You won't believe what they're considering as the GOP alternative
by digby
So Paul Ryan is out there instructing states not to set up state exchanges if the Supremes knock down the federal exchange subsidies. He said he's been assured that Justice Alito will convince the majority that they need to delay kicking people off of insurance until the Republican congress can offer a conservative alternative that will be acceptable to the Republican Governors in every state.
Guess what they're talking about as the alternative?
His remarks Thursday offered the most detailed vision yet of the House Republicans’ thinking. Mr. Ryan suggested the GOP caucus was most enthusiastic about allowing states to strip some of the health law’s requirements that insurance plans must provide certain minimum benefits and a requirement that insurers sell to all customers equally regardless of their medical history.
“We think things like community rating and other regulations make insurance needlessly expensive for most people and that there are better more targeted ideas out there to help those with pre-existing conditions get affordable care,” he said. “We just want to give people market freedom and personal freedom so that they can buy what they want.”
The single most important aspect of Obamacare, the one thing that one would assume nobody would try to mess with --- the ban on denying insurance because of a pre-existing condition --- is the main provision they want to get rid of. In other words, they want to make sure that people who are sick are either tied to their insurance companies (with back-breaking premiums that go with that) for life. Or maybe death since a lot of people just won't be able to afford insurance at all so they'll just die.
I wonder if they know that this is the most popular part of the law or if they just think "to hell with a bunch of sick people, they don't vote for us anyway." Not that it matters. The fact that they are even considering this cruel blow to their fellow citizens in the name of "freedom"is simply mind-boggling.
I guess you might say that death is the ultimate freedom but it's fair to say that most people don't think that's what the founders were talking about. It does sound as though that's what the modern GOP is talking about, which is actually very clarifying.
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