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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe CBO Just Crushed What Little Hope Republicans Had Left For Repealing Obamacare
By Jason Easley at Politicus USA
http://www.politicususa.com/2017/09/25/cbo-crushed-hope-republicans-left-repealing-obamacare.html
"SNIP...........
Over the 20172026 period, CBO and JCT estimate, the legislation would reduce the on-budget deficit by at least $133 billion, the projected savings from the House-passed reconciliation bill. (The effects on the deficit were estimated relative to CBOs March 2016 baseline, as has been done for all legislation related to the 2017 budget resolution.) Those savings would occur mainly because, under the legislation, outlays from new block grants between 2020 and 2026 would be smaller than the reduction in net federal subsidies for health insurance. Funding would shift away from states that expanded eligibility for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and toward states that did not.
The number of people with comprehensive health insurance that covers high-cost medical events would be reduced by millions compared with the baseline projections for each year during the decade, CBO and JCT estimate. That number could vary widely depending on how states implemented the legislation, although the direction of the effect is clear. The reduction in the number of insured people relative to the number under current law would result from three main causes. First, enrollment in Medicaid would be substantially lower because of large reductions in federal funding for that program. Second, enrollment in nongroup coverage would be lower because of reductions in subsidies for it. Third, enrollment in all types of health insurance would be lower because penalties for not having insurance would be repealed. Those losses in coverage would be partly offset by enrollment in new programs established by states using the block grants and by somewhat higher enrollment in employment-based insurance. Many of the new programs would probably cover people with characteristics similar to those of people made eligible for Medicaid by the ACA.
The decrease in the number of insured people would be particularly large starting in 2020, when the legislation would make major changes to federal funding for Medicaid and the nongroup market. CBO and JCT expect that market disruptions and other implementation problems would accompany the transition to the block grants created by the legislationdespite the availability of funding specifically designated to assist with that transitiongiven the short time for planning and making changes between now and then.
The bill is terrible, and there are no sweeteners that can convince Republicans like McCain, Murkowski, and Collins to support the bill. The legislation screws states that expanded coverage under the ACA, and delays screwing over people in states that didnt expand coverage. Graham-Cassidy was already on life support, and this CBO score should give at least three Republican Senators what they needed to pull the plug.
............SNIP"
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,719 posts)Ninsianna
(1,349 posts)They still have a chance, let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Tarheel_Dem
(31,234 posts)underpants
(182,824 posts)BigmanPigman
(51,608 posts)until Oct 1st since I NEVER trust the GOP. They will be buying votes until Sat so stay vigilant and keep calling. This happened in the House. We thought it was dead and came right back again!
(202) 224-3121 THANKS!
sheshe2
(83,785 posts)Ninsianna
(1,349 posts)Warpy
(111,267 posts)with everything they can think of. We know Collins means what she says. The other 3 are pretty wobbly.
They have Koch brothers to please so their wallets will open wide, once again.
That's what this is about, money, lots of money. They don't give a fuck about us and never did and it's high time Republicans woke the fuck up about that.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,719 posts)and not others.
Aside from both the political ethics in general and what this reveals about the Republican argument about repealing Obamacare in particular (i.e., it exposes the notion that other states will be unharmed by its cuts), this maneuver may well be unconstitutional.
Georgetown law professor Brian Galle explains that the Constitution has a uniformity clause Article I, section 8 of the Constitution says all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States. The purpose of the clause is to prevent coalitions of states from ganging up on others to impose discriminatory treatment.
The clause has not been tested before, but that is only because there are few cases in which the people running the government have passed a law so blatantly discriminatory.
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/09/repealing-obamacare-for-49-states-probably-unconstitutional.html
Warpy
(111,267 posts)and substitute Gorsuch a year later.
Remember, the constitution is just a piece of paper to them. They and their billionaire masters aren't bound by it.
Ninsianna
(1,349 posts)Nothing is for certain until there is a vote or they scrub the bill entirely.
Klobuchar is well armed, hopefully someone is teaching Sanders some debate tips too.