 2% to an across the board increase in the Hospital Insurance Payroll Tax or by converting HI to a full-blown Value Added Tax. Having only the rich pay is too cute by half and although repeal was taken out by McConnell, it would go back in conference. As for alternatives, when you tell Bernie Bot that your Obamacare policy and your Medicare plan through the same insurer are roughly equivalent, they get angry becauses their slogan does not work anymore. As for Cruz, what he is proposing already exists in Obamacare Bronze. I still prefer expanding the Uniformed Public Helth Service (like I got at NIH for my adrenal disease) to treat Obamacare, Medicaid and Medicare patients, although the big HMOs like their cusotmer base and doctors just where they are. The only change we really need is no-year appropriation of funds to everyone involved so the GOP can’t screw with the plan. I doubt that Trump will go with that or the bishops. The GOP larded the bill with Stupak language on abortion that will never see the light of day. At least this time the bishops aren’t being fooled.
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