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Donald Trump threatens to cut Obamacare subsidies

July 18, 2017
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  With the Obamacare repeal bill dead before it arrived Donald Trump is once again talking about cutting the subsidies. Here is more:

Donald Trump holds a fuse in his hands — and he could decide to light it and blow up Obamacare insurance markets as soon as Thursday.

That’s the deadline for sending out the next monthly Affordable Care Act subsidies to health plans to defray the cost of caring for low-income individuals. Trump has toyed for months with the idea of stopping the payments to force Democrats to the negotiating table to avoid the prospect of millions of vulnerable Americans losing access to health coverage.

Trump has repeatedly told aides and advisers that he wants to end the subsidy payments, and he has not changed his position, according to several people who have spoken to him. “Why are we making these payments?” Trump has asked.

  In theory this might make sense as a means to force the Democrats to the negotiating table however this logic is flawed for two reasons: first; because the Republicans have not invited the Democrats to the negotiating table in the first place–the Republicans have been negotiating behind closed doors.

  And second; because it assumes the Democrats care about low-income families more than they care about scoring political points with these families. I believe the Democrats would be more than happy to let the cuts go through so they can blame Donald Trump and the Republicans thusly putting their own interests ahead of the interests of the people they claim to care the most about.

  This strategy might play well with Donald Trump supporters but I believe it will be a huge political disaster. At this point I think it is best to let Obamacare fail on its own–if indeed it is failing–and then move to fix what needs to be fixed. But then again the Democrats and the mainstream media will turn around and blame the Republicans for not fixing it when they knew it was going to fail.

malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium

from → Politics
17 Comments leave one →
  1. petermac3 permalink
    July 18, 2017 7:49 pm

    Anyone who believes Trump and his RINO (we secretly love Onocare) pals can defeat the dems or repeal this disaster, I have a bridge over the East River for sale. If he does hold back the welfare-which is what this is- payments, 2018 & 2020 belong lock stock and barrel to the left. Ryan and his buddies have nothing to show us after eight years. But then maybe they’re waiting for the wall, reforming the military, the VA, and tax reform along with taking out Iran and North Korea before solving the health care debacle. The like is on us.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Steve Dennis permalink*
      July 19, 2017 5:33 am

      I don’t think they ever really wanted to repeal it in the first place but it they did they really botched it.

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  2. bunkerville permalink
    July 18, 2017 9:17 pm

    Trump cuts the subsidies the GOP is dead dead dead… this will not just effect low income folks, it will cut reimbursements to Hospitals and Doctors forcing bankruptcies in just a few weeks. Want to see hospitals go out of business?? Do it Do it and single payer will be here in a few months. Who in G*d’s name do people think have been forced onto Obamacare? Anyone who does not have a company plan. And companies have been dumping them like crazy. Insurance will dry up in a minute and no one will have insurance except by employers. Geee…..

    Liked by 2 people

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    • Steve Dennis permalink*
      July 19, 2017 5:35 am

      I agree, this would be a disastrous idea, I believe it is too late to repeal Obamacare and we should probably look at tweaking parts of it to make it better.

      Liked by 1 person

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  3. CJ permalink
    July 18, 2017 10:06 pm

    Trump can say what he wants, but he is currently in court over these payments and 17 states who are in favor of these payments joined the case against cutting the csp.

    United States House of Representatives v. Price, et al.is a lawsuit in which the United States House of Representatives is suing departments and officials within the executive branch, asserting that President Barack Obama acted illegally in his implementation of the ACA. “addresses Republican opposition to an estimated $175 billion in payments to insurance companies over the next 10 years as part of a cost-sharing program under the healthcare law.”[2]

    US District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer has ruled that the cost-sharing program is unconstitutional for spending money that has not been specifically provided by an act of Congress,…

    Liked by 1 person

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  4. Zip-a-Dee permalink
    July 18, 2017 10:43 pm

    “The Establishment” the cancer against MAGA. These parasites will eat away at America until there’s nothing left to eat and feel justified in doing so. Gross.
    Rush states: “Now we find out the Republican caucus in the Senate is infected with essentially leftist members,” Limbaugh said. “Collins, Murkowski, Capito – these three female leftists in the Republican caucus are running the Senate, not Mitch McConnell. Mitch McConnell is not running the Senate. These three women are running the Senate. The conservative Republicans in the Senate are not running the Senate. Three liberal women who call themselves Republicans are running the Senate.”
    Just looking at McConnell one can see that he’s weak, he’s not in charge, not running the Senate and it a hardly living creature being a ‘yes man’ to his master’s against America.
    Rush said it well, that those, both Dem*s and Repub*s don’t want to rock the boat or stop the ‘hay ride’ by, changing anything: UN-health care, lower taxes or anything that will better the lives of ‘real American’s’. The majority of them need to go (to Gitmo). If there’s a revolution in this Country it should be against those raping it, but the ‘mind controller’s’ will turn the common men/women against each other to fight while they sit in their tax paid plush penthouse drinking, eating, partying and doing abominable things (to children) too gross & foul to mention.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Steve Dennis permalink*
      July 19, 2017 5:45 am

      Rush is right, they really are not interested in rocking the boat and that is why even many of the Republicans are unwilling to work with Trump. McConnell is weak and he is establishment and he just wants to ride his time out there at this point.

      Liked by 1 person

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  5. bunkerville permalink
    July 18, 2017 11:05 pm

    Well, close the curtain…. a total meltdown of our health system, an epic disaster without shutting down Obamacare first. I will be done with him because it show him to be an ignorant man who knows nothing about healthcare and apparently cares not to learn about how it works. I blame the media as well for not educating the public what the real deal is.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • CJ permalink
      July 18, 2017 11:29 pm

      We know the media is corrupt and has frustrated every effort to get any information to the public other than single. The Republicans need to find fixes to the health care mess and at start adopting bills that help the American public. Stop expanding the welfare state, balance the budget, reign in the FDA, Big Pharma, AMA, Health Insurance lobby, we have gone 6 months with nothing to help the average person.

      Liked by 2 people

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    • Steve Dennis permalink*
      July 19, 2017 5:47 am

      I guess this is what happens when the government decides to fix something they really know nothing about and yes the media played a role in this because of their agenda. There is no reporting any more.

      Liked by 2 people

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  6. Brittius permalink
    July 19, 2017 4:00 am

    Reblogged this on Brittius.

    Liked by 1 person

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