Supposed Deal Between Freedom Caucus And Trump Proves There Is No Real Obamacare Repeal

23 Mar, 2017 by William Teach

Print this article Font size -16+

Since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, ie, Obamacare, was passed, Republicans have promised to repeal it in full. That’s why they were elected in a wave to the House in 2010. We were promised this in 2012, 2014, and 2016, adding on “replace” as Ocare took effect. The Ryan “Trumpcare” bill is supposed to do this. Does it?

(The Hill) Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) said Wednesday night he and President Trump have come to an “agreement in principle” on a plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare, just one day before a historic House vote on the bill.

“The president and I came to an agreement in principle,” Meadows said during an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity, adding that he was still ironing out a few final details with the White House. (snip)

The round-the-clock negotiations between the White House, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and the ultraconservative Freedom Caucus have centered on adding to the bill a repeal of ObamaCare’s “essential health benefits,” as well as other insurance regulations in Title I of the existing health law.

Many of the Freedom Caucus members are poo-pooing the notion that there is any sort of deal, and this supposed deal is driving away the squishy Republicans. Regardless, reading between the lines, does this look like an actual repeal of Ocare, or just dinking and dunking around the edges? Reading the actual text of the bill, it repeals this and that and the other from Ocare, but, never repeals it in full. Which means a lot of it is left in place. Which also means that so many of the Health and Human Services rules, such as the contraception mandate, are still in place, because the statutory authority to create all those rules is still in place.

Paul Ryan, meanwhile, is yammering on at the Wall Street Journal about Keeping Our Promise To Repeal Obamacare. Well, Paul, first, your article is behind a paywall, so most can’t read it. Second, your bill doesn’t actually repeal Ocare in full

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove. Follow me on Twitter @WilliamTeach.