General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsA serious question: what are the Republicans Health Care plans?
Is there more than one? I remember in 2008 every Democratic candidate his/her own plans.
If there is one Republican health care plan, what are its major "reforms?"
Today on Morning Joe Rob Portman was asked about his plan, but before he could answer they had to cut to events in Ukraine and they never got back to him on it! I was bummed.
Are there links out there to how Republicans are going to replace ObamaCare, now that just repealing it is off the table?
jwirr
(39,215 posts)Nothing else.
Prophet 451
(9,796 posts)1) Don't get sick.
2) If you do get sick, die quickly.
Ed Suspicious
(8,879 posts)Not a totally serious answer, I know, but it as close to a plan as I can see.
unblock
(52,421 posts)... doesn't mean it isn't theirs.
Boom Sound 416
(4,185 posts)Their wasn't too much
Tort reform ie reduction of mal practice pay outs to lower the mal practice insurance rates thus lowering premiums (don't know if that actually works)
Ability to purchase insurance out of state via insurance groups (again, don't really know the cost benefits)
Ability to make private networks ie employees forming a type of health insurance group plan to lower the cost.
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Funny thing is even they have stop promoting these plans so that may answer the cost benefit questions.
CTyankee
(63,914 posts)will work? Are any of them working right now somewhere?
Boom Sound 416
(4,185 posts)On the tort issue. I suppose it's all theory, but perhaps their is some state to state data looking at payout caps or lack of that can be used to argue
On the other two, to me it seems born from a supply side perpective. That said, well what's to say?
CTyankee
(63,914 posts)It could all just be cockamamie...no evidence of success anywhere on the planet, no factual evidence...sounds like the republican brand of "science."
okaawhatever
(9,478 posts)called the CARE act. Some highlights:
Pre-existing conditions: keeps the idea of it, but requires an individual tol be continually covered for the benefit, so if an individual loses their job and health coverage, they must keep private insurance or lose the ability to have a pre-existing condition covered in the future.
Removes federal mandates and puts that power at the state level
Removes single low-income individuals from the expanded Medicaid program and instead gives them a tax credit of approx $1500 per year to purchase private insurance. What coverage they could get for that is unknown, but it does put those individuals into a profit making insurance plan instead of a government one.
The CARE Act would reform, but not expand, Medicaid, forcing an untold number of people back into the private markets. The reforms would give states more flexibility on how to run the entitlement program, and would allow beneficiaries the option to use a tax credit to instead buy coverage in the private market.
Changes the tax credits from individuals who are at 400% of poverty level to 300% of poverty level.
The Republican plan puts less emphasis on expanding Medicaid; Obamacare relies on that public program for half of the entire insurance expansion. The replacement plan would limit any Medicaid expansion to pregnant women and children living below the poverty line, and give states the option to decide whether to participate. And even then, those people would have more of a choice: They could decide whether to participate on Medicaid, or use a tax credit to buy private insurance. Under Obamacare, there isn't that option.
. The biggest, most significant difference between Obamacare and the replacement plan is about financing -- how you pay for all those insurance subsidies. The replacement plan repeals a whole slew of industry taxes that had the insurance companies, hospitals and medical device makers all helping to foot the bill. Those are gone. In their place is a limit on the the tax exclusion for employer-sponsored insurance.
Right now, the federal government does not tax health insurance when it is provided to an employee by an employer. The Republican plan would limit the tax exclusion to 65 percent of the average health insurance plan. Any amount of a premium beyond that amount would need to be paid with post-tax dollars. There's no estimate on how many people this would effect and how much more they would pay for premiums, but Republican Senate aides do say it's true that people who receive more robust policies from their employers would pay more for premiums.
Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-reform-implementation/196504-gop-senators-push-obamacare-alternative#ixzz2ttSRxrKt
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/01/27/republicans-have-an-obamacare-replacement-economists-will-love-it-real-people-wont/
CTyankee
(63,914 posts)It seems to me that most of these ideas have never been tested, they are just "ideas". But ObamaCare expands two successful programs that we have solid proof of: Medicaid (which O expands) and RomneyCare. Why would any sane and reasonable person pick an untested set of policies rather than looking at verifiable proof that a policy has worked in the past?
okaawhatever
(9,478 posts)Romneycare went into a state that doesn't give insurance companies free reign the way some Southern states do, so I don't think it needed to change as much to the existing laws.
Since the Republicans are trying to turn this into a state program, and not a federal program (eliminating insurance exchanges is one goal) I think it's because they know they can only make so much headway in some states, but they can gut the provisions in the red states, especially southern red states.
Informally, what i've read about the gop plan is that they want to get rid of the pre-existing condition law, the cap on insurance profits (the 80-85% of every health care dollar must be spent on services), the requirement for minimum coverage like mammograms and cancer screenings, and the medicaid expansion.
CTyankee
(63,914 posts)worst health care system of any advanced nation in the world. Until ObamaCare. Some achievement by the repubs...