A new NPR/PBS/Marist poll makes absolutely clear that Democrats can win by running against the Republican health care plan:
Just 17 percent of those surveyed say they approve of the Senate’s health care plan, the Better Care Reconciliation Act. Fifty-five percent say they disapprove, while about a quarter said they hadn’t heard enough about the proposal to have an opinion on it.
…If Congress doesn’t go through with a repeal of the ACA, 37 percent of Americans said they would blame Republicans in Congress, while 23 percent would blame Democrats, and 15 percent would blame President Trump [Jessica Taylor, “Just 17 Percent of Americans Approve of Republican Senate Health Care Bill,” NPR, 2017.06.28].
Still up in the air is what positive policy option Democrats should advocate once they vanquish their anti-health (dare we say anti-life?) Republican foes:
…while many Americans want changes to the ACA, also known as Obamacare, they want it to be more far-reaching. A 46 percent plurality say they want to see the ACA do more, while just 7 percent want it to do less….
Only 17 percent want the 2010 bill left intact and unchanged, while a quarter of Americans want it repealed completely — including just over half of Republicans [Taylor, 2017.06.28].
So tell me what health care policy you want, dear readers, in the newest Dakota Free Press poll! Do you want to…
- Enact the GOP Senate plan?
- Enact the GOP House plan?
- Repeal the Affordable Care Act completely?
- Implement a single-payer system making the federal government the sole provider of basic health insurance for all Americans?
- Expand Medicare to a “public option,” allowing but not requiring Americans of any age to enroll in Medicare?
- Keep the ACA as is and make no changes in current health care policy?
- Or do some other plan?
Register your answers right here:
…or (for those of you viewing this post in desktop mode) at the top of the near-right sidebar! If your answer is “Other,” feel free to outline your different vision for health care policy in the comment section below.
I’ll take votes through Friday, then discuss the answers on Saturday. Vote now, and invite your friends to weigh in!
You probably could have more options, including fixing what’s wrong with the ACA and there are several options to do that. At this point I’m a single-payer advocate, but a public option or some sort of public cooperative would be OK.
I voted repeal, but there would have to be more done after. Like making it so individuals can get onto group plans that cross state lines like Rand Paul has talked about. And ideally there would be something to cover the transition, as a straight repeal would be messy and hard on some people.
I think the proposal to sell insurance across state lines is a red herring. The insurance companies have no interest in it because each state has is own laws and insurance commissions that mandate types of coverages. Large health insurance companies policies are written to comply with the state in which they are sold. The power of insurance companies to negotiate lower rates depends upon the number of policy holders in a given area. An insurance company that has 2000 policy holders has a lot more leverage in the negotiations than a company with a hundred policy holders.
I talked with a new resident who had moved here from a New England State. His health insurance was through a large insurer that was endorsed by a national seniors group. He called their customer service line to inquire about his coverage and was told his policy was no good as they did not have any network providers in South Dakota. The customer service rep failed to tell him that his policy could be switched to one that covered South Dakota.
Who does a policy holder turn to when they have a problem with the coverage on a policy bought out of state? South Dakota would probably say that it is not their jurisdiction as the policy was bought out of state. The state where the policy was bought would probably decline to get involved as the policy holder is not a state resident.
Corporate DNC Democrats are already sabotaging Single Payer in CA. They get big money by caving. It is more insidious to falsely claim you are for something, but conveniently cave when the money is enough. Obama and a Democratic House AND Senate could have had pushed for Single Payer or expanded Medicare For All, but even the Public Option was negotiated and dead even while Obama talked about it with insurance insiders. In other words, get that “hope” raised, but cave and fall short for corporate welfare at our expense. Had HRC pushed for Single Payer and Sander’s platform (and meant it), she could have won. They KNOW this and the know how they could win but they get wealthy and nice rewards like lobbying jobs when they get elected out if they fail their constituents while in office. This mess is owned by Democrats as it is by the GOP.
Indeed, the options are far more complicated than an online poll… and some would argue that offering even seven options in a poll is too many to keep quick-click-happy surfers interested.
Tyler, I agree that straight repeal—which is what I thought Republicans were campaigning on—would be messy and require some transition. At peril of complicating the situation, would you favor repeal and return to the status quo ante?
The state lines thing keeps coming back, and I keep having to remind people that it’s legal under the Affordable Care Act: HHS Secretary Price could convene a board and make it happen. States can already form compacts and do it, but, as WR Old Guy notes, insurers aren’t interested.
But you know, how about a trade: I’ll let insurers sell insurance anywhere if yo let me buy into Medicare. Deal?
Jackilope, the corporate, plutocratic influence on Dems is as aggravating as on Repubs. Aren’t Dems supposed to be better than that?
Cory, you know me and you know I am a die hard liberal. I #demexited. If you read the Podesta emails, if you watch the weasel words and actions of DWS, Brazille, both Clintons, Obama, Booker, Perez, Feinstein, Pelosi, etc.. you realize they do not want change, they rig things, they would rather a reality show clown like tRump be elected than a Progressive. GOP is at least honest that they are soulless, sold out corporate weasels. DNC / Third Way lies and uses a rotating list of villain strategy (as Glenn Greenwald calls it). 12 or so Dems that cave so that the illusion of Dems really being the good guys is kept up, but golly gee, we just can’t get real progress done yet. Cory Booker is a grand textbook example of this. His vote against cheaper pharmacy costs reflects his intake of money from big pharma.
Republican Fruit Loops think we should stop taxing people who make over $1 million/year – for the economy – to justify culling a couple million of the weakest people from the population by letting them get sick enough to die.
There is no G, O or P in WWJD.
Jackilope and I are on exactly the same page. If the dems are even capable of giving the people what they want for healthcare they will have to be much more progressive on everything else to start winning again. Nothing Trump promised is going to happen but many of those promises sounded far more progressive than what HRC was touting or that the public thought she would really accomplish.
Clyde, a practical forecasted measure for success is different from the hopeful. In my lifetime, we shall see single payer, but boomers might gotta die first.
That’s OK for me, Adam, I’ve already got medicare!
https://www.vox.com/2017/6/29/15895366/medicaid-bcra
Wingnuts taxcuts for the wealthy pushes the deepest cuts to Medicare beyond the 10 year window so a nominal 26% cut will be a 35% cut by 2036.
With wingnuts you know you don’t stand a chance. With Dems there is some hope. What are the alternatives? Gonna keep waiting for Drumpf to magically become presidential and wingnuts magically get a heart and soul? Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
With Dems there are “some” hope? wow, keep dreaming. The Democrats talk, talk and talk and you believe it. CA shows really what they care about, what any elected official cares about. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ As soon as both sides of every day America figures that out and does something about it we may have a chance.
Term Limits
End the ridiculous benefits and money DC get while in office and out. End their benefits.
You don’t have to be a Democrat to be an anti-Republican – all you need is some common sense and then you’ll naturally and fully reject the way Republicans think and, especially, how they word their thoughts.
Buncha primitive monkeys who can barely even speak English – with their minuscule vocabulary.
Was it nuclear, or nuculer, or nukeler that Belt Buckle McW couldn’t pronounce with his native Texan tongue?