How Trump can pass a Health Care bill, with Dem support. Really.

[thesquanderer]

We know that Trump has few, if any, true policy convictions. When it comes to health care, he has even supported single payer. All he wants is to get rid of Obamacare and replace it with "something better." He wants a feather in his cap, a big legislative success. And he wants to stick it to Obama--both for the sake of his base, and his personal feelings about Obama--by "destroying" Obama's signature accomplishment and showing that he could do it better.

Here's how he can do it: Stick with the current crappy Republican proposal (whichever version, doesn't matter), but ADD a public option, a government-run non-profit national health insurance program that people can choose to buy into if they don't like any of the options available to them through private insurance. The infrastructure for this already exists, it's called Medicare. They just need to let anyone at any age buy a Medicare policy if they want to.

He would lose a bunch of House votes on the right, but he would pick up a whole bunch of others.

He could claim to have repealed/ended Obamacare, as he promised, and will also have fulfilled his campaign promise of providing a plan that should generally provide better coverage for less money, at least for those who choose to take advantage of it. The existence of this option would also serve as a check to keep some downward pressure on the premiums charged by private insurance companies and/or to prompt them to offer superior service to compete (could be in coverages available, customer service, expanded networks, etc.).

Is it perfect? No. But perfect isn't an option, and this option gives both sides a big chunk of what they want.

[still_one]

1. Even if your assessment is right, that trump has no convictions in regard to healthcare, the

republicans in congress do, and there is no way that Ryan, and the other republicans are going to support a government-run health insurance agency that would compete with other private insurance companies

[thesquanderer]

2. Get enough Dem votes, we can afford to lose up to about 80% of the Republicans.

I don't think you'd lose every last Republican, because this still does give many Republicans what they want... an end to "Obamacare" while actually finding a way to keep most of its benefits. One thing we've learned is that, even in the reddest states, they may hate the fact that "Obama" is in the (colloquial) name of the thing, but they actually like what they're getting out of it. So a solution like this is also a way to save face. "See? We ended Obamacare! And we're offering something better!" This should play well for many Republicans at home.

Yes, there is a group of Republicans who have always wanted Repeal with no Replace, because they think the federal gov't should get out of health care altogether, and they will certainly vote against something like this, but that is a minority. The whole idea of "repeal and replace" came about when Republicans discovered that, in fact, their constituents actually want a good healthcare program. Paul Ryan knows this. I think he, too, would love to find a way to pass a "repeal" and even he must be coming to the realization that, with the Republican party as fractured as it is, he's not going to be able to do it without getting Dem votes. He'd like to save face, too.

This will not put private insurance companies out of business. I pointed out some ways they could compete, and in fact we already have plenty of examples where for-profit companies can still compete with non-profit entities. Education (at all levels) is a good example, as is the fact that UPS/fedex compete with USPS.

They could also set it up (much like the ACA) so that businesses (over a certain number of people) would continue to be served by private companies, and only individuals (and employees of the smallest businesses, who as today, would not need to provide coverage for their employees) could buy into Medicare. The point is, the pie is huge, and there is room to keep private insurers happy as well, while still moving in a more Dem-friendly direction.

[still_one]

3. The republicans are in the majority and set the agenda. It isn't going to happen. The only chance

we have is 2018

[thesquanderer]

4. Yes, 2018 gives us a much better shot...

...but I'm not certain that Paul Ryan could not be convinced to bring something like this up for a vote, as he is almost as desperate for a success here as Trump is, and he may decide that something like this would be better than going into 2018 without having repealed Obamacare. He could decide that getting something like this is better than nothing, and the best he can get out of this congress. And he certainly can't count on getting a better congress next time... he could even lose his speakership by then.

[still_one]

6. Right now as we speak squanderer, they are supposedly close to a revised bill in the House that may

be voted on as early as Saturday, so this may all be academic

[thesquanderer]

8. True, if they pass anything at all, it's probably moot.

Not entirely, because they could need to make more changes to get it past the Senate, but it's also possible Ryan could not care whether or not it passes the Senate, as long as he could say he got it passed in the House.

[still_one]

9. I think your point about Ryan just wanting to get it out of the House is right on target

[bettyellen]

5. Nope. Not w this congress.

[xor]

7. I agree with what everyone else has said. There is no way the republicans in congress

There is no way the republicans in congress would go for anything like that. I bet Trump would go for it if democrats controlled congress, though. Not 'cause I think he's a good guy, but because of the reasons you stated.

[jmowreader]

10. No Republican would go for this, esp. Trump

The ONLY thing this does for trump is lets him repeal a bill with Obama's name on it.

The first two things it does to him are growing the government and putting it in competition with the private sector.

[thesquanderer]

12. I don't think he has any deep conviction against growing the government.

Or even about government competition with the private sector.

All that matters is that he "wins."

If he can ditch Obamacare and give people something that polls better, he wins.

[jmowreader]

14. You'd also have to get it past people who do care

[thesquanderer]

15. True, but please also see my post #2.

at https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029009414#post2

[workinclasszero]

11. You actually think Trump gives a damn if wage slaves live or die?

Cmon. That ass wipe will never do a thing to help the non-rich in America.

He's a con man. A flim flam artist. A lying sack of shit.

[thesquanderer]

13. What he cares about is being seen as The Best. It's about ratings, etc.

He may not care about wage slaves, he may be a con man, etc., but he wants everyone to think he's great. If Dems can take advantage of that and actually make things better for people, wonderful.

As I said in another reply, all that matters to him is that he 'wins.' If he can ditch Obamacare and give people something that polls better, he wins. He doesn't have to actually care about the people for us to benefit from this.