How to move on and capitalize on health care after Friday's no vote.

[wcast]

Every time the mainline GOP or corporatist Democrats wanted to move the country back to 1929, the Freedom Caucus has insisted that nothing short of 1859 will do. By refusing to take "yes" for an answer, they have again and again -- in the Debt Ceiling Debacle of 2011, in the "Fiscal Cliff" of 2012, and again with TrumpRyancare this past week -- single-handedly kept the US in the late 20th Century.

Secondly, I hope the Democratic Party does not slip back into passivity on Obamacare simply because they have won this battle. I strongly suspect that the main reason Trump is implacably against "Obamacare" is because Obama humiliated him at the White House Correspondents' Dinner once upon a time, and he is nothing if not vengeful. He wants to obliterate Obama's legacy.

Snip

The goals ought to be:
1. universal coverage. Obamacare still leaves about 10% of the population uncovered.
2. better plans. Too many of the Bronze and Silver plans have sky-high deductibles and copays, making them little more than "junk insurance."
3. administrative efficiency. There are too many potential side-by-side bureaucracies: Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP, private exchange providers, employer-provided insurance, auto and homeowner medical coverage, and potentially a "public option" provider. The less redundancy among providers, the more the cost savings which can be plowed into cheaper premiums and better coverage.

Two elements of a viable Plan B are well-known: the "public option" and age 55+ (or at least age 62+) Medicare buy-in. These will ensure wider choices, more competition, and to the extent older workers choose to retire early with the Medicare buy-in, lower premiums and a healthier risk pool in the Exchanges.

http://bonddad.blogspot.com/2017/03/a-thought-for-sunday-thank-you-freedom.html

Reposted from reply by beachbumbob to this OP with bbb's permission.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=8854942