More Obamacare Schadenfreude Fallout

I'll get to this before it builds up to an unmanageable pile, or else! Good thing it's rainy today or I'd have to work in the yard or go fishing!

Republicans Claim That Obamacare Repeal Is Still On The Table, Don’t Believe Them

All of this suggests that when it comes health care reform, what we’re seeing right now is a lot of talk, but there’s not likely to be any real action because the Republicans on Capitol Hill simply can’t come to an agreement. That appears to be Mitch McConnell’s opinon as well:

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) shot down the idea that Republicans would be able to revive their Obamacare repeal effort, after a House replacement bill was pulled from the floor Friday.
McConnell’s remarks Tuesday afternoon threw cold water on optimism coming from the House GOP earlier in the day that lawmakers would be able to come to a deal on the bill.
“I think where we are on Obamacare, regretfully at the moment, is where the Democrats wanted us to be, which is the status quo,” McConnell said a press conference on Capitol Hill when asked if the Senate would be able to pass major health care legislation this year without 60 votes.
“It’s pretty obvious we were not able, in the House, to pass a replacement. Our Democratic friends ought to be pretty happy about that because we have the existing law in place and I think we are just going to have to see how that works out,” McConnell said. “We believe it will not work out well, but we’ll see. They’ll have an opportunity now to have the status quo, regretfully.”

I don’t know about you, but to me that sounds like McConnell admitting that the PPACA is here to stay and that health care reform is unlikely during this current session of Congress, and likely through the 2018 midterms as well.

The Republicans agree they hate Obamacare, but there is too much division on what do next for them to put together a plan. Let it burn! Tom Emmer (R - Minn) blames the moderates: Congressman: No, Conservatives Didn't Bring Down AHCA

... actually, it was the moderates ultimately that brought the bill down. There were probably ten to fifteen members of the Freedom Caucus that were still a no. Keep in mind that [the Freedom Caucus] reported their [total] numbers as close to forty. So you had the vast majority of the Freedom Caucus that was already a yes. And then you had probably the same number, ten to fifteen, of the Tuesday group -- which are called the moderates. They were also a no. So, really, I think we were within a handful of votes. But it was pretty evenly split between the most conservative side of our caucus and the most liberal side of our caucus. And it just wasn't being reported that way.

Trump reopens Obamacare fight by declaring war on conservatives. After Trump threatened to go seek democrats help with health care, Ryan Opposes Trump Working With Democrats On Obamacare. I do too!

In an interview with "CBS This Morning" that will air on Thursday and which was previewed by Reuters, Ryan said he fears the Republican Party, which failed last week to come together and agree on a healthcare overhaul, is pushing the president to the other side of the aisle so he can make good on campaign promises to redo Obamacare.

"I don't want that to happen," Ryan said, referring to Trump's offer to work with Democrats.

Carrying out those reforms with Democrats is "hardly a conservative thing," Ryan said, according to released interview excerpts. "I don’t want government running health care. The government shouldn’t tell you what you must do with your life, with your healthcare," he said.

Via Wombat-socho's  "in The Mailbox: 03.29.17", the usually sensible Megan McArdle opines: We Don't Know Whether Obamacare Was a Net Gain

There's a new paper out looking at how the Affordable Care Act has transformed health-care access, and in turn, what that has done for health. The authors' first answer probably won’t surprise you: when millions more people became insured, more got checkups and primary care doctors. But it’s not obvious that these people got any healthier. As the paper puts it: “No statistically significant effects on risky behaviors or self-assessed health emerge for the full sample.”

Other studies have found substantial effects on self-assessed health, but on the harder markers of health -- like blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure -- the famous Oregon Medicaid Study found no significant improvement when government gave people health care.

All that money for no net observable effect? Who else but the Democrats?

From Pirate's Cove: Surprise: Some People Liked Their Pre-Obamacare Insurance

You know, the plans that Obama and the Dems promised repeatedly that they could keep. Somehow, this story made it into publication by CNN

Before Obamacare, some liked their health care plans better

Stacey and Eddie Albert lead pretty healthy lives. She’s a nutritionist. He’s a personal trainer. They rarely go to the doctor, other than their annual physicals.
For years, they were covered by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. In 2013, they paid about $360 a month for a plan that met their needs.
That all changed the following year, when Obamacare took effect. Their premium shot up to around $650 a month for a policy that came with pediatric dental coverage and maternity services — benefits they didn’t use or want since they don’t have kids. They ended up dropping the plan after several months and even went a year without coverage for the first time in the decade they’ve been together, exactly the opposite of what Obamacare was supposed to do.

And this is what happened to millions and millions of people

Insurance so good they had to point a gun at you to force you to buy it.

By way of Wombat-socho's "In The Mailbox: 03.30.17" Don Surber tell us We will still Trump Obamacare

Actually, Washington faces the steep learning curve.

President Trump walked away strategically.

But the same people who wrote him off after Iowa, after Wisconsin, after the convention, after the Billy Bush tape, and after noon wrote him off again.

Folks, this is fun. I am having the time of my life.

Negotiations 101: The best deals you can make are the ones you walk away from...and then get them with better terms.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 2, 2014

And from Wombat-socho's "in The Mailbox: 03.31.17" Don Surber also has "The Art of the Health Deal"

Oh how the press chortled last week when President Trump called for a House voted on Ryancare, which humiliated House Speaker Paul Ryan -- who had to call off the vote because he lacked the votes.

President Trump is about to get the last laugh.

We'll see.