American Health Care Act of 2017

[Spider]

I'm fine with a two tiered system as well....as long as that bottom tier is adequate. If it's a situation where people are priced out of it...then it's not actually a tier, its a ceiling.

That's the stumbling block for me: Where exactly is the line drawn between "Yeah okay, we'll grudgingly cover that, take a seat and wait. Try not to get blood on the guy next to you who's been waiting two weeks." and "Sorry. Your treatment would be an 'extravagance'. Time to die."

That bottom tier has to be at least equivalent to something like the UK...or even Canada for that matter. Basic enough to really piss people off and make it an ongoing political issue, maybe, but complete enough to actually treat them. And I want kids covered, period.

The rich, of course, can buy whatever level of service they feel like.

[exploited]

[John Galt]

spider wants all kids covered for whatever malady they have except if they were dismembered by a medical professional

[exploited]

Here's the tiers you guys should use:

Tier 1 - Up to $500 - No coverage
Tier 2 - $500 - $200,000 - Gubmint
Tier 3 - The balance after $200,000 - Insurance

This would keep things cheap on every tier.

[NAB]

I'm really curious to see how this pans out in 2018. I've seen predictions of a blood bath for the GOP next election cycle, but rational thinking has very little place in our elections.

[Spider]

[phosphide]

Couple of thoughts on this bill.

1. I think it's mostly terrible.
2. A lot of this actually puts the power into the hands of the states. Will be interesting to see how many actually consider their options.
3. It's actually the failures of Obamacare that caused this bill to exist. For Obamacare to be successful the younger and healthier population would cover the costs of the sick and elderly. Also that the uninsured would actually sign-up. Neither of these happened and the premiums for the healthy population had to foot the bill. So it's natural to think that a bill that raises the costs of the sick and elderly would come up since they weren't signing up for aid. Also, most of the insurance companies have already pulled out of the exchanges so Obamacare was dead in the water.
4. Cutting Medicaid is actually a good thing. Just because you cut aid doesn't mean suddenly thousands of kids are going to die. By doing block grants, the states will be forced to reconsider who and how they pay their dollars. Billions of dollars are wasted every year in Medicaid fraud cases. The states will have to keep a closer eye on their books. Also, our total spending will go down.
5. The success of this bill really depends on if Trump can get his tax bill passed. Things like doubling the standard deduction and revising the tax brackets would be huge for the poor, elderly, and middle class. Though we know his tax plan is unsustainable so doubtful it would happen.
6. Reinstating disproportionate share is a good thing. After Obamacare passed, the payer mixes from self-pay to balance after insurance increased dramatically. The hospitals were no longer able to write off the balances to charity or sign-up patients for medicaid (or other eligibility services).

It kind of makes sense in the grand scheme of all things Trump, but too bad we are still screwed.

[Kane]

It's different factions of the house and soon the Senate playing "hot potato." Once it lands on Trump's desk, it's Trumpcare. There's going to be a lot of shit stirring and deflection.

[Kane]

Oh and also...the AARP, the most powerful lobby in the country, came out against this bill.

[Saz]