Fallout from the health care debacle

Fallout from the health care debacle: Distinctly Catholic: Thank God for the Freedom Caucus. It was the caucus, and their allies, that killed the "repeal and replace Obamacare" bill.

MGB:_This bill was always about cancelling the lopsided financing and of the Affordable Care Act, which could have been done by adjusting payroll tax rules for everyone in a revenue neutral way.  Adjusting insurance eligibility rules to make them more attractive to younger people, and maybe cheaper because a more general payroll tax would raise more money would have also been doable. Gutting Medicaid because it was Ryan’s childhood dream should never have happened. You can only gut Medicaid if you replace it with a public option, which was not happening without Democratic votes. Ryan tried to buy off the bishops by including the Stupak language. It did not work. An open rule may have saved this bill, but I doubt Ryan has ever seen one. In the end, Obamacare is toast because the IRS is no longer enforcing the mandate, per executive order. This will lead to insurace company bankruptcy and eventaul single payer. Thanks, Trump. As for tax reform, ACA tax reform could be included if they replace it with a payroll tax or a VAT. Luckily, negotiations will be conducted by Secretary Mnuchin, not Trump. We might get a deal.