Discussion: Insurers Torch New Cruz Provision In TrumpCare: 'Simply Unworkable'

1 Like

This presents a problem. For quite some time now, the GOP has put forward the idea that no person who challenges their ideas can be trusted. For example, if you are a litigator on the Mueller team and are registered as a Democrat, then you canā€™t possibly be ethical. The examples are endless.
Butā€¦butā€¦these are corporations, and corporations are people. Andā€¦these corp-people are saying that this isnā€™t a good idea. Andā€¦weā€™re supposed to do whatever corporations want. Andā€¦of course corporations know better than bureaucrats what is good for everyone. Butā€¦butā€¦they seem to be saying that having people insured is goodā€¦and they canā€™t possibly be venal, because theyā€™re corporations.
And how will this impact campaign contributions? Who knew that health care was so complicated?

52 Likes

He really wants to outdo Trump in terms of being vile and loathsome.

Definitely gets my vote so far today but itā€™s still early.

20 Likes

I donā€™t know what game he thinks heā€™s playing, but heā€™s losing. I bet everyone wishes he would just go away.

16 Likes

But I donā€™t want the Democrats to take away my Freedom. Iā€™m going to call Rafael Cruz right now and tell him to ā€œFilibuster for Freedomā€

6 Likes

Neither Rethugs nor Dems are willing to face (and solve) the real problem underlying the US health care nightmare. The true culprit is the horribly unhealthy American populace. Until the people take far more direct responsibility for their own health, it wonā€™t matter how much legislation is passed, health care services will continue to cost more and the system will continue to fail. Insurance premiums are high because people are so unhealthy, and the demand for treatment is skyrocketing.

Eat a plant-based diet
Cut down enormously on sugar consumption
Cut down on animal protein
Do a moderate amount of physical exercise
Allow Medicare/Medicaid to negotiate drug prices with Big Pharma
Subsidize super foods (spinach, broccoli, kale, beans, garlic, onions, etc)

Thatā€™s all that needs to be done to put a massive dent in the cost of health care. Lower the demand and the cost of treatments will plummet. No one can legislate our way out of this easily-reversed health crises. We, the people, can solve this (to a great extent) on our own. Eat plants, people.

4 Likes

I posted this graphic yesterday on the Kasich thread but it needs a repost here. Note the Republican numbers and then please explain how/why anyone in the senate wants to get behind this bill instead of a bipartisan effort the ā€œfixā€ the ACA.

16 Likes

Rich people wanting tax cuts certainly know better than insurance folks how to run health care.

22 Likes

ā€˜ā€˜I probably like Ted Cruz more than most of my other colleagues like Ted Cruz, and I hate Ted Cruz,ā€™ā€™ Franken quipped in interviews on CNN Wednesday, using a line that appears in his book.

ā€˜ā€˜Heā€™s kind of a toxic guy in an office, the guy who microwaves fish,ā€™ā€™ he told Anderson Cooper.

29 Likes

But,ā€¦butā€¦
Weā€™re supposed to do what the corporate masters want.
If ā€œthose peopleā€ want something, they should hire a good lobbyist
Show us the money !

5 Likes

Yesterday was a strange day - with Trumpworld getting deeper into straight up conspiracy and espionage, McConnell was buying Senators, while Pence was lying to and threatening Senators/Governors.

By mid-day, I felt that McConnell had made real gains with Murkowski and was closing in on Heller. By the evening, however, I felt the GOP assault fell short. The Governors attending the gov conference, last night/this morning, have dismissed the new bill as a sham and a worse version of the old bill. Kasich and Sandoval were both negative on it.

My impression is that Pence may have come across as heavy handed. Pence did nothing but lie about the bill to an audience that actually has to implement and be on the hook for it. It didnā€™t seem to work. Pence, reportedly, also threatened that heā€™d sick Sessions on Nevadaā€™s marijuana industry. Threats like that donā€™t tend to go over well. At the end of the day, most Senators outlast Vice Presidents and generally have more political power except in a few circumstances.

I would put my Obamacare repeal meter at 48%, a big jump from where we were earlier in the week purely because of the craven cowardice, selfishness and moral decadence of the GOP. I hate having to read the minds of weak willed and selfish people like Murkowski, Heller, Capito, Portman, Collins and others. Itā€™s bad to get into the prediction business with such folks. But Mitch still doesnā€™t have his 50th vote, and we donā€™t have our 3rd official ā€œNOā€.

The bill could go either way. My guess is that the Cruz amendment will sour the GOP over this weekend. It makes the bill demonstrably worse than the version they failed to support a few weeks earlier.

GOP could push this an existential case to its members - vote for us or we all lose. Though we all know thatā€™s not true. For example, Ted Cruz probably has a better chance of holding his seat if the bill fails than if it succeeds. Donā€™t bullshit a bullshitter as the adage goes. No. This is about whether the GOP really wants to kill people to get a tax cut. Are they ready to push full throttle into the depths of the dark side? Are they Voldemortā€™s death eaters or Palpatineā€™s Sith apprentice and stormtroopers? Itā€™s terrible that the fate of millions is in the hands of people who should never be near the levers of power. But, as Josh says, elections have consequences.

33 Likes

Nothing more than a definitional difference.

BCBS and AHIP say the Cruz proposal is unworkable because it would undermine protections for those with pre-existing medical conditions, increase premiums and lead to widespread terminations of coverage for people currently enrolled in the individual market. Cruz says his amendment is an unqualified success for precisely the same reasons.

13 Likes

Your comment seriously pisses me off. Really? Neither Dems nor Republicans are doing anything about poor health and improving eating choices?

Obama improved school lunches. Michelle Obama ran a whole campaign on eating healthy for which she was eviscerated. Dems had the nutrition labels changed to display added sugars.

And your both siderism still blinds you to the very real and major differences in both policies and actions in this area.

People like you going on and on about how Dems and Republicans are the same in areas X, Y, Z are the reason we got Bush and now Trump.

But the allure of both siderism never seems to disappear.

56 Likes

Beto Oā€™Rourke surpasses Ted Cruz in latest Senate fundraising report

In a Facebook post and video Thursday, Oā€™Rourke said that he raised $2.1 million in April, May and June. He said that the money came in 46,574 individual donations with an average contribution of $44, and that 81 percent of the money came from Texas. In a rarity, Oā€™Rourke doesnā€™t take any money from political action committees.

The Cruz campaign reported it had raised $1.6 million in the same period, leaving him with $5.7 million cash on hand at the end of June.
http://www.mystatesman.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/beto-rourke-surpasses-ted-cruz-latest-senate-fundraising-report/Amdzy4Sl3W7fk6VgaAIRRL/

15 Likes

OT but I was listening to NPR this week and caught the middle of a story about a small beverage maker (I think, didnā€™t hear the beginning) who was recounting how the corn industry either lobbied for or sued and won the right to label HFCS as ā€œreal sugarā€ on labels. What the man stated was to look for ā€œreal cane sugarā€ or you can be sure that youā€™re still getting HFCS.

This is our FDA in action - beholded to the deep pocket special interests and their lobbyist who we indirectly pay for via corn subsidies.

14 Likes

ā€œIt is simply unworkable in any form and would undermine protections for those with pre-existing medical conditions, increase premiums and lead to widespread terminations of coverage for people currently enrolled in the individual market,ā€

GOP response: ā€œYeah, so whatā€™s your point?ā€

20 Likes

If only everyone lived a healthy life we would not need health care. Simple isnā€™t it. Also totally wrong.

22 Likes

ā€œā€¦ please explain how/why anyone in the senate wants to get behind this billā€¦ā€

The Republicons spent 7 years telling Americans how horrible the ACA was. They voted sixty-some-odd times to repeal. If the ā€˜consā€™ now work with the other side, theyā€™ll be accused of caving and catch hell from Hannity, Hugh Hewitt and Rushbo.

12 Likes

Cruzā€™s amendment is designed to have people lose their insurance and make the system fail. He just hoped no one would figure that out before they voted yes - and the majority of republicans still might do so. They have a firmly held belief that government has no interest in providing any safe guards or assistance for its citizens ā€“ so by definition, the ACA is a bad thing no matter how many people it helps. They actually want to cull the herd. Denying healthcare, wiping out environmental protections and increasing gun access ā€“ they are the party of death.

16 Likes

Yes because if you cut down on sugar and eat vegetables you will never get sick again! And itā€™s the Democratsā€™ fault that not everyone follows such a diet!

Thank you for finally solving this complicated problem.

34 Likes