Well, my opponent, Rep. Richard Hudson, joined his cynical Republican colleagues in voting to bring back pre-existing conditions, strip health insurance away from millions of Americans, and allow people to go broke because of illness or injury. Yes, the House voted for about the 50th time to repeal Obamacare. It’s a waste of time and taxpayer money. Obama will veto the bill as soon as it hits his desk.
It was a cynical move because Republicans know it will fail and only passed it to satisfy their base. They could have proposed legislation to make the program better by increasing efficiencies, reducing costs, and improving access, but that’s not what they want. We’ve been hearing about an alternative for years but they’ve produced nothing.
Obamacare may not be popular, but health care reform is. Throughout the first decade of the 21st century, Democrats ran on reforming health care and it had broad support. Republicans controlled the White House and Congress for much of that time and refused to do anything about it. They don’t really have a plan and they don’t really want to reform health care. If they did, we’d have heard about it.
We see this pattern in GOP rhetoric, most recently, with gun violence. We’ve hit the point where mass shooting occur on a regular basis, including Sandy Hook where 20 first graders were massacred. Instead of offering any solution, they go in hyperventilation about violations of the 2nd Amendment anytime somebody suggests regulating access to firearms. If they’ve got a better solution, let’s hear it. Most Americans don’t believe mass murders on a regular basis should be the price of freedom. And they don’t believe overweight gun nuts dressed in army costumes toting AR-15 around in public is doing anything to make us safer.
If they’ve got a better idea than Obama’s executive order, put it out there. They control Congress and they can certainly pass legislation and put something forward. If they can make Obamacare better or have a program that will save people money, increase access to health care and not deny people like me with pre-existing conditions reasonable coverage, I’m all ears. But complaining about every solution while offering no ideas for dealing with pressing problems is not leadership. It’s cynical pandering and it’s what’s wrong with Washington—and my opponent is part of the problem.
Thomas Mills is the founder and publisher of PoliticsNC.com. Before beginning PoliticsNC, Thomas spent twenty years as a political and public affairs consultant. Learn more >
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was just an adaptation of “Romnicare” from Massachusetts where 98% of the population now has coverage. There is always griping by anyone who is NOT filing claims but is paying premiums to spread the risk among the entire population–that is a principle of all insurance.
Can ACA be improved? Most certainly! Perhaps ACA would be better if Republicans would suggest improvements in areas where it has difficulties. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen such a nasty bunch of sour grapes as the Republican-controlled Congress. The only program that seems to be suggested is, “if you get sick, hurry up and die.”
How about doing something for the entire country and working in a bipartisan manner to improve the healthcare system?
Here ya go, Morris. Enjoy! …….
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-checkup-for-obamacare-reveals-a-positive-prognosis/2016/01/07/f3e13c10-b582-11e5-9388-466021d971de_story.html
My daughter, who is in her early 40s, has health insurance for the first time since college–thanks to the ACA; furthermore, it’s at a price she can afford, even though both she and her husband are woefully underpaid. Before ACA, they wanted to have children but had no hope of being able to afford them: now they’re hoping to provide me with a grandchild or two. I only wish ACA had become law sooner.
While your daughter may now have health insurance, what is her deductible under the new Obamacare health plans?
That’s what will break her when she has a child. Last year I talked a young man (a relative) and his new wife into signing up for health insurance for the first time. He argued and argued with me that they didn’t need it, but of course the potential fine was out there too. They were convinced they wouldn’t have kids for years, but they followed my advice and signed up. Decided to have a child in November and are still selling things trying to pay off the deductible – including his old truck.
There is no free lunch guys. Obamacare is collapsing under its own weight. It never made any sense. Increased the cost (additional paperwork), reduced the supply (doctor shortages looming), and increased the demand AND believed it would lower the price at the same time? Goes against every law of economics. Co-ops are collapsing right and left (over half now closed) forcing people into higher premiums they can’t afford. Traditional insurers are raising rates (mine is up over 30%) to cover the losses.
The Republicans did not need to vote against this mess. Its is not sustainable and never was.
1. Your saying “are still selling things trying to pay off the deductible – including his old truck” make me question your understanding of how insurance works. What do you mean by paying off a deductible by selling a truck? Deductibles aren’t owed bills, and as far as I know, they can’t be paid down. One has to be sick and make a claim and if one’s claim totals haven’t reach the deductible level, one needs to pay bills oneself. But having cash from a truck sale cannot be paid to an insurer to “pay down” a deductible. So, again, how are the proceeds from a truck sale paying off a deductible? Are they purposely getting themselves sick so as to use truck sale proceeds to pay their doctor, so as to reach their deductible level sooner so future sicknesses will be covered (this sounds silly, but…)? Also, if they had no insurance whatsoever, wouldn’t they be scrounging to find the money to pay their medical bills just the same? Or would they do what many uninsured Americans still do, i.e., wait until their medicals issues get critical, and go to the hospital emergency room, get treatment, and disregard subsequent bills, letting the hospital absorbed the cost? Please explain all this?
2. What is your Obamacare alternative? What would you change in it, or replace it with? Why don’t Republicans have and offer up a better alternative plan and congressional bill?
3. “Collapsing under its own weight” doesn’t seem to align with enrollments outpacing expectations, more younger people now signing up, 20 million more Americans having healthcare insurance (that cannot be ended abruptly by the insurance company for profit-motivated reasons, or be withheld due to a pre-existing condition). Explain?
4. First it was “people won’t enroll,” then it was “if they enroll, they won’t pay premiums,” then it was “people won’t re-enroll,” then it was “it won’t cause any decline in the annual rate of healhcare cost increases,” and then “premiums will not be affordable” (conveniently forgetting that the ACA provides subsidies to most enrollees to cover much of premium costs, whether they increase are not), and all throughout this naysaying, it was “ACA will cause the US economy to implode.” None of these things have occurred. Explain?
I watched a tad of the Honorable(?) Thom Tillis speechificate on AHA. You know, and I’m sure you do, but it looks like the Republicans would work to make it better for people, you know, since they are all about making things better for people and giving them a choice. Instead, they want to make things worse. They think that because that under the guise of removing “BIG” government from the picture, that makes everything better for them. In a sense I guess it does; it you want to occupy federal buildings in wilderness locations. That’s the base of the Republican party and if you listen to the comments from the residents there, they’ve had a bellyful of it.
Will more extensive background checks stop the next mass shooting? No and we all know it. Not the next one, not the 20th one from now. I do understand the consternation and frustration of seeing this happen and not being able or not having the guts to take some sort of action to stop it. But right now and including the run in to the election, gun sales are going to boom. Because the fear looms large if Hillary gets the nomination and she wins the general election. And those flames are going to have tanker loads of gas dumped on them in order to perpetuate those fears; real or imagined.
Are there people in this country that should not own a gun? You bet. Up to and including a toy gun. Rights do have limits and yours stop when they infringe on someone elses’. Some have yet to take stock of that concept.
But I think that Thomas brings a much deeper point to the fore. The party of ‘No’ strikes again. The Republican party wants to return to the early 20th Century. A time they fallaciously believe was the best of times. They don’t want anything to change, they won’t support any type of change and will only vote for keeping things and people just the way they are. Living on the edge and from paycheck to paycheck. Unless of course change supports themselves or their lackey corporate hacks. Then of course, we must change, for the sake of making things better. That mentality prevails in both private and public sectors.
We are beginning to see the effects too. Violent crime is just now starting to ratchet up. Don’t stop and think it’s going to stop or that this was just a temporary spike. If the Republicans keep control, brace yourselves, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Amen. “Oppose Everything and Do Nothing” Republicans in Congress are a danger to, barrier against, and drag on this nation.
Nothing done on gun violence because the NRA (and gun makers) will work against their re-election. Nothing on immigration because the xenophobes and worker class in their party have been taught to see “foreigners” as the cause of their woes. Nothing on climate change because Big Oil & Gas won’t hear of it. Nothing on raising the minimum wage because the Chambers of Commerce and small and large businesses oppose it. And nothing on healthcare because.. well… because “Obama.” And because they are simply a callous bunch.
Well, now, to be fair…..they DID manage to lower corporate taxes, lift the ban on exporting American gas and oil, and weaken labeling laws so producers no longer have to divulge from whence our food Roth come