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You are here: Home / Anderson On Health Insurance / Bury this pipe dream

Bury this pipe dream

by David Anderson|  May 3, 20176:28 am| 61 Comments

This post is in: Anderson On Health Insurance, Election 2018, Organizing & Resistance

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Mark Sanford not optimistic on OCare repeal, tells me that "full repeal was, in essence, a pipe dream from the very start."

— Alexandra Jaffe (@ajjaffe) May 2, 2017

I want to get back to this comment at a future date, but first we need to bury the pipe dream and then pack the hole full of M-80s, det cord and a lit match before we run for cover (why yes, I had an interesting childhood).

Time to call Congress. We need to thank Democrats for staying firm, welcome the No vote’s, strengthen the undecided and waverers and scare the Yes votes. There is a strong rumor that a new round of amendments will be coming through sometime soon that will throw more money into the high cost risk pool but who knows.

Demand a CBO score for this complex bill that touches 17% of the economy. That is the easiest ask. No CBO, No Vote.

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Next Post: Random risk adjustment thoughts »

Reader Interactions

61Comments

  1. 1.

    Chyron HR

    May 3, 2017 at 6:40 am

    It’s more of a pipe bomb. (Or Pepe dream, if you prefer.)

  2. 2.

    Baud

    May 3, 2017 at 6:57 am

    Did you see the new report on Obamacare and the drop in personal bankruptcies? Can’t recall if it was discussed here.

  3. 3.

    debbie

    May 3, 2017 at 7:07 am

    Colbert ran a clip last night of an Alabaman Congressman who was going on about how people with preexisting conditions weren’t living good lives and those people who were healthy and leading good lives shouldn’t have to pay for them and should be able to enjoy even more reduced rates. They must have cut out the bit where he said God had done the decidering.

  4. 4.

    Betty Cracker

    May 3, 2017 at 7:14 am

    I’ve contacted my worthless shithead Trump-supporting POS rep yet again, for all the good it does. I hope he’s hearing from lots of people.

  5. 5.

    MomSense

    May 3, 2017 at 7:15 am

    @debbie:

    I’m a non believer so it’s much easier for me to brush that off, but for a believer that is a stunningly vicious thing to say.

  6. 6.

    debbie

    May 3, 2017 at 7:17 am

    @MomSense:

    that is a stunningly vicious thing to say

    And doubtless spoken by a Christian!

  7. 7.

    germy

    May 3, 2017 at 7:19 am

    @debbie: Some humorist on twitter posted that quote, and added the photo of the POTUS with his bucket of kfc and big gulp.

  8. 8.

    germy

    May 3, 2017 at 7:21 am

    https://twitter.com/Rschooley/status/859225806173683713

    “Those who lead good lives…”

  9. 9.

    ThresherK

    May 3, 2017 at 7:29 am

    Sanford also said “there’s no road” to the number of votes required.

    I appreciate the role of the straight man in comedy, but he shouldn’t give folks easy setup lines like that.

  10. 10.

    Percysowner

    May 3, 2017 at 7:35 am

    Apparently the word in the House is Message To Health Care Holdouts: Relax, The Senate Will Save You which relies on the Senators being strong, and moral and being able to stand up to the Twittler in Chief when he DEMANDS the filibuster be dumped so his beautiful AHCA can pass. Personally, I don’t rely on any Republican to be strong in the face of our “president” or able to stand up to a strong breeze. Moral went out the window years ago.

  11. 11.

    Gindy51

    May 3, 2017 at 7:42 am

    The ACA has cut medical bankruptcies in half. Repealing it would increase those and trash the economy big time.

    http://ritholtz.com/2017/05/aca-obamacare-cut-personal-bankruptcies-half/

  12. 12.

    rikyrah

    May 3, 2017 at 7:49 am

    Keep on calling.

  13. 13.

    rikyrah

    May 3, 2017 at 7:52 am

    The latest in the scam known as Trumpcare

    https://mobile.twitter.com/TopherSpiro/status/859642355544096773

  14. 14.

    Kropadope

    May 3, 2017 at 7:55 am

    @Gindy51: That’s excellent news. Still, I’m curious to see a longer trend. The economy wasn’t exactly at its most robust in 2009, when then chart begins.

  15. 15.

    JMG

    May 3, 2017 at 7:56 am

    @Percysowner: As cap and trade proved in 2009, voting for a bill in the House that then fails to pass the Senate offers zero protection to House members who voted for it. Folks get just as mad as if it was an actual law.

  16. 16.

    WereBear

    May 3, 2017 at 7:57 am

    And those making calls in NY: throw one on the fire for your NY Assembly Member and tell them to BAN DECLAWING.

    http://nyassembly.gov/mem/

  17. 17.

    NorthLeft12

    May 3, 2017 at 7:58 am

    Found the following on Daily Kos from noted D’bag Joe Walsh;

    Sorry Jimmy Kimmel: your sad story doesn’t obligate me or anybody else to pay for somebody else’s health care.
    — Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) May 2, 2017

    This ^^^ is exactly why you guys have a very difficult task ahead of you to expand health care coverage, and eventually get to single payer. That whole attitude that Douchejoe Walsh broadcasts in his tweet carries over to education, welfare programs, transportation infrastructure, scientific research, but does not apply to military spending and corporate/farm supports.

  18. 18.

    BlueDWarrior

    May 3, 2017 at 8:00 am

    @NorthLeft12: It’s the fundamental schism that spikes a lot of public policy, you have a lot of people who are varying degrees of selfish and would see everything collapse before they do anything to prevent it, if it would inconvenience them before the collapse.

  19. 19.

    rikyrah

    May 3, 2017 at 8:00 am

    Reminder about who to call

    https://mobile.twitter.com/TopherSpiro/status/859181285071351810

  20. 20.

    Kay

    May 3, 2017 at 8:00 am

    Trump adviser: @IvankaTrump pushing executive order on worker training.

    Ivanka’s also in charge of “worker training”

    It’s not legislation because that’s too hard. Just an order, so they can say they did it.

  21. 21.

    rikyrah

    May 3, 2017 at 8:03 am

    @Kay:
    Keep on nailing her for the phony piece of garbage that she is.

  22. 22.

    germy

    May 3, 2017 at 8:04 am

    @NorthLeft12:

    Sorry Jimmy Kimmel: your sad story doesn’t obligate me or anybody else to pay for somebody else’s health care.

    The best reply under his tweet, by David Roth:

    The laws of your state and this nation.

  23. 23.

    germy

    May 3, 2017 at 8:04 am

    @rikyrah: taxpayer-funded Voice Of America ran an ad for her new book.

  24. 24.

    rikyrah

    May 3, 2017 at 8:04 am

    @Percysowner:
    The vote is on the record for the piece of shyt that it is. The ads write themselves.

  25. 25.

    NorthLeft12

    May 3, 2017 at 8:10 am

    @BlueDWarrior: Yes, we have more than a few people like that in Canada too. “If I can’t take advantage of it, I should not have to pay for it!” seems to be a rallying cry for the hopelessly selfish and ignorant.

    What really gets me is how thoughtlessly most of these maroons are throwing close relatives, friends, and neighbours under the bus. Although I would like to say that I have almost zero respect for people that are only able to make an empathic connection in these cases if they personally know someone who is going to suffer because of a loss of a government program/funding.
    That sentiment goes double for bigots who “discover” that some minority [AAs, Muslims, LGBTQ, etc] are not all evil and depraved due to personal contact.

  26. 26.

    bemused

    May 3, 2017 at 8:14 am

    Rick Wilson tweeted yesterday about prepping to make anti-ACA ads in 2009. Every focus group from Dems to all flavors of Republicans hated the pre-existing condition clause. No one is going to want to see that return, particular those who were finally able to get health insurance covered by ACA.

  27. 27.

    Lurking Canadian

    May 3, 2017 at 8:14 am

    I, for one, would like to hear more about Mr Anderson’s childhood experiences with homemade Bangalore torpedoes.

  28. 28.

    germy

    May 3, 2017 at 8:19 am

    @NorthLeft12: Does it really take three hours for an ambulance to arrive in Montreal?
    https://clarissasblog.com/2017/04/25/proud-5/

  29. 29.

    clay

    May 3, 2017 at 8:19 am

    @Lurking Canadian:

    I, for one, would like to hear more about Mr Anderson’s childhood experiences with homemade Bangalore torpedoes.

    Yes, it seems likely there’s a direct line from “childhood filled with explosions” to “deep interest in health care policy”, doesn’t it?

  30. 30.

    bemused

    May 3, 2017 at 8:21 am

    @germy:

    Republicans like Walsh are vicious idiots.

    I was so happy to see local news (WDIO, Duluth, MN) had a segment on Kimmel’s story this morning. Locals who have had babies with heart defects and work with non-profits to educate public told their stories. It’s very common for babies to be born with heart defects, 1 in 100 babies, iirc.

    Bless Jimmy Kimmel. His story is being reported everywhere. He’s a hero in my book.

  31. 31.

    clay

    May 3, 2017 at 8:23 am

    @Percysowner: I don’t get it. Wouldn’t a moderate Republican be less likely to vote for a horrible bill if it would be shot down in the Senate? They would get all of the negative attention (and ads) for “voting to take your health care away”, but without any sort of benefit (whatever that may be) from the new law’s passage.

  32. 32.

    Another Scott

    May 3, 2017 at 8:29 am

    @clay: Many House districts are so gerrymandered that the big hurdle in winning the election is being on top in the primary. That means, for the Teabaggers, always being the most Righty McRightwing of the candidates. Being seen a “moderate” is bad in such situations.

    That’s the conventional wisdom these days, anyway. I’m not sure how much it actually holds in reality. 95+% of incumbents are re-elected. Cantor/Brat was a corner case.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  33. 33.

    clay

    May 3, 2017 at 8:34 am

    @Another Scott: Sure. But it seems that, for a ACHA holdout, the argument “vote for this piece of shit bill that will endanger your political career, but don’t worry the Senate will swat it down” isn’t very compelling.

  34. 34.

    Tokyokie

    May 3, 2017 at 8:38 am

    @NorthLeft12:

    Sorry Jimmy Kimmel: your sad story doesn’t obligate me or anybody else to pay for somebody else’s health care.
    — Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) May 2, 2017

    Sorry Joe Walsh: your sad soullessness doesn’t obligate me or anybody else to pay for the police protection that prevents the father of a child with a congenital heart anomaly from stomping your shitstain ass into a greasy puddle.

  35. 35.

    rikyrah

    May 3, 2017 at 8:42 am

    @germy:
    I saw that ??

  36. 36.

    JPL

    May 3, 2017 at 8:46 am

    @Tokyokie: I agree.

  37. 37.

    chopper

    May 3, 2017 at 8:53 am

    @germy:

    Walsh is such a true believer in refusing to cover other people’s’ expenses he refused to even pay child support.

  38. 38.

    Tazj

    May 3, 2017 at 8:59 am

    @NorthLeft12: That man, who at one point didn’t feel obligated to support his own family, feels the need to dismiss someone else’s experience as just some “sad story”. He’s not ashamed to reveal his cold hearted selfishness, he’s proud of it, and the party that promotes that brand of rugged individualism and “pro-life” policies controls most of the country.
    They will lose this fight over Obamacare and look foolish again.

  39. 39.

    RoonieRoo

    May 3, 2017 at 9:00 am

    Calling mine – Michael McCaul. He is a guaranteed yes, but I find it interesting that he has not taken a public position on AHCA. He does a lot with the children’s cancer groups. He actually is quite tied to them. So the call isn’t about his vulnerability with his seat but more about his soul, not that I’m sure he has one.

  40. 40.

    FlipYrWhig

    May 3, 2017 at 9:00 am

    @Tokyokie: He was a Congressperson, meaning that WE paid for HIS health care. What a malevolent dipshit.

    ETA: The worst thing Republicans do to themselves is steep (like a teabag) in this kind of resentment where they feel like they’re always being made to pay for things. It’s not even close to true. They benefit from all kinds of stuff other people paid for. We all pay for each other little by little. They truly don’t experience it that way. I don’t think it’s fixable. Fuck them, outvote them, hurt them.

  41. 41.

    LurkerNoLonger

    May 3, 2017 at 9:05 am

    Is Sanford the Appalachian Trail guy? How did he go from national joke to congressman? Well I guess now that I think about it, it’s not that much of a stretch.

  42. 42.

    Tokyokie

    May 3, 2017 at 9:10 am

    @FlipYrWhig: Actually, he’s a former congressman, so that’s not the casein longer. (And, because he wanted to prove his ideological purity, he refused the health benefits associated with his single term in Congress, much to the consternation of his second wife who has a pre-existing condition, but hey, screw her.) He’s now a syndicated right-wing radio talk-show host. And, of course, he remains an unmitigated asshole.

  43. 43.

    FlipYrWhig

    May 3, 2017 at 9:16 am

    @Tokyokie: I know YOU know this, but health insurance isn’t the only instance of people paying for things from which other people also benefit, of course. He still used an office and staff on Capitol Hill that we paid for.

  44. 44.

    rikyrah

    May 3, 2017 at 9:16 am

    Trump only wants “win.” He does not know or care what’s in bill or what impact it will have on millions.

    Please convey this clearly. https://t.co/IH9MtawPii

    — Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) May 3, 2017

  45. 45.

    dmsilev

    May 3, 2017 at 9:18 am

    @clay: I think the idea is not so much that the Senate will shoot it down but that the Senate would fix all of crap. Which of course raises the question of why not just fix all the crap before voting in the House.

    (answer of course is that the Freedom Caucus and Paul Ryan _like_ the crap)

  46. 46.

    Corner Stone

    May 3, 2017 at 9:20 am

    If Fred Upton puts an amendment in to raise high risk pools amount doesn’t that undercut everything the FC members have been preaching?

  47. 47.

    Corner Stone

    May 3, 2017 at 9:21 am

    but first we need to bury the pipe dream and then pack the hole full of M-80s

    Home made pipe b0mbs or GTFO.

  48. 48.

    Corner Stone

    May 3, 2017 at 9:24 am

    I love the idea of Trump calling individual GOP House members. Like, what in hell could he possibly be discussing with elected members of Congress? He knows nothing about anything and even less about this bill.

  49. 49.

    RoonieRoo

    May 3, 2017 at 9:27 am

    Interesting talk with my Rep’s office. Michael McCaul is pretty much a guarantee yes. But his staff was being very clear that no vote has been scheduled, there is no timeline, there is nothing to even discuss. I simply told him that if a vote does happen, I want him to vote no and how his yes vote will greatly change my activity and activism level during his next election. The staffer was polite and kind, as I expected. McCaul has no public position on this and I find it interesting that his office seems to be at pains to make it clear that there is no reason for him to have a stance as they appear to be pretending it’s not even happening.

  50. 50.

    rikyrah

    May 3, 2017 at 9:28 am

    GOP Congressman says Reps should “review impact” of health bill.

    But he won’t say whether Rs should wait for CBO score before voting: https://t.co/QklIt6W48M

    — Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) May 3, 2017

  51. 51.

    rikyrah

    May 3, 2017 at 9:29 am

    9: DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY AMERICANS HAVE A SERIOUS PRE-EXISTING CONDITION? 52 MILLION!!! https://t.co/omd41DCRMu

    — Topher Spiro (@TopherSpiro) May 3, 2017

    Should be noted:

    *Conservative* wonks think high-risk pools need $15-20B a year.

    AHCA would still be below that, even with this new money.

    — Dylan Scott (@dylanlscott) May 3, 2017

    Should also be noted: their estimates assume the *very crappy* coverage of pre-ACA high-risk pools. Lifetime limits, 200% premiums, etc. https://t.co/hPqx8rYP9a

    — Topher Spiro (@TopherSpiro) May 3, 2017

  52. 52.

    Beatrice Blacklow

    May 3, 2017 at 9:34 am

    @LurkerNoLonger: Actually a step down.

  53. 53.

    FlipYrWhig

    May 3, 2017 at 9:37 am

    @rikyrah: I like this vision of how health insurance is supposed to work, where you pay a low rate while you’re healthy and then pay very high rates when you’re actually sick. It’s like paying nice low rates when your house isn’t on fire and then, should your house get hit by lightning and catch on fire, jeez, wow, they’re gonna need a lot more money to pay for that damage. It bespeaks just a _staggering_ stupidity about a concept that has existed for, what, 400 years?

  54. 54.

    Ohio Mom

    May 3, 2017 at 9:42 am

    @germy: Perhaps the emergency operators do some sort of triage, and there were many more urgent cases just then? Also, perhaps the operators overestimate arrival times? Everyone is happy when you show up ahead of schedule.

    A good number of causes for 911 calls are not going to escalate: for example, a broken bone is not going to get worse but every moment does count with a stroke.

    Clarissa doesn’t say why sister called for an ambulance so who knows? And with her, well once I got into a ridiculous discussion when I suggested to her that “No, ambivalence about one’s femininity is not the cause of breast cancer, no matter how you interpret Jung.” She is an odd combination of wonderfully original insight and unmoveable blind spots.

  55. 55.

    hovercraft

    May 3, 2017 at 9:43 am

    @clay: @Another Scott:

    These 23 Republicans hold congressional districts that voted for Hillary Clinton

    For many “moderates” it would be more perilous to vote with leadership. Remember that Ryan and Co. are very unpopular with a large part of the base, Bannon hates them and has blamed Twitlers inability to pass anything on Ryan, so he wants to at least get it through the House. The “moderates” want to keep their jobs so as much as much as they may want to help ZEGS out, they value their jobs more. SAD!

  56. 56.

    hovercraft

    May 3, 2017 at 9:47 am

    @NorthLeft12:

    Sorry Jimmy Kimmel: your sad story doesn’t obligate me or anybody else to pay for somebody else’s health care.
    — Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) May 2, 2017

    Did anyone tweet back to him that until he takes it upon himself to pay for the health and well being of his own kids without a court having to compel him to, he has no business talking about anyone’s obligations. Till then he can STFU or DIAF

  57. 57.

    Corner Stone

    May 3, 2017 at 9:54 am

    @hovercraft: Has anyone asked Joe Walsh if he thinks that baby should die?

  58. 58.

    Timurid

    May 3, 2017 at 10:26 am

    @Corner Stone:

    Sorry, he can’t answer questions while he’s climbing through the window of Baby Kimmel’s hospital room with a knife between his teeth.

  59. 59.

    Yarrow

    May 3, 2017 at 10:38 am

    @Corner Stone: It looks like he deleted the tweet. Brave, brave Joe Walsh.

  60. 60.

    TenguPhule

    May 3, 2017 at 1:11 pm

    @Corner Stone: We know he wants the baby to die. Its a net taker that doesn’t produce anything like his hero Ayn Rand.

  61. 61.

    sukabi

    May 3, 2017 at 4:36 pm

    @NorthLeft12: not surprising coming from Walsh as he’s the assholes who won’t pay for his own kids health care. (Deadbeat non child support paying assholes.)

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