Shutdown?

So the republicans shutdown the government over ACA tax cuts only to implement them in the end?

 

I read the article it states that eligibility will be modified so, it's not going to be the same exactly extension.

"While setting new limits on who is eligible to receive the tax credits, according to reports."

 

I wish I had a good solution to health care costs. The vaunted Canadian system requires high taxes and entails long waits for most routine services. Ditto the UK NHS. The American "system" provides excellent service for those who have access but it's mind bendingly expensive.

I'm pleased with my Medicare Advantage plan but Medicare is bankrupting tbe country. Medicare For All might be an answer; right now, only the elderly, and therefore sicker, of us get it.

 

"The times they are a-changing." -- Bob Dylan

Until very recently, the phenomenon was Trump uttering whatever he wanted and then Republicans in Congress and in the White House would both sane-wash it and try to bring it about. Not anymore. The Lame Duck has arrived.

Democrats refused to go along with the CR because Republicans were allowing ACA subsidies to expire. The Republicans went to the mattresses on this fight, and they won. Then, in a panic, they (including Trump) realized what they'd done and how they were going to get blamed. So, in typical congressional fashion, they began to bicker and dither about what do do. (Ideally, do nothing and not get blamed for it, but that wasn't working out for them.)

Then Trump the Destroyer of Worlds wades in. Democrats wanted a year? We'll do two! That'll show 'em. And Trump would be able to take credit for something he really doesn't care about anyway.

But Republicans do. So, they're caught in a dilemma: go with Trump's "Deluxe Democrat" plan? Or go back to mushing around, hoping it will go away? Mushing it is!

So, they went to the White House and told them there were not enough Republican votes to pass the thing. They stood up to Trump! Wow! Where will this go next?

An interesting question, but really a side-issue compared to the fact that Trump no longer has King Kong-level power. THAT has been the recent development that is now repeating itself all over. (Epstein vote, MTG, this.)

Lame Duck, indeed.

 

Happens to almost every president in his second term. Reagan and FDR were exceptions I guess. After the 2026 midterms, every GOP office holder or candidate will be contemplating Life After Trump.

 

Lame duck is a phrase that has been around since 1761. It's a phrase used worldwide.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lame_duck_(politics)

 

Okay, but look at your examples. Both of those guys were incredibly popular, not just within their parties, but also with the general public. And they were able to maintain it to the end.

Trump, IMHO, has held even bigger sway over his party than those other two guys. But he's never been popular with the public. And that's why he's imploding so much sooner than normal. And THAT'S the point here. Not it's inevitabilty, but it's timing. Dude hasn't even gotten a year out of his second term and it's all falling apart.

Remember when Dorothy killed the Wicked Witch of the West? The Winkie (yes, it's in the book) soldiers were astonished. But instead of being angry with Dorothy, they were thrilled at their new-found freedom. For Republicans, that.

 

Obama went through a lame duck period but his popularity within the Democratic party seemed to get even better after his term ended. I seriously doubt that we will see Trump getting a big surge in popularity in the Republican party after he leaves office.

 

"its." "its." "its"

Gotta practice that.

 

Never underestimate democrat’s ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

 

Easier said than done. Which, of course, is almost always the case.

Just a reminder here. When Obama was trying to get his healthcare bill passed, he had two choices. He could go with the Democrat proposal or the Republican proposal. The Democrat proposal was Medicare for all. The Republican proposal was what is now the Affordable Care Act. He thought he would get Republican support if he chose their plan. He got no Republican support. What he did do though is leave the Republicans with no plan. They still have no plan except to hate what was originally their plan.

 

I think the ACA was influenced by earlier conservative models like Romneycare, but there wasn’t an actual Republican bill on the table in 2009.
From what I remember, the Democrats weren’t seriously pushing Medicare for All at the time,< either.

The law expanded coverage, but it also produced high deductibles and didn’t address drug prices, which left many people—including people needing insulin—struggling with affordability.
So it’s not accurate to say Republicans are the only ones responsible for the problems people experienced under the ACA.
ACA design flaws:
Chose a market-based model relying on private insurers rather than regulating prices strongly.
Did not address drug pricing significantly.
High-deductible marketplace plans became common, especially Bronze and Silver plans.
Premiums spiked sharply in certain years (2016–2018).
Mandate + subsidies + private insurers = structurally high deductibles. So blaming the GOP is misleading—but blaming the ACA’s structure alone also misses how much obstruction happened afterward.

Now - Republicans are concerned, and need to have an agenda going into the 2026 midterms, this can be good for ACA and the millions that need the medical coverage.
Warnings about potential midterm losses flagged an “increasingly challenging landscape” for the GOP.
In my opinion, the Healthcare and the economy are the issues GOP should focus on ahead of the midterms—or they’ll be in “deep trouble.”
I think more than some House and Senate Republicans will plan an upcoming agenda ahead of the midterms, and not all of it will be directed from the WH.

 

Republicans had dabbled in different healthcare plans prior to Obama. "Romneycare" was based on a Heritage Foundation proposal. Since the passage of the ACA Republicans have put all of their healthcare efforts at just trying to destroy the ACA, with zero ideas of their own.

I never claimed that there was a detailed Republican bill drawn up that Obama just took off the shelf. That would be ridiculous for such a thing to even exist at that point.

I definitely remember being disappointed with Obama choosing the Republican framework rather than trying to implement more of a Medicare for all approach. Obama was bending over backwards trying to get bipartisan support for the bill. He failed miserably at that. I clearly remember my disappointment in his approach and being pleasantly surprised when he finally managed it with no Republican support.

 

Medicare For All.

 

I think this is the national solution for a single-payer health care system in which the federal government provides health insurance for everyone in the U.S., replacing most private insurance. This approach can work, but I don't think GOP will go for this.
Also, I would keep the private insurance as secondary and supplemental to co-exist. For those who want to pay more and get better service. Just like one can pay more and buy a more expensive home or car etc. Private insurance companies would lose large portion of their business and have strong lobbying power.
For ALL will be interpreted by GOP, anyone who is within the US - legally or approved, etc.
We will get pushback from providers, as Medicare pays less than private insurance today.
Many hospitals rely on high private insurance rates to stay afloat.
If cuts are too deep, service quality and access could suffer.
The transition to such a system can create a lot of jobs, setting up a national claims system, renegotiating all payment rates, absorbing people currently on employer, private, and Medicaid plans, tax restructuring to replace premiums.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/thune-says-senate-gop-bring-201241044.html

"Washington — Senate Majority Leader John Thune announced Tuesday that Republicans intend to put up a GOP-led health care bill for a vote alongside Democrats' proposal to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits later this week.

"This program desperately needs to be reformed, the Democrats have decided, 'We're not going to do anything to reform it,' and so we'll see where the votes are on Thursday," Thune said at a news conference following a lunch meeting of Republican senators on Tuesday. "But we will have an alternative that we will put up that reflects the views of the Republicans here in the United States Senate."

Thune, a South Dakota Republican, outlined that the Senate will vote on a measure unveiled earlier this week by GOP Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Mike Crapo of Idaho.

The legislation, named the Health Care Freedom for Patients Act, doesn't extend the enhanced tax credits. Instead, it would redirect funds to health savings accounts for those who use bronze plans on state exchanges.

"It actually does make health insurance premiums more affordable," Thune said. "It delivers the benefit directly to the patient, not to the insurance company, and it does it in a way that actually saves money to the taxpayer. That is a win-win proposal.""
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** - I read that the GOP is divided on the Democrats' proposal to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits later this week.
Some may vote with the Democrats.