House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., is coming out guns blazing against what he calls the Trump administration’s “sabotage” of Obamacare.
Hoyer recently declared, “The Trump administration’s ongoing effort to take health care coverage away from millions of Americans and take critical protections away from millions more through sabotage and lawsuits is reprehensible.”
The majority leader is backing a House resolution condemning said sabotage, while the House Energy and Commerce Committee is finishing up a series of legislative measures to roll back the Trump administration’s “ongoing sabotage” of the Affordable Care Act, including its expansion of “junk plans” as alternatives to Obamacare plans.
American taxpayers should ignore these partisan political theatrics. Under the Trump initiatives, Americans who like their Obamacare plan can keep their Obamacare plan, but they also enable Americans to obtain a more affordable and flexible benefit package if they wish.
Trump’s policy is one of addition, not subtraction.
The liberal congressional agenda is exactly the opposite: a policy of subtraction. Personal health care needs or preferences are deemed irrelevant and to be made illegal. Instead, they insist that federal officials should have veto power over any health insurance alternatives, and that they alone should exercise absolute control over the kinds of health plans, benefits, and medical treatments and procedures that Americans can have.
Recall that President Barack Obama repeatedly promised, among other things, that Obamacare would lower health costs for individuals and families, expand personal choice and competition, and allow Americans to keep their health plans and doctors.
As far as “sabotage,” the record is clear: Obamacare sabotaged Obamacare.
Over the last four years, Obamacare delivered soaring health insurance premium costs in the exchanges (jumping 105% between 2013 and 2017 alone); many thousands of dollars in individual and family deductibles; a collapse of choice and competition in the individual insurance markets; a flattening and declining exchange enrollment; and a progressive reduction in patients’ choice of physicians and medical facilities. Today, 72% of Obamacare plans have narrow provider networks.
Liberals in Congress have shown that they know how to jack up spending, increase regulation, and expand Medicaid, while presiding over the wreckage of America’s individual and small group insurance markets. During the Medicaid expansion between 2013 and 2017, the number of unsubsidized persons in the individual insurance markets actually shrunk by a stunning 4.1 million.
On health coverage, a key data point is this: Obama, deploying numerous “navigators” and armed with increasingly tough individual mandate penalties, presided over a decline in coverage in the individual health insurance markets. In fact, 2015 was the high-water mark of Obamacare enrollment. Between 2015 and 2016, according to government actuaries, 10 states experienced declining individual market enrollment, and from 2016 to 2017, 44 states experienced declining enrollment.
The biggest declines were among middle-class individuals and families who were ineligible for taxpayer subsidies while facing major premium increases. Trump cannot be blamed.
For taking modest steps to expand Americans’ choice of affordable coverage, however, Trump is “guilty” as charged. In the area of health insurance, his two major administrative initiatives are expansion of association health plans and short-term limited duration health plans.
Under rules set by the Department of Labor, association health plans would allow employers and employees in the “same line of business” to join together and unite in common pools to purchase more affordable and flexible coverage. These plans could reverse the slide in coverage for small businesses and expand the number of workers who would qualify for generous tax relief for employer coverage.
The preliminary evidence on association health plans is positive. For example, Modern Healthcare magazine reported that the Nebraska Farm Bureau plan is offering premiums about 25% less than the Obamacare plan, while the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce HMO plans are offering premiums that are 15 to 20% cheaper premiums. “Modern Healthcare” reports that these plans are offering broad networks of providers and fairly comprehensive benefits packages, and are neither denying coverage for people with pre-existing conditions nor are they rating persons according to their health risk.
The Trump administration is also allowing people enrolled in short-term, limited-duration health plans to renew their coverage for up to three years. Under current federal law, these plans are subject to state regulation, meaning that liberal states can hobble or even ban them altogether.
These short-term plans were never designed to be a permanent solution to the individual health insurance markets’ many problems. They were created to help people who suffered a temporary lapse in coverage between jobs, who did not have a choice of affordable coverage in Obamacare’s increasingly noncompetitive exchanges, or lost access to an adequate network of providers in Obamacare plans.
While these short-term plans provide less comprehensive health insurance coverage, they also have broader provider networks. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar estimates that their premium costs can be 50 to 80% less than Obamacare plans.
Once again, the preliminary evidence is positive. According to a February 2019 eHealth survey of short-term plan enrollees, 61% said that affordability of premiums was the main reason they chose these plans. A total of 80% said they value affordable premiums over comprehensive benefits, while only 20% favor comprehensive benefits over affordable premiums. Finally, 43% said that without these plans, they would be uninsured.
The president knows the comprehensive reform of health care is a big, complex, and demanding legislative task. His modest administrative initiatives offer limited health coverage alternatives. Taken altogether, Americans will reap benefits totaling $453 billion from these changes over the next 10 years, according to the president’s Council of Economic Advisers.
President Donald Trump is offering Americans health insurance alternatives only to Americans who want or need them. By contrast, liberals in Congress have a clear message for you: You will not now, or ever, have any alternatives to their Washington-controlled health insurance. Period.
Of course the Democrats are against any effort by the Trump administration to further roll back Obamacare, even while they are pushing for Medicare for All (single payer, government run healthcare) to further expand government control of healthcare. Nothing new there. However, as much as the President may want to fully repeal Obamacare, most of the establishment Republicans in Congress clearly want to avoid the topic like the plague. McConnell has said as much by his comments over the last few months and the dead silence coming from Ryan’s successor in the House.
Worst still, the GOP has clearly not devoted any serious effort into fashioning a unified, cohesive plan of their own. One that they can even begin to discuss with the public. What we still have almost two years after the last intentionally botched attempt at purging Obamacare from existence in 2017, is various Republican members of Congress all touting their own suggestions for bits and pieces of a potential solution. Most extremely vague when it comes to details. So President Trump was right to conclude recently, that any discussion of a GOP replacement of Obamacare would have to wait until after the 2020 elections. There is only do much President Trump can do via executive orders and regulatory rollbacks. Which he has largely already done by the way. At least after the 2020 elections, if voters decide to give control of the House back to Republicans and Republicans actually devote some serious effort to fashioning a real alternative, there would be a chance to actually pass any GOP crafted replacement.
Dems Dont care about HC only Power only. Dems motto: Screw the Voters.
The left cannot afford for Trump to have any success. Because when Trump succeeds, American (and American’s) succeed. When American’s see things going in the right direction, they are more likely to stay the course. Which is a devastating blow to liberals and their socialist/communist aspirations.
Since the left has no rational alternatives, they have no problem fabricating lies to support their disastrous plans for this nation.
These lefties are so full of **** Ex-Lax will not help them. I am not sure Repukes have an answer either. What needs to take place is active involvement from tax payers and registered voters as well as people in the healthcare trenches trying to resolve the challenges of healthcare and it’s expenses. I would like insurance just for my needs no one elses. I am too old for birth-control and I sure don’t need a doctor for everything they can have a panic attack over. I really think we need to clean up the FDA on medications most have nasty side effects. It would be nice to incorporate Naturalpathic MDs. It would be nice to have competitive pricing for patients to compare in shopping. There are some who need a lot of care and some who need a little and some who would need none. And we should never be forced to buy crap we don’t need. And this pet project certainly isn’t helping the $22,T debt out. I am quite sure it is way above that but those in office refuse to let us know the WHOLE Truth.
The politicians, Left and Right, are so used to telling the voters all of the things they are going to do once elected and the voters pulling their usual levers and pushing their usual buttons regardless of the “promises” that have been made. May be I’m giving to much but I believe the average voter knows that politicians cannot or will not do what they say they will and let everything go unchallenged. Now the U.S. voters have elected a President who, with the apparent exception of law enforcement, is taking measures with and without the Congress to do what the people need done. After passage of the ACA the Left began the story of it was just the beginning of healthcare coverage Now they are caught in their own lies by never having done the follow up. The stumbling, fumbling establishment elite Right has been doing their fair share of covering for their Leftist counterparts but the party is beginning to wind down with this President in charge. This campaign season is a challenge for the U.S. A challenge to get the majority of the approximate 40% of eligible voters who fail to vote to the ballot boxes in 2020. As has been the case for years the people, and the Parties especially, have made no effort to get viable candidates into the races. Status quo has been the featherbed of incumbents and it is time for them to become representative of the peoples’ will or go.
They wish to be sympathetic and keep this lousy health plan so that 15 million do not lose access the health care. By doing so, they neglect to mention that 180 million will lose access to affordable health care! FUBAR, I say.
Once the Socialists get complete control of health care, then it will be complete control over energy and EPA regulation. Then the controlling will really start. People will be told how much energy they can use and food will be rationed at their discretion. If a person needs an expensive medical procedure, their age and ability to support the collective will decide who gets what. Democrat Death Camps will make Hitler’s death camps pale in comparison. There will be no Social Security or Medicare for the elderly because there won’t be any. The young people in this country that can only envision a free ride with the Democrats had better wake up and look around at what is going on. The Democrats are hell bent on destroying our country and way of life as we know it. That is TYRANNY in the simplest form.
Poor Steney. Another liberal old time swamp dweller who realizes the young Democrat socialists have nothing to run on except a bloated over priced Obama care system. However if the president takes health care away from the Democratic socialist, then they will have nothing to run on except the New Green Dream and free stuff for everybody. With a takeover of the once great American party by sociocomunists, Americans have two choices, socialism or the Republic. The Democrat leaders are looking for someone who can play like they are a moderate and win the election. Don’t be fooled. If the moderates in the party think for one moment the left would allow a moderate to govern as a moderate after they are elected they will be ‘taken’ in by a con and sorely regret it. Just as some were taken in by Omar, and are now voicing regret, so will any Democrat be taken who think they are saving democracy by voting for a Socialist Democrat.
“Why the Left Is Desperate to Sabotage Trump’s Health Care Plans?” It’s obvious, for the same reason they’ve tried to sabotage everything he’s done. They can’t let him have victories…period. When clinton lost they went into a complete panic mode meltdown. Without her in the White House, all of her, obama, biden and the DNC’s crimes and corruption couldn’t be swept under the rug. That’s why winning the House was so crucial. They can block victories. Victories mean re-election. They will never stop…they NEED him to go away.
If President Trump is successful at creating affordable health care, the dimocraps will have lost
their greatest talking point about why they should control government.
I’m voting for Howard Schultz whether he decides to run or not. He’s the ONLY grownup in the political room, and I’m sick and tired of all the immature children ruining this country.
The SOB’s should have the same coverage they want the populist to have. Will never happen. They have the best coverage available for themselves
Obamacare was and is a failure. I had Obamacare and every year the insurance company that covered Obamacare backed out of the program, the deductibles increased to over $10,000.00, the premiums increased every year with a different insurance company until there was only one insurance company in Nebraska that you had coverage with and the deductible was sky high… Couldn’t go to the doctor and have them pay until I met my $12,000.00 deductibles! What kind of a program to help people was that? Thank God I became eligible for Medicare!!
How can anyone believe anything the Democrats say? Someone please tell me what promise or commitment the Democrats have made to the US citizen that was accurate. Every agenda of these socially minded liars has been towards a central controlling authority.
We need to continue to push this type of explanation far and wide. Average Americans can understand the American language much, much better than they can understand “goobly-gook” socialism talk.
Any name given to pending legislation, most times, is a ruse to get the public to demand passage. Most times, looking at the name of the bill and then turning it’s meaning upside down is closer to what the bill actually is and “the affordable healthcare act” is a prime example, actually being “the unaffordable healthcare act”. As in the case of the Obamacare act, any bill not given reasonable time to be studied should be given an automatic NO vote. Being told “you have to vote for it to see what’s in it” is a waving red flag with flashing red lights all over it.
The left’s war to save Obamacare is pretty basic. Obamacare was a system intended to fail from the outset, and it has. The left envisioned it as the first major step to what they really wanted, and that is fully socialized “single-payer” healthcare for everyone that puts a massive federal bureaucracy in charge of a crucial portion of our economy, our health. As it failed, the proposed solution was to be more government control, never less. Trump and the GOP are threatening that. They can’t run the VA but insist on hurting all the rest of us as well. For every Democrat it has always been about government control, not the public’s welfare. Steny Hoyer is part of the problem, not part of any real solution. And he well knows it. Government control = government power and the cost is a loss of liberty for every American. Some ignorant people consider that a good trade. Many of us do not.
Looks like the classic pincers move: the radicals propose insane ideas, then the mumbling gop apparently block the radicals, but then we end up nonetheless moving closer to full socialism with some sort of hideous compromise that pleases no one. The best we could do, they say. The thing is, the left always ends up moving their ball downfield, even when they ‘lose’.
Obamacare/The Affordable Care Act is neither care nor affordable. It must go!
In my opinion, government shouldn’t be running health care. Aside from safety nets for people who can’t take care of themselves, leave it up to the free market. However, the Democrats care MUCH more about gaining power than the welfare of the people. Even if the Republicans could come up with a perfect plan, the Democrats would vehemently oppose it.
Socialists (AKA Democrats) are power hungry and only know how to lie to get it. They will say anything to get a vote/power and only care about getting more and more power. This country does not need socialism, it’s failed throughout the world! These politicians are screaming babies when someone says no. Pelosi got the gavel and she is happy and content. She does not care about the American people. None for the socialists care about the American people, just filling their own pockets and controlling all the power. We need to start voting all these greedy low lifes out of office while we still can. The Democratic party of our fathers is no more, having been replaced with socialists. Start term limits and vote!
A simple fix to the health care issue is to either place congress on the same plan as the public or the public on congress’s plan.
Healthcare will get straightened out once the citizens stand up and force congress to be on the same plan as the citizens they represent (should be representing).
First of must do to convert a nation to socialism/communism per all their own documents – Make the nation totally dependent on the government for all health care, take away everyone’s guns.
It’s a lot better and more affordable than OBUMMER-CARE
“If you like your impossible premiums, months-long wait for appointments, cut-rate care, and lack of control over your own personal healthcare…… you can keep it. Just vote for more Progressive-Socialist candidates. Thank you.”
I’m a statistic & am MAD about it. I’m 100% with Pres trump!!!
Saul Alinsky (and we know whose hero he was) had eight steps to socialism and number one was to control healthcare to control the people. The left made a big grab in that area and almost succeeded, had Alinsky’s advocate HilLIARy been elected, that nail would have been driven home. Three other steps (debt, poverty and welfare) are close to a tipping point and gun control is being pushed in any state in which judges are making laws and not following the Constitution. Education is being subverted to teach political correctness and sexual permissiveness, religion has been denigrated, and class warfare promoted, especially by the previous administration and today’s liberals. While I’m not one of the “sky is falling” advocates, I’ve lived long enough to be sickened by what I’m seeing from the leftists, there’s no love of country, simply a love of self and the fantasy that when America becomes socialist that they will be among the ruling elite. I’d also like to comment on the expression, “guns blazing” being used for any Dimocrat, surely there’s something more appropriate since they don’t want anyone to have guns except their own bodyguards (and what type of name is “Steny Hoyer” anyway ?)
We as a nation must call for the disbanding of the (Socialist-Communist Democratic Party) all its Affiliates, and its Primary Supporters as they have crossed the line into a Treasonist Party bent on the overthrow of the American Goverment. Our lives and the lives of our Childern, Grandchildren depend on what we as a nation do today. Stand up for your Country. Stand up for Your Selves, Your Children. Call for the Aboloshment of the Democratic Socialist Party.
Robert Moffit’s first rate article reveals what a absolute liar Steny Hoyer is. The article could used to develop a bullet point talking paper which, in turn, could be used to demand the truth from these lying democrats.
In other words, the democrats want a dictator-ship.
If we don’t take a stand & stand for something, then we’ll fall for anything whether you like or choose it. American People take a stand for what is right & what is right for us. We are “One Nation Under God.”