Discussion: Ex-Reagan Staffer Who Says ACA Saved His Life Confronts Ryan At Town Hall (VIDEO)

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They say a Republican is a Democrat who got mugged.

Sounds like a Democrat is a Republican who got sick.

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We’'ll have a replacement ready in 2019, right after the next election but, we’ll only be able to replace it if you keep us in office otherwise those evil dems will be back with their Death Panels!

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It’s great the guy was saved, but not great that he’s a typical republican who comes around to supporting a policy only when it impacts them personally. Until then they can’t imagine that anyone else could possibly benefit since they don’t personally benefit. But once it happens to them, then all of sudden they get it. I wish they could figure this out before their personal tragedy strikes.

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Ryan will look at you with those blue eyes and lie his ass off after offering some Xianist bullshit.

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Ah, those state run high risk pools. When I lost my job in 2011, I couldn’t afford COBRA and no one would insure me. Why? because I’d had my tonsils out 20 years before and have a history of sinus issues.

Right. My sinus and allergies constituted a “pre-existing” condition. Otherwise I was, and am, healthy. So my option was the TX high risk pool.

Guess what? The premiums were $1,000 a month WITH a $10,000 a year deductible. Who the fuck could afford that?

So fuck you Ryan. With a rusty chainsaw.

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The crux of the matter is why were people like this against it in the first place? And as soon as it helps them, why are they suddenly for it? What set of principles do they live by? And how can anyone afford the time, let alone the interest, to find common cause with them before the idiots have walked a mile in another’s shoes?

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You’ve put your finger on it. If there’s a political divide today (there is a political divide today) it’s between people driven by self-interest and those driven by enlightened self-interest.

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High-risk pools are like insurance solely for ships at sea with large leaks. They are not economically workable.

States never had sufficient subsidies in the past. They were insurance for upper middle class people in trouble. If Republicans now plan to offer enough policies with sufficient subsidies, tell me how that will be more economical than ObamaCare or Medicare for all? If they are reversing the ObamaCare taxes, how do they plan to pay for it? If they are reversing the ObamaCare regulations that have lowered healthcare inflation, how will they keep costs down?

Before the ACA, Harvard did a study indicating that upwards of 40,000 people per year died preventable deaths because they lacked insurance, even though these high risk pools existed at the time. Terrorism pales in comparison.

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Ryan doesn’t care about this guy or anybody like him. The only life he cares about is his own Political Life. Ayn Rand convinced him of this long ago.

Any Republican healthcare plan is going to disappoint the rubes when they realize that HSA-style plans with pre-tax cash accounts, high annual deductibles, and high monthly premiums don’t work for their plebeian selves. Anger and deaths will ensue. Wait and see. RyanCare will be a disaster.

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Funny, isn’t it, that a Rethugliklan would oppose the ACA, was perfectly willing to let millions of other people die? But then he got sick and, lo and behold, the ACA isn’t so bad after all.

Nobody could’ve ever predicted that. Not in a million years.

ETA: Many other sites are reporting that Jeans is a former Republican.

This is from other stories that should’ve been included in this article. It’s very telling.

“When it was passed, I told my wife we would close our business before I complied with this law,” Jeans said. “Then at 49, I was given six weeks to live with a very curable type of cancer. We offered three times the cost of my treatment, which was rejected. They required an insurance card.”

“Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, I’m standing here today.”

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Excellent post.

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And while Ryan was claiming all was well, this:

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The suggestion by the Repubs that they are going to enact legislation that will provide better health care at a cheaper cost is bull shit. They are beholden to too many special interests.

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The essential problem is that unless they’re regulated, private insurance companies will tend to exclude old and sick people from the ranks of the insured, and they’ll tend to raise rates as high as they can just to maximize profit. Some entity like the DNC needs to start educating the public about this. People are financially illiterate about stuff like this and easily misled.

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…and as Ryan walked out of the room you could hear him mutter ‘RINO’…(/sarc)

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Agree. Except I know plenty of people who support policies for the common good…without any personal benefit involved. And most (all?) are Democrats.

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…which was like water off a fu-- I, mean , duck’s back

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Ryan is probably thinking to himself: “I could eliminate this guy’s health insurance and he’d still vote Republican. What an idiot!”

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Bottom line is healthcare, like education, shouldn’t be a for-profit business. Ever.

Rethugliklans, however, view it as analogous to auto insurance. It ain’t. Ever.

Fun Fact: Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini and Cigna CEO David Cordani both saw their total pay surge to $17.3 million in 2015 after earning $15 million and $14.5 million, respectively, in 2014.

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