The Trump administration won't re-open enrollment for Healthcare.gov and the Affordable Care Act

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/04/01/the-trump-administration-won.html

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Yet another excellent argument for M4All !tumblr_6b425b3f955a6dcb498541e8ffce2a01_3542c475_640

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You have the causality backwards there.

It was the spiteful Republican politicians who coined “Obamacare” as a term of derision, much like Democrats coined “Reaganomics” as a derisive term for the economic policies of Ronald Reagan.

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I would like to believe that this was an absurd mischaracterization, but unfortunately that is a completely accurate description of so many americans’ healthcare situation. But we can’t change it because millions are inexplicably convinced that universal coverage would be even more expensive and the people they vote for genuinely prioritize profits over health

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A special enrollment period would be shoving a big bill onto the insurance companies without compensation. Doing so would be a big off-the-books welfare scheme.

If the government believes they should be covered it should pay for it, not pick some businesses to foot the bill. Off-the-books spending is evil even if it’s for a good cause.

The fatal flaw of the ACA is that it conflates health insurance with health care, and enshrines the role of insurers in the health care process. It caps insurer profit as a percentage over cost, giving insurers incentive to allow runaway costs (would you rather have 10% of $100 or 10% of $1000). And just like for-profit prisons, the surest way for insurers to turn a profit is reduce services provided.

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  1. Those insurance companies would be getting a ton of new paying customers, so it’s not really a terrible deal for them.
  2. The Federal government hands out free money to giant corporations all the time, and you can bet that the insurance companies will get a nice big slice of that $2 Trillion Coronoavirus stimulus package. It’s only fair to make them pick up some of the people who fell through the cracks of the very system they themselves lobbied for. If they don’t like it, fine—we can switch to Single Payer.
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Of course not, because he’s a flaming pile of garbage that would rather die than admit that Obama did anything even remotely good.

My dogs’ ears just perked up.

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A special enrollment period now is like buying insurance when you see the semi is heading for your car. They wouldn’t be getting paying customers–they’ll drop as soon as the crisis is over.

I guess those companies shouldn’t have tried to convince the nation that a private, for-profit insurance model was the best way to keep everyone covered then.

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The insurance companies (through their lobby group) approved the move to open enrollment; as it was to be matched by increased government subsidies.
So the government was going to pay for it. Then Trump changed his mind… I’ll be curious to know who got to him in the last week.
What an AH.

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It looks like Trump’s plan to have as many non-1%er Aericans die as possible while still sucking up to Putin is going spledidly. And if some of them manage not to die, they still be up to their eyeballs in debt.

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Trump went on: “You should really — we should probably get rid of about another 75, 80% of you. I have just two or three of you that I like in this room. I think that’s a great way of doing it. We just figured a new way of doing it, but you’re actually much too close. You two, you should leave immediately.”

Like anyone should believe Trump was talking just about members of the media.

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you are comparing those two? mentioning them in the same sentence? ok, let me try this: people call me the n-word - i call them racist pigs. i’d say, that’s the same level of causality, right?

The “causality” I’m referring to is that the Affordable Care Act was nicknamed “Obamacare” because spiteful Republicans who hated the law adopted that moniker, rather than (as the article seemed to imply) Republicans hating the law BECAUSE of the moniker.

I have a conservative, uninformed* cousin who thought it was arrogant of Obama to call the ACA “Obamacare” and thought “they should call it Obama-DOESN’T-care!” was the height of wit. When I pointed out that it was actually her side that came up with the nickname “Obamacare” she just responded with confusion.

*But I repeat myself

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Spite, racism, and delusions of millionaire-hood anydayrealsoonnow: the core values of Il Douche’s base

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Medicare for All - vote for Sanders, DUH

If only they just killed the worst part of the ACA that makes catastrophic plans illegal for anyone over 30 and we would be able to cover millions for the pandemic. I paid $108 per month for catastrophic from Avmed before the ACA with a $1000 deductable wich covered emergency room, surgery, and hospitalization. Most people who have not enrolled in the healthcare.gov market did not because they cant afford the plans, I don’t think just reopening it will solve that.

I refused that COBRA scam when I lost my last job
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One good thing about this development is that the Trump Administration is keeping their promise of draining the swamp. This evil bit of bureaucratic rigmarole is going to work very well to drain the Republican side of “The Swamp”.

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