Trumpcare is dead in the water

Trump's signature campaign promise, repeal and replace Obamacare, is dead. Trump didn't have the votes. The House vote was cancelled and the issue is dead. The Republicans have no other recourse than to work with the Democrats and make changes to the ACA.

Trump was destined for failure and many knew that. You can't increase coverage, provide health care for everyone, while lowering the cost. That was always a false promise, but Trump said it over and over again before and after he became President.

According to the CBO analysis, AHCA would reduce federal deficits by $337 billion over the coming decade. There is only one way to do that. Reduce federal government participation by $337 billion, and that means less coverage, not more. Trump and the Republicans were lying to the American people, and that caused the plan to fail. If the federal government takes away a benefit to the people, the party responsible will fail. Members of the House knew that and they refused to support Trumpcare. It is a horrible blow to the President.

Although the House is controlled by Republicans, Trump blamed Democrats for Trumpcare's failure.

It could get worse. First of all, Trump is washing his hands of health care legislation. The Hill reports, "President Trump is moving on after the House GOP pulled its healthcare bill from a floor vote, he told The Washington Post’s Robert Costa Friday afternoon.

"Trump told Costa by phone that a push to repeal and replace ObamaCare — the centerpiece of Republican messaging throughout the last several elections — won't come up again in the near future."

"He's going to let things be on healthcare, the bill is not going to come again, at least in the near future," Costa said.

Perhaps tax reform is next, another signature issue for Trump. However, the failure of Trumpcare, more precisely, the loss of $337 billion in savings in government spending, will make tax reform that much more difficult. Trumpcare would have affected slightly less than 7% of the population. Tax reform will affect 100% of the population. If the Republicans could not come together on an issue involving 7% of the population, how can they be expected to come together on an issue that involves 100% of the population?

After tax reform comes infrastructure repair and financing. But it was supposed to begin with Trumpcare and Trumpcare failed. The Republicans control both houses of Congress and the White House. Is it possible the party of NO can't govern?

 

Trump said he believes that Democrats will eventually want to work with him on some kind of legislative fix to Obamacare, although he did not say when that would be.

 

Debt ceiling is fast approaching. The ACA will require a cash infusion. That's Trumps window for dealing. The GOP I'm sure will defer to the will of the POTUS (let him stick his neck out).

 

I agree with some of what you say but it was masterful the way he handled it. It was very telling. He punted it down the road which means the dems running in 2018 are stuck with the failing ACA. And as he said Pelosi and Schumer own it.

 

He's a joke. The Art of the Deal? He doesn't have it. Nada. Next step. Get him the Hell out of office. He's destroying this country. He's not presidential. Even the majority of Republicans in office are now against him. It's obvious. Lock him up!

 

Congress needs to step up. Hopefully we continue to clean house next midterm.

 

That's the one thing I've noticed over the past few years. Congress seems to be deferring to the White House on legislative matters. Why is Congress giving up some of its power?

 

So, you think he wants Americans to lose their health care instead of working with the Democrats to improve the ACA. He will take out his revenge on Joe Sixpack and Mary Wonderful. Is that what you think?

I don't know. The failure of Trumpcare is on him and the Republicans. They have a unified house, and they couldn't pull it off. As it stands right now, this will hurt the Repubs far more than the Dems in 2018. At least, that's what I think.

 

Well, complete failure of a signature issue didn't help him any.

 

Did you say that because leadership from the White House is not up to par?

 

Congress is willing to sacrifice Trump in order to retain the oval office. Mid-terms could upset the balance of power, and Trump presents them with a convenient scapegoat. The GOP base demands a repeal, but millions lose coverage. Dems want to fix ACA, but won't work with Trump. The truth is, many in the GOP would like to fix ACA. All of the Dems want to save ACA. No one will compromise. Political posturing has consumed them.

 

Trump basically sold his supporters on all of the dozen or so promises and as of date for the most part all they've gotten is an empty bag; many of them are finally seeing through the facade that he's put up. What an embarrassment to the country.

 

No... ?

 

Sandy, Congress gives up it's power to the president for two very obvious reasons. (1) Political cowardice, and (2) closely related to political cowardice, a lack of term limits - career before country, career before risk, career before ethics, career before patriotism, career before everything.

In the minds of our congress, it is always better to do nothing, than to do something.

Seth

 

He wants to save their health care. The middle class is forced to buy high deductible plans they can't use. That's what has to change.
The ACA was a political move. 85% of the people had health care. After the ACA was passed the numbers are the same. It was created to be very hard to change because the dems wanted it as a legacy.
It will be fixed done the road. IMO.

 

Dream on. The Dems own it, not President Trump.

 

...and you know why? It's still so much better than what he proposed or should I say try to con. His plan was a big fat joke. A BIG FAT JOKE. Even the republicans voted against it. What do you have to say to that? NOTHING. You just got owned.

 

SEVEN YEARS the GOP has had to come up with a plan ......

NOTHING - SQUAT.....

THEY ONLY OBSTRUCT - THEY CANNOT GOVERN.

 

How many plans did the dems have before they jammed thru their tragic plan?
We don't know because it was done at night behind closed doors.
Republicans have transparency. Refreshing.

 

Oh, absolutely, the GOP sure showed everyone how things get done!

 

Yeah they did. The closer it gets to 2018 mid terms the better for the Republicans.

 

This is what I find interesting. Trump wants to repeal the ACA, the signature "accomplishment" of the Democratic Obama administration. The Democrats, of course, did not cooperate with the gutting of the ACA. Despite complete control of the House by Republicans, Trump, strangely enough, blamed the Democrats when the ACA was not repealed. Does that make sense to anyone?

Most would blame the Republicans for the failure of a purely Republican bill in a Republican-controlled House.

 

Today I watch some videos I recorded before Trump pulled the AHCA vote. The videos were from Trump-friendly Fox News. Various Republican members of the House were saying how great the AHCA was. What was interesting was how they explained the benefits of the bill.

They spoke of saving tax dollars. They said those savings would stimulate the economy. They said the money saved in health care would pave the way to tax reform, and that is why the bill should pass. They no longer talked about health care for everyone, choosing your own insurance company, lowering prescription costs, and lowering premiums.

They did talk a great deal about removing mandated benefits, or EHB's. There’s no mystery why Republican cost-cutters have their scissors out for the EHBs: They account for at least 89 percent of ACA plans’ claims dollars and more than 99 percent for the overwhelming majority. Republican critics of the ACA consistently have pressed to eliminate or pare back the essential health benefits as a path to reducing premiums. EHB's include doctors’ services, inpatient and outpatient hospital care, prescription drug coverage, pregnancy and childbirth, and mental health services.

In other words, once we got pass all the B.S. -- Trump told Americans he’d do it all on health care: “insurance for everybody,” better coverage and lower consumer costs -- we saw the true colors of the Republican Party when it came to health care. In essence, there wouldn't be any, and it was laughable that our Representatives were being asked to pass this bill and trust that phase two and three would make it better.

This is all reminiscent of Nancy Pelosi's now famous line, But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.

 

Okay, just checking.

 

Democrats refused to play any role other than spoiler. But when republicans had no power, they got all the blame. But this is different? How is it different?

Frankly I am in the majority of posters who did not bother to read all the republican health care document. Close to 100 pages of analytic gobbledygook for what?

The democrats still refuse to offer their fix. What holds them back from fixing what they created?