Reheated Obamacare Schadenfreude

The subject is heating up again as the Republicans get closer to trying to repeal and replace the original bad deal with one of their own. First some continuing failure, as Anthem pulls out of Obamacare markets in Wisconsin and Indiana for 2018. What if they gave a program and nobody came? National Review reminds us No, Obamacare Has Not Saved American Lives, as Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren all insist that trimming one hair on Obamacare's head will kill thousands.

Reviews of the Republicans plans are mixed, Avik Roy, a persistent critic of Obamacare, is optimistic:

Finished reading the Senate HC bill. Put simply: If it passes, it’ll be the greatest policy achievement by a GOP Congress in my lifetime.

— Avik Roy (@Avik) June 22, 2017

while the usually sensible Megan McArdle, brought to you as always via Wombat-socho's "In The Mailbox: 06.23.17" says Republicans' Health-Care Bills Boil Down to ... More Obamacare.  It just:

• Reduces the number of people eligible for subsidies. . .
• Reduces the values of the premium subsidies. . .
• Lowers the cap on total subsidy expenditure. . .
• Eliminates the individual and employer mandates. . .
• Restricts coverage for abortion. . .
• Ends the cost-sharing reductions. . .
• Give states a great deal more flexibility in the waiver program. . .
• Gets rid of a lot of taxes. . .
• Market stabilization funds. . .
• Winds down the Medicaid expansion funding . . .
• Converts Medicaid to a per-capita allotment rather than an open-ended entitlement.

and Matthew Walther called The Republican health-care plan Just Bad plagiarism. Ace:
Senate's Obamacare Bill Is Primarily Designed to "Fix," Expand Obamacare. But still it sounds like a good start, but just a start.

Scott Adams predicts The New Healthcare Bill Will Be a Loser

During the campaign, candidate Trump made some references to taking care of everyone. It sounded like universal coverage, but no one thought he meant it.

He did mean it.

He meant it because he understands the contrast problem. Any Obamacare replacement needs to cover more people than Obamacare, or else it is dead on arrival. Any skilled persuader would see that.

The current whip count appears to have 5 Republican defectors, enough to kill the bill, although that is subject to change, while John Kasich carries out a Campaign To Save ObamaCare. He really likes expanded Medicaid. Ben Shapiro disses Auntie Botox:

Weird, it's pretty much Obamacare https://t.co/V9uMc5TkuN

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) June 22, 2017

More from Wombat-socho's "In The Mailbox: 06.23.17:

EBL: McConnellCare Is Coming?Da Tech Guy: Health Law Uncertainties Starting To Hurt MillionsJustOneMinute: Health Care That’s Always A ScareShark Tank: Crist, Cruz, Oppose New Senate Healthcare Bill