Republicans say they have a plan if the Supreme Court rules against Obamacare. They don't. [View all]

[n2doc]

by Ezra Klein

On Sunday night, three Senate Republicans — Lamar Alexander, John Barrasso and Orrin Hatch — published a Washington Post op-ed promising that if the Supreme Court rules against Obamacare and rips subsidies out of federal exchanges, "Republicans have a plan to protect Americans harmed by the administration’s actions."

The problem is they don't have a plan. And Republicans spent the last week showing that even if they did have a plan, there's no way the House would pass it.

Let's start with GOP plan, such as it exists, or doesn't. "First and most important," the three senators write, "we would provide financial assistance to help Americans keep the coverage they picked for a transitional period."

How long is this transitional period? What happens when it runs out? They don't say.

Next, they promise to "give states the freedom and flexibility to create better, more competitive health insurance markets offering more options and different choices."

There's nothing wrong with this idea, but to a great extent, it already exists. Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act permits states to design replacements for Obamacare so long as their new system covers as many people with insurance of similar quality. So far, no state has tried. (To be clear, the waivers begin in 2017, but as of yet, no state seems to be seriously preparing to use them. Though that may change!)

more

http://www.vox.com/2015/3/1/8131269/republicans-obamacare-supreme-court


And...that's it. Seriously. There are no more ideas to be found; no more detail to be had. This isn't a plan. It's the barest possible sketch of some nascent ideas that could, one day, be used as the basis for a plan.