Good news on Health Care

 photo credit: Legal Insurrection

Despite the GOP winning majorities in both the House and Senate, and then winning the White House, the pathetic GOPe in Congress have utterly failed to deliver on its promise to repeal the misnamed “Affordable Care Act.” The bill to repeal should have been on the President’s desk on Day 1, but the GOP, it would seem, never dreamed they’d have to make good on the promise.

Now President Trump has signed a few Executive Orders to begin to dismantle the monstrosity known as Obamacare, and Betsy McCaughey reports on what that means:

Trump strikes a blow 

for health care freedom

Free at last! That’s the message for millions who don’t get health coverage at work and, until now, faced two dismal options: going without insurance or paying Obama­Care’s soaring premiums. On Thursday, President Trump announced changes that will allow consumers to choose coverage options costing half of what ObamaCare’s cheapest bronze plans cost.

Democrats are already accusing the president of kneecapping ObamaCare, but these changes will reduce the number of uninsured — something Democrats claim is their goal.

The Affordable Care Act requires everyone to buy the one-size-fits-all package. You have to pay for maternity care, even if you’re too old to give birth. You’re also on the hook for pediatric dental care, even if you’re childless. It’s like passing a law that the only car you can buy is a fully-loaded, four-door sedan. No more hatchbacks or two-seaters.

Trump’s taking the opposite approach, allowing consumers choice. His new regulation will free people to again buy “short-term” health plans that exclude many costly services, such as inpatient drug rehab. These plans aren’t guaranteed to be renewable year to year; the upside is they cost much less.

. . .

. . . Trump has now seized the initiative, after congressional Republicans fell flat on their faces and failed to address the pain ObamaCare is inflicting on consumers stuck in the individual insurance market.

The president should keep going. What’s next? Trump should use his discretion to stop enforcing the tax penalty on those who don’t buy ObamaCare-compliant plans, including buyers of short-term plans.

Then he should cancel the sweetheart deal his predecessor weaseled for members of Congress and their staff members. Even though the Affordable Care Act requires them to buy coverage on ObamaCare exchanges, Obama arranged for them to have a choice of 57 gold plans and have John Q. Public pick up most of their costs. It’s an outrage.

Once members of Congress are feeling the same pain as everyone else, they’ll be more focused on repealing and replacing the dysfunctional health law. In the meantime, Trump is wisely providing relief where it counts the most — in people’s wallets.

Read the rest here.

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Sen. Rob Portman does not oppose Obama’s executive amnesty

art credit: politicususa.com

From Caroline May at Breitbart Big Government:

Many Senate Republicans are offering their support to the 26 states challenging the president’s executive amnesty programs. They’re filing an amicus brief to the Supreme Court arguing Obama’s November 2014 unilateral actions are in violation of the “spirit” of immigration law and a threat to the separation of powers.

“Given that the Executive has asserted that the acts challenged here are not even subject to judicial review, what is at stake in this matter is nothing less than an effort to supplant Congress’s constitutional power to ‘establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization.’ Such an action stands in stark contravention to federal law and to the constitutional principle of the separation of powers,” the Senators’ brief reads.

It adds, “There is little doubt that the Executive adopted the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (‘DAPA’) program as part of an explicit effort to circumvent the legislative process.”

Led by Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), 43 GOP senators signed on to the brief. The names of 11 senators were noticeably absent from the list, many of whom are up for reelection in relatively tough November races, including Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) (R-CO), Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA), and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). . . .

Repeat. Sen.Rob Portman is up for reelection this November.

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