Discussion: Senate GOP Leaders Endorse Bill To Extend Obamacare Subsidies To 2017

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Discussion for article #235609

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We’re going to lose if these poors lose their insurance. Can’t let that happen. Quick. Trick the poors into thinking their insurance is safe. We get elected and then we screw them.

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There is some motion on this Obamacare issue and the issue you are seeing is the Republican party leadership blinking. They realize that when people understand what the law gives them, they don’t want it to go away.

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“The Johnson bill also contains sweeteners for conservatives which are non-starters for Democrats — it would repeal Obamacare’s individual mandate and employer mandate, and remove federal rules requiring that insurance plans cover a minimum package of “essential health benefits.””

DOA

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And that’s what we call ballin’ the jack…

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Every year that subsidies remain, makes it harder to remove them. GOP leaders know the ACA isn’t going anywhere.

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Wait, what?

It doesn’t matter. If the SC strikes down the subsidies, this bill doesn’t override it. If the Court considers them unconstitutional, a bill extending them doesn’t all of a sudden make them okay.

Hello? Either this was a poorly written article or I totally missed something important.

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I think the Supreme Court (of political bias) has struct down the ACA subsidies and the Repubs are scrambling to look like they have their shit together when the shit hits the fan.

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If this is true, those putting this bill together don’t know it. They have no idea how this works. The bill extends subsidies through the 2016 election. If the subsidies are struck down, however, there is nothing to extend. It’s not a hail mary, it’s irrelevant.

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And so it begins.

I’ve said since the beginning if the Republicans somehow managed to repeal Obamacare they would make trivially changes to it, release it as something new, and pat themselves on the back for having saved the world. The reason Republicans haven’t been able to rally behind an alternative to Obamacare is because Obamacare already looks pretty much like a Republican solution, they just can’t admit that.

So this is a somewhat different situation, with only parts of Obamacare being threatened, but the result will be the same. They’ll wave their hands in the air, drag their feet, ultimately make a few changes (if they can get the votes), and take credit for everything.

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So, the Republicans are both stupid and evil - color me shocked!

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Does anyone have a good sense of how this bill extends the subsidies through 2017? Does it provide a fix to the bad language that causes this mess but sunsets the fix? Does it just say Congress has it’s fingers in it’s ears and can’t hear the SCOTUS if they rule against?

I believe I would like to see the Democrats oppose this bill since it is time limited and also has poison pills. Of course that would backfire unless the Dems can message effectively why they oppose it.

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No democrat will vote for this bill. Republicans are stupid.

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Exactly. What’s the political calculus here for adding these to the bill? This makes it a non-starter. These additions to the bill make it a no-brainer for the President to veto–it removes portions of Obamacare that are critical to its success. It doesn’t allow Republicans to ‘jam’ Democrats either, since Democrats know it’s dead on arrival at the President’s desk were it to pass due to these provisions, and there’s no chance that veto will be overridden. (It probably wouldn’t survive a cloture vote as proposed, either.) Jesus, I thought Republicans were smarter than this. They really want to jam Democrats? Offer the bill with the subsidy provision only, and it becomes a MUCH harder proposition to say no to. But I suppose if there’s something the Republican party is good at, it’s shooting themselves in the foot.

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I think this is more about political maneuvering and appearances than anything. If the Supreme Court strikes subsidies down in June, then the Republics are going to be in emergency mode so this doesn’t get them ripped apart in the 2016 elections. Things like this are just one step in their plan of looking they’ve “tried” to fix things.

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The case before the Supreme Court does not involve constitutional issues, but rather statutory interpretation. It can be fixed 100% by act of Congress.

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Time for Harry Reid and the President to get out in front of this and denounce this awful bill - and remind everyone that if the court takes the radical step of overturning common sense and precedent, the fix is a simple one-line bill that authorizes the wording to “the State, or the Federal Government acting on behalf of a State”.

This would also be a good time to remind everyone that this isn’t a constitutional issue - it’s a proofreading issue, and an incredibly thin reed against which to put the healthcare of millions at risk.

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Agreed, that was my second thought, also. If SCOTUS strikes it down, this new provision wouldn’t stand either.
Turns out it’s actually dumber than that, with the “sweeteners” (for who?) added in, assuring no Dems will sign on or a veto. And then, of course, there is the House, who pressed the original suit, to contend with.

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As radical centrist said, the challenge to the subsidies is not a constitutional one. The Obamacare challengers claim that the language in the ACA simply does not allow for Federal subsidies, only state subsidies. So Congress absolutely could override any ruling on the issue by the Supreme Court by expressly allowing for Federal subsidies.

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With or without the provisions it’s toxic for the House GOP majority too. Even without the provisions,it’ll never pass the House without Dem votes.

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