Trump did it.
There is a smoking gun. Red handed fingerprints. Trump crossed the Rubicon. Big mistake.
[I am traveling and have limited internet availability. Beware of typos.]
Today we read that Donald Trump made an executive order which forbids federal payments to health insurers to subsidize their taking on unhealthy people with pre-existing conditions. Simultaneously he is saying people should be able to buy insurance across state lines.
 |
Nobody expect people involved in the insurance regulation world understands or cares that insurance is controlled on a state by state basis by state insurance commissioners. It seems crazy. You can buy corn flakes in every state, but insurance products are approved on a state by state basis? How ridiculous.
This is a win for Trump. He will thinks this is easy and fun. Trump makes common sense changes, good for him. It is all political upside, he must have thought.
But tied with this action was his executive order ending the subsidies that enable insurers to write policies on already-sick people. Saving money by cutting subsidies to the hated insurance companies. Another easy lay-up, right? No, wrong. Donald Trump is now undeniably aiding and abetting whatever happens to health care. This kills a key element that makes the ACA work. It makes the preexisting conditions promise nearly impossible. Obamacare will get much more expensive for lots of people.
The word will get out. People will complain. Health care providers, insurance companies, and health care organizations will complain. They are eye-witnesses: Trump did it. Trump stabbed Obamacare.
Trump was seduced by his own personality. Trump wanted the publicity. Trump does not want to be a bystander. He wants to be the center of attention. He had a good thing going, the plausible case that Obamacare was in a death spiral, that Obamacare was collapsing. It is not his style to lay back and wait. He had to be the one holding the knife.
Now, if the Democrats are smart, they will make the above photo their story and stick to it. Obamacare had its troubles, sure, but Trump had to step in and make a real mess of things. It is Trump's mess. Trump killed Obamacare. What we will have is Trumpcare.
Trumpcare. Are you better off today than you were 4 years ago?
4 comments:
With all that money saved, he can now afford to spiff up our nukes with enough left over to build a wall about 2 feet high, just tall enough to trip over.
I thought he was going to repeal and replace. Where's the replace part? Maybe he just hates people. Insanity takes many forms. Everyday he seems to do something outrageous. It's not even left vs right. It's the way he looks at the world. Call it Trumpism. White, male, rich. If that's not you, you're nothing to him. Maybe he'll adopt me.
Well said, but don't you sense some desperation?
He had to do something or risk hitting the first year mark with no "achievements". The question now is has he fallen into a trap set by his "colleagues" in the GOP? Congress, regardless of party, will not allow a president, especially this one, get too much power and are also quite happy to box him in if it suits their purposes and gives them cover.
The Obamacare payments you reference had already been struck down as an illegal executive order by a federal court. As Forbes noted in July 2017:
"As rightly determined by federal district judge Rosemary Collyer back in May of 2016 in a strong 38-page opinion, the payments by President Obama (and President Trump) were and are illegal."
See Forbes, https://goo.gl/uLCsHC. Trump is bullet proof when he rescinds the host of unlawful executive orders Obama issued in desperation to get something done, including DACA.
In yesterday's UpClose post, the point was that progressives have a moral but not a political high ground in their social welfare policies:
"Progressive messaging on health care needs to deal with the reality that people are suspicious of the work ethic and worthiness of others, especially those getting needs-based benefits."
This political vulnerabilty is exacerbated when the benefits have been conferred illegally.
This is an unmitigated smart political move by Trump. Democrats will be stymied and stigmatized in arguing Trump is bad for not continuing Obama's illegal executive orders.
Thad, as a lawyer you are qualified to understand this. But im inclined to agree with Peter and others who question whether most voters understand or care about nuanced legal issues vs their personal well-being. Perception is everything. You can rally around MAGA all day until your sick child can’t get treated. It seems he’s trying to force congress to act and it’s a big bet. He’s obviously a more effective messenger than they are. If they don’t act, he’ll blame them. But will their constituents?
Post a Comment