Affordable Care Act remains law of the land, but Trump vows to explode it

[still_one]

Although House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) acknowledged Friday that “Obamacare is the law of the land,” its survival or collapse in practical terms now rests with decisions that are in President Trump’s hands.

In the coming weeks and months, the White House and a highly conservative health and human services secretary will be faced with a series of choices over whether to shore up insurance marketplaces created under the Affordable Care Act — or let them atrophy. These marketplaces are currently a conduit to health coverage for 10 million Americans, but they have been financially fragile, prompting spiking rates and defections of major insurers.

In an interview on Friday with The Washington Post, Trump made his inclinations clear: “The best thing politically is to let Obamacare explode.”

The president said that the law remains “totally the property of the Democrats” and that “when people get a 200 percent increase next year or a 100 percent or 70 percent, that’s their fault.” Former Obama administration officials countered that Trump and congressional Republicans are responsible for what happens next.

In the seven years since a Democratic Congress passed the law, public sentiment over it has been closely divided. Support has grown slightly in recent months as Republicans tried to begin dismantling it.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/affordable-care-act-remains-law-of-the-land-but-trump-vows-to-explode-it/2017/03/24/4b7a2530-10c3-11e7-ab07-07d9f521f6b5_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_acanext-820pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.457700bf2fe3

[KittyWampus]

1. Was just reading about this. The lawsuit is coming up. Democrats need to get off their asses

And make it clear that Trump and Congress are going to sabotage it.

[still_one]

2. The fight has actually just begun

[KittyWampus]

3. Didn't hear Schumer mention this at all tonight on Rachel. He & Nancy etc need to make some serious

I am sick of Democrats forever being one step behind.

[still_one]

4. You're right Kitty. They are going to do everything to try and make it fail through price, the HHS,

and other funding avenues, and the blame the failure on the Democrats of course

[dalton99a]

15. Yes.

[Cha]

5. Yeah, yeah.. FO, trump..

Link to tweet

[DinahMoeHum]

6. Keith Ellison warns: This is just the first battle. . .

Link to tweet

[ChoppinBroccoli]

7. I Heard He Also Vowed To Hold His Breath Until He Passed Out

And THEN we'll all be sorry. #ToddlerPresident

[Liberal In Texas]

8. To be accurate, he thinks it will explode or implode

on it's own depending on which statement you hear.

It will die if, like everything else the repukes do, is starve it. No funding as put forth, it'll not work.

[still_one]

10. That is their exact strategy, and the HHS will push that

[Volaris]

19. If that happens, the ONLY way to fix it next time,

Will be single payer. They don't know that because they're dumb as rocks, or the Public Option would have been the 'replacement'. I'm not gonna bitch about deserting the credit for it tho, since at ANY POINT in their Majority, they could take this issue away from us, do it themselves and have it off the table (in their favor) for the rest of their political lives.

Oh well, not my fault they're only as smart as Dear Leader Donald and the toons in this nation that got him elected.

[beachbum bob]

9. Funding and subsidies can be cut.... Conservatives control the

Purse strings... Less we forget and not fight for 2018.... Trumpcare defeat is a symbolic victory.... Obamacare can still be destroyed by conservatives....

[still_one]

11. That is the point Bob, and the battle has just started

[beachbum bob]

14. The only battle that matters is 2018... Everything else is noise

2018 is the battle that MUST be won

[still_one]

17. I agree

[BumRushDaShow]

18. But we must also re-take our states - in some cases do-able in 2017

When more states move our way, those that don't have Medicaid expansion will have the opportunity for it. E.g., before Tom Wolf (D) was elected governor of PA in 2014, we had a convoluted teabagger version of "Medicaid" (in quotes) from our (R) state legislature and (R) governor (Corbett). Once Wolf was elected, he dumped the teabagger version and did a FULL Medicaid expansion here in PA. And the way the ACA was written, even if you have a (R) legislature, they cannot over-rule a (D) governor wanting to do the Medicaid expansion.

There are 2 states that have gubernatorial/legislative elections THIS YEAR (2017) - VA & NJ. VA needs to maintain a (D) governor and hopefully gain some state legislative seats and NJ needs to replace Crispy Creme (R) with a Democrat (their legislature is already (D)).

[7wo7rees]

12. Well Donald, so long as your buddies don't get more millions

in tax breaks... I'm okay with it. Explode away!

[Squinch]

13. Call ALL your reps EVERY DAY and tell them this will not be tolerated. They WILL try to do this.

So we MUST scare the shit out of them if they try.

Every day my reps get a call or email if I can't get through on the phone: Protect ACA and don't let it be defunded and restore the corridor AND give us an independent commission to investigate Trump/Russia.

Takes 5 minutes once you set it up.

[dalton99a]

16. +1