Week-long Welcomings from Moosylvania: Nov. 27th through Dec. 3rd

10 Comments

1. Here is an interesting analysis of the poison pill in the Affordable Care Act – pre-existing conditions. From Mother Jones: Here’s How to Save Obamacare

   [Looking at] “A Better Way,” a set of proposals from House Speaker Paul Ryan. The health care portion is 37 pages long and specifically says, “No American should ever be denied coverage or face a coverage exclusion on the basis of a pre-existing condition.”
   […]
   Ryancare is basically Obamacare by another name. This is no coincidence. Health insurance, like any other kind of insurance, fundamentally relies on access to a large, random pool of people. In any given year, the few sick ones are paid for by the large number of healthy ones. But once you tinker with that by allowing healthy people to opt out, the whole system collapses. One way or another, you can save it only by forcing healthy people back into the pool and then providing subsidies to the ones who can’t afford coverage no matter what the law requires of them. […]

   Obamacare’s preexisting-conditions provision would still be in place, because Republicans can’t repeal it. As long as that’s the case, someone with an expensive condition would be certain to sue, arguing that they still have the right to buy a plan from any insurer of their choosing regardless of whether they’ve maintained continuous coverage—and to buy it at the same price as anyone else. That’s a strong argument, which means this part of Ryan’s plan is likely to be struck down in court. Unless Republicans figure out a way to repeal the preexisting-conditions provision—perhaps by threatening havoc unless Democrats go along—there’s a good chance Ryan’s plan would fall apart. This would leave millions of people with serious health problems and no coverage, and Republicans taking the blame for it. […]

   If Republicans choose to use extra­ordinary means—either axing the filibuster or bullying the Senate parliamentarian—they can fully repeal Obamacare and replace it with anything they want. Alter­natively, they can leave the preexisting-conditions provision in place—along with all the other regulations they can’t touch—and create chaos by repealing everything else. But if they’re not willing to do that—and they probably aren’t, if only for reasons of political survival—Obamacare’s preexisting-conditions provision provides Democrats with some leverage. Republicans need Democratic votes to repeal the provision and pass a workable law, which means that if Democrats hold out they can certainly get a far better deal than Ryan’s plan. They might even be able to stop the Obamacare repeal in its tracks. It all depends on how well they play their hand.

   Fierce

   • Well, this is somewhat reassuring. Thank you, Jan.

     Fierce

2. Good morning, meeses! Saturday …

   It is 28 degrees in Madison – and my feet are cold! Expected daytime high of 32 with mostly cloudy skies.

   I am still generally staying away from “why we lost” retrospectives – mostly because the “lost” part of it is still so painful – but I am both encouraged (and angry again) at how close the election was in some of the states we lost. Democrats and Democratic policies were not repudiated; if we can hang on and resist the call to change our core values, we can win a nationwide election again. In the meantime, in Louisiana, Campbell is outfundraising his Republican opponent in the Senate race. If we can keep the Senate close, we might be able to keep the worst from happening to our health care. Some Republican Senators are highly skeptical of the “Repeal and Delay” plan, realizing that it will cause the health insurance industry to collapse (Boozman is one of them, bfitz, keep the heat on him). The party that is so worried about the “uncertainty” of government interference wants to throw a trillion dollar industry into a state of chaos. The House is ready – will the cooler heads in the Senate stop them? They only need 50 Senators plus a Pence to pass the House bill.

   See all y’all later!

   Fierce

3. Up for ungodly hour workout. It’s raining & cold (by Austin standards).

   And I canceled out. I keep having stomach issues. Later in the day, it settles down, but right now I don’t want to be too far from a bathroom.

   Fierce

4. G.O.P Plan for “Repeal and Delay” – Total Fantasy.

   “The idea that you can repeal the Affordable Care Act with a two- or three-year transition period and not create market chaos is a total fantasy,” said Sabrina Corlette, a professor at the Health Policy Institute of Georgetown University. “Insurers need to know the rules of the road in order to develop plans and set premiums.”

   Set down your coffee because this will make you laugh out loud:

   “I don’t think you have to wait,” Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the majority leader, told reporters this week. “I would move through and repeal and then go to work on replacing. I think once it’s repealed, you will have hopefully fewer people playing politics, and everybody coming to the table to find the best policy.”

   Republicans are the most self-unaware creatures on the planet. Moments later, the same “apolitical” McCarthy, ready to assign blame:

   “When that date came and you did nothing, if you want to play politics, I think the blame would go to people who didn’t want to do anything,” Mr. McCarthy said.

   There is no one on the Democratic side who will sign on to this and hopefully enough Republican Senators who see the dangers both technically and politically (I don’t even assume for a minute than any will think about it morally) that it is a non-starter.

   Fierce

   • Josh

     @joshtpm: House settles on “Repeal and Let Shit Hit the Fan” over old “Repeal and Replace” promise http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/they-still-have-no-plan via @TPM

     Fierce

   • Jon Lovett sums it up:

     @jonlovett: So after all these years, the plan is to push the health care system off a cliff and build a plane on the way down? http://nyti.ms/2gWZGin

     Fierce

5. Clouds moved in yesterday just before sundown, so it never got that cold overnight – 42 as the sky lightened up, still cloud cover although enough light to generate a trickle (just under 100 watts) – heading for mid 50s maybe. Woodstove is throwing out heat on my back. I’ll have to actually go sit by it to get the heat on my feet and hands which I will do shortly.

   There are at least 15 components to “why we lost the EC” – none of them have anything to do with our platform and policy and the – ahem – little snots who insist it does are the “Alt Left” – the faith-based folks who don’t accept facts that conflict with their dogma any more than the White Supremists or fundamentalists of whatever faith. And of those at least 15 components, Hillary could have overcome any combination of about 12. (And all of them stem back to media treatment that will not change for our team unless/until we find a way to break up the RW corporate media monopoly and get our side/policies out to the general public.)

   Today being uncomfortable outside and definitely expecting rain, now that I’ve got my food acquisition dealt with, I’ll probably be online more and thus will check back periodically through the day. Bright the day and wind to thy wings, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}

   Fierce

6. Good morning, 46 and partly cloudy in Bellingham. I was awake in the night again but the last “nap” was a long one so I hope I got enough sleep. I want to do the Christmas tree today and that takes energy. Our son has invited us to go with them to cut a tree farm to cut a tree and have some winter festival fun but we may pass and just visit with the grand girls later today. The Garden Shop selects trees that last indoors for the month, the proceeds benefit the Boys and Girls Club, and it’s easier for us to manage.

   Best Saturday wishes to all!

   Fierce

7. Good afternoon, all! Sorry to be late to the party today, but when we have Miss Pink Cheeks staying with us, my energy and attention are completely taken up. We brought her home after school yesterday, and after tea she stood on a chair and finished decorating our little Christmas tree, which had looked rather bare on the top. We ran out of time to watch “Tuck Everlasting” after dinner but watched this morning after breakfast. It made me cry. Miss Pink Cheeks is impatient with “backstory” and kept saying how bored she was until the action on screen began to rivet her attention. In between playing games on my iPad she wrote and illustrated a book about the adventures of the “SPT”—Super Pet Team, starring three dogs.

   I was going to make the Christmas pudding today but have run out of mojo. It’s already past two o’clock. Was awakened MUCH too early this cold, windy winter day by the butler bearing a welcome mug of strong tea.

   Wishing a good day to all at the Pond and Beyond!

   Fierce

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