http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tom-price-waiving-individual-mandate_us_597df94de4b02a4ebb760112?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

“All things are on the table to try to help patients,” Price told Martha Raddatz on ABC’s “This Week.”

Price, who President Donald Trump jokingly suggested last week he would fire if efforts to repeal the act failed, claimed that the mandate was contributing to higher health care costs.


“The individual mandate is actually one of those things that is driving up the cost for the American people in terms of coverage,” Price said. The mandate may result in higher individual costs for Americans who previously went without health insurance or purchased bare-bones plans eliminated by the Affordable Care Act ― commonly known as Obamacare.


But it also almost certainly functions as a check on overall costs for people who get their coverage on Obamacare’s individual insurance exchanges by bringing healthy people into the risk pool. Eliminating the mandate unilaterally is liable to create chaos in the individual exchanges as insurers scramble to offset the departure of healthy enrollees.


That’s why the insurance industry trade group America’s Health Insurance Plans wrote a letter to Congress opposing the so-called “skinny” repeal bill that the Senate rejected early Friday morning. The legislation would have abolished the individual mandate and the rule requiring large employers to offer their employees coverage. “Eliminating the individual coverage requirement by itself will likely result in fewer people covered and a deterioration of the risk pool, which will increase premiums,” AHIP wrote.

Significant evidence exists that one of the problems facing Obamacare is that the fine for violating the individual mandate is too modest to encourage enrollment, leading to a disproportionate ratio of sicker Americans in the exchanges. Insurers have responded by driving up premiums to offset the costs of coverage and withdrawing from some high-cost areas.

By taking out the mandate people would wait to purchase insurance only when they are sick, driving premiums up and having even fewer people in the pool. This kind of "adverse legislative selection" which requires insurance companies to cover everyone, regardless of pre existing conditions, but doesn't require universal participation would lead to a collapse of the markets as insurance would get increasingly expensive for smaller pools with an increasingly sickening census, called a "death spiral".

Chris Hayes detailed the emails between Jr. and Goldstone that requested a contact to get information. Goldstone finds Emin who is on stage but will call after he finishes his show. An hour later Jr. confirms the call took place with a thank you note back to Goldstone.

Following up on the phone call Goldstone details that they will send the Russian attorney in response to JRs request for help.

Phone records will exist but more importantly this phone call is recorded and sitting in the NSA cloud so that they can recall it once they know what call to look for.

Four hours later Trump boasts to a crowd that he expects to get some very damaging information on Secretary Clinton.

We now have a very clear idea of what exactly happened. The video shows Trump and Goldstone in active conversation when they met in Las Vegas a couple of years before. It is clear that Trump tasked Junior with contacting Goldstone to get the Clinton emails which the Russians had. A confirmed phone call initiated by Jr sets up the meeting. The Russians got the compromising position on the Trumps but probably told them that they couldn't pass the original source material directly to the campaign because it would be too easily traced by the CIA/NSA.

The Russians tell the Trump campaign that they will release it through Wikileaks so that they can maintain deniability. Trump gets impatient and actually makes a public plea "if the Russians have the 30,000 emails please release it". In order to show that the Trump administration will deliver on promises to relax sanctions Manafort pushes through a Ukranian plank that is soft on Russia at the convention. This is an important "offer of proof" by Trump to signal to the Russians that he understands what they want and will be able to deliver the product.

Trump wants to follow up on his quid pro quo but knows that the CIA/NSA will be able to pick off his communication and asks Jared to meet with Russian Ambassador and set up a secret back door channel so that they can carry out their "Sanction relief for contracts in Russian energy development" plan that will bring them the billions that have evaded him.

Trump sees Comey closing in on the above and fires him.

Many elements of this will be easily confirmed with telephone records and with NSA captured conversations.

Trump complained about the "cloud" over his administration. A lot of the cloud has dissipated and we can now see how the dots were connected. In this case the "cover up" won't be nearly as bad as what they almost got away with.

Updated with the emails from June 6th

6 June 2016
Goldstone to Trump Jr

Let me know when you are free to talk with Emin by phone about this Hillary info – you had mentioned early this week so wanted to try to schedule a time and day. Best to you and your family.

Trump Jr to Goldstone

Rob could we speak now?


Goldstone to Trump Jr

Let me track him down in Moscow. What number he could call?

Trump Jr to Goldstone

My cell.

Goldstone to Trump Jr

He’s on stage in Moscow but should be off within 20 minutes so I am sure can call.

Trump Jr to Goldstone (about one hour later)

Rob thanks for the help.

7 June 2016


Goldstone to Trump Jr

Hope all is well. Emin asked that I schedule a meeting with you and the Russian government attorney who is flying over from Moscow for this Thursday. I believe you are aware of the meeting – and so wondered if 3pm or later on Thursday works for you? I assume it would be at your office.


Full text of all emails here: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jul/11/donald-trump-jr-emails-full-text-russia-rob-goldstone

This nothingburger has about 43,000 calories.