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oh and pero, in addition to republicans attacks on insurers and Obamacare customers, don't forget their indirect affect on insurers. Seems the uncertainty concerning the republicans "replacement" is also scaring off insurers. When fewer insurers participate in a market, prices go up.
Obamacare Uncertainty is Scaring Off Health Insurance Companies - NBC News
And what that statement has to ignore is republicans have had 6 years to come up with a plan and they promised one "right out of the gate". Its kinda the point of the thread. If you were look at the facts honestly you would have to conclude that republicans were never serious about replacing Obamacare. What stops republicans from ever (yea, I said ever) coming up with a better plan is any "better" plan will cost more money. You cant get rid of the "pre-existing condition" exclusion without mandates or single payer. Single payer is more expensive. Its why republicans came up the idea of mandates in the first place. Do you think this proves Ryan has been lying and pandering to you the last 7 years? Its what ryan said about their repeal bill from last year.
These insurance companies had announced their intentions long ago. If me, like I said I would just let it die without lifting a finger. Do I think Ryan or Boehner before him were lying? No. Politics and especially any type of legislation is always a numbers game. It takes 218 votes for repeal in the house, doable since January of 2010. But any repeal bill was tabled by Senator Harry Reid and never brought up in the Senate. So repeal wasn't doable at all until January of 2015. But still in the senate, it wasn't doable then, 60 votes were needed for cloture and the GOP had only 54. Then too as long as Obama was president even if by a million to one shot a repeal passed both the house and the senate, he would veto it requiring 2/3rds of the house and 2/3rds of the senate to over ride the presidential veto.
So until January of 2017, repeal wasn't doable although I think seven times the house passed the repeal from January 2011 through January 2017. The numbers just weren't there. The number still aren't in the senate. 52 isn't 60. Now if the repeal is attached to the budget process, then a simple majority would do or if McConnell uses the Senator Harry Reid nuclear option, then its doable, finally.
But what I would do and this is just me, I would just let it die without doing nothing. But since Republicans are bent on repeal and replace, that I would do things piecemeal. Repeal, change, replace one piece or item at a time over the next few years. I would let Obama keep his name to it.
I am more of a realist, if numbers are there, I don't expect miracles. Congress doesn't govern, the president does. The president governs according to congress's wishes most of the time. That is unless a president uses his pen and his phone bypassing congress. Obama did this and now Trump is doing it more. In my opinion, both were and are wrong.