Republicans say they have a plan if the Supreme Court rules against Obamacare. They don't.

[n2doc]

by Ezra Klein

On Sunday night, three Senate Republicans — Lamar Alexander, John Barrasso and Orrin Hatch — published a Washington Post op-ed promising that if the Supreme Court rules against Obamacare and rips subsidies out of federal exchanges, "Republicans have a plan to protect Americans harmed by the administration’s actions."

The problem is they don't have a plan. And Republicans spent the last week showing that even if they did have a plan, there's no way the House would pass it.

Let's start with GOP plan, such as it exists, or doesn't. "First and most important," the three senators write, "we would provide financial assistance to help Americans keep the coverage they picked for a transitional period."

How long is this transitional period? What happens when it runs out? They don't say.

Next, they promise to "give states the freedom and flexibility to create better, more competitive health insurance markets offering more options and different choices."

There's nothing wrong with this idea, but to a great extent, it already exists. Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act permits states to design replacements for Obamacare so long as their new system covers as many people with insurance of similar quality. So far, no state has tried. (To be clear, the waivers begin in 2017, but as of yet, no state seems to be seriously preparing to use them. Though that may change!)

more

http://www.vox.com/2015/3/1/8131269/republicans-obamacare-supreme-court


And...that's it. Seriously. There are no more ideas to be found; no more detail to be had. This isn't a plan. It's the barest possible sketch of some nascent ideas that could, one day, be used as the basis for a plan.

[Thinkingabout]

1. ACA is based on a republican plan, if bad they should point their fingers at their failure.

The main problem is it was passed by a Democrat president with Democrat Congressional members voting for it.

[spanone]

2. as alan grayson said, their plan is: "don't get sick", and "if you do get sick, die quickly"

[B Calm]

5. You beat me to it. That is their plan though!

[rgbecker]

3. When they say this, they mean that...

"Next, they promise to "give states the freedom and flexibility to create better, more competitive health insurance markets offering more options and different choices."

They want to allow high deductible policies that don't cover much. No prohibitions of limits, no coverage for pre-existing conditions, no prohibitions to insurance companies cancelling policies. No reproductive services for women. No prohibitions of different rates for women/men, place of residence, or race or creed. Forget it if you are gay...no wedding cakes either.

Just like 2009, before the ACA.

[summerschild]

4. Do you think they've already been told the Supremes are going to

kill ACA?

It troubled me this weekend when I heard Lamar Alexander announce they were working on a plan.

These people are inherently lazy and without ideas - they don't do stuff they don't absolutely have to.

Perhaps the lights finally came on (half the country may be furious if R's are finally successful in killing ACA through the Court). Republicans will be blamed when everyone loses coverage and the insurance industry goes bust. Or they've been told what their pawns on the court plan to do. It is supposed to be effective in June.