At some point, there has to be a realization that this-#ACA-is about real people and real lives

[riversedge]

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POLITICO Magazine?Verified account @POLITICOMag 6h6 hours ago

“At some point, there has to be a realization that this is about real people and real lives”

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Four Things Trump Could Do Right Now To Fix Obamacare

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/03/four-things-trump-could-do-right-now-to-fix-obamacare-214962

A bipartisan scheme if Trump decides to save the system, rather than sabotage it.

By Michael Grunwald

March 28, 2017


.............Pelosi sent a letter to her caucus today asking for suggestions to improve the ACA. If Trump and congressional Republicans are also interested in pursuing reform instead of repeal, here are a few things they could do.

***

Defuse the Crisis. The leading enemy of stability is uncertainty, and for insurers who must decide what to do about the exchanges by June, the leading source of uncertainty before last Friday was the Republican repeal push itself. That threat has apparently subsided, but the House lawsuit over cost-sharing subsidies could still blow up the exchanges. The House put the suit on hold after Trump’s election, anticipating Obamacare’s repeal, but if the Republicans want to avoid a major mess, they need to make the suit go away and make sure the subsidies keep flowing.

The lawsuit aims to block subsidies that reduce out-of-pocket costs for more than 6 million customers on the exchanges with incomes below 250 percent of the poverty line, or about $60,000 for a family of four. Insurers say it would be almost impossible to make their numbers work without those subsidies. Centene CEO Michael Neidorff, whose Fortune 500 company covers 1 million customers on the exchanges, says it’s “absolutely critical” for Trump and Congress to send a clear signal they’ll continue. “If they do that, we’ll stick with this,” Neidorff says. “I’m an eternal optimist. I don’t think they want to see millions of people lose insurance.”


On the other hand, if Trump and congressional Republicans decide to kill the cost-sharing subsidies, or even if their fate remains unclear, insurers of all types will be reluctant to risk another year on the exchanges. “Without clarity, it’s going to be very difficult for even the most committed nonprofit to stay in that business,” says Ceci Connolly, president of the Alliance of Community Health Plans.

If Congress wanted to go even further to stabilize the exchanges, it could increase the cost-sharing subsidies, or for that matter Obamacare’s other subsidies and tax credits designed to ease the cost of insurance. Republicans have balked at spending more money to expand coverage, but their bill did boost aid to the young and the middle class; if they were willing to support those provisions without the bill’s cuts to the elderly and the poor, they could make insurance more attractive to more people, which could make the exchanges more attractive to more insurers.

“I don’t know of insurers who see the exchanges as a big profit center,” says Marilyn Tavenner, a former Obama administration health official who now runs America’s Health Insurance Plans. “They just want to avoid big losses. We would love to send a message that stability is here, that you can stay in this market.”

Insure the Insurers:

[Nitram]

1. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for GOPers to figure that out, or even care...

if they did.

[Fast Walker 52]

2. meanwhile Ross Douthat is spreading a very dangerous idea-- that Obamacare doesn't save lives

"Is Obamacare a Lifesaver?"

And because he's a conservative douchebag, his conclusion is no, it isn't.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/29/opinion/is-obamacare-a-lifesaver.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-left-region&region=opinion-c-col-left-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-left-region&_r=0

[LakeArenal]

3. This is about real people and their lives...

Theirs..

[LakeArenal]

4. Don't kid yourself,Jimmy. If the GOP ever got the chance, they'd eat you and everyone you care about

Quoted by Troy McClure, with some alteration..


RIP Phil Hartman

[area51]

5. "At some point, there has to be a realization that this is about real people and real lives"

They know this; they don't fscking care.

Single-payer right fscking now.