Trumpcare Megathread: It's dead (for now)

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By giving the GOP the Senate, presidency, and House, the American electorate voted for a repeal and replacement of Obamacare. Ryan's bill ain't it.

You just said the opposite of the truth. The American people voted to keep Obamacare by a 3-million-vote margin.

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In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if, a year from now, a large percentage of the electorate won't even be able to correctly answer a poll question on whether Obamacare has been repealed or not.

Yeah, weren't there polls back in like 2014 saying that a majority (or significant chunk) of Republicans thought Obamacare had already been repealed?

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Repeal and replace with nothing.

And watch 23 million people die on the street.

Those people did not die on the street before Obamacare.

Freedom isn't free.

I mean, the cancer patients who can't afford their insurance anymore under Trumpcare won't literally die on the street -- they'll wait until they're hours from death and be allowed a hospital bed to die on (at a cost, of course).

You should focus on the "die" part, not the "street" part.

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Sen. Flake comes out in FAVOR of the Cruz amendment. Theory: he knows it won't pass, but can use this to defend himself in the upcoming Republican primary.

Wow, safe D.

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Does everyone really think Heller would be primaried if he votes no? That seems kinda far fetched. At least he's much more likely to lose in the general if he votes yes.

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Wait, is Mike Pence seriously trying to say that this bill is better for people with preexisting conditions/disabilities/etc.??

I mean, the only argument that could be made is "Well, if you've hit the genetic lottery and are a totally healthy middle-class-or-higher young man, your premium may go down for now and haha screw everyone else!" (And hope that nothing changes about your health in the future to put you in the expensive risky pool.)

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If there really are 10 senators who want to vote no but are too chicken to say so unless the bill is already dead, and will vote Yes if Heller never kills it, all I can say is "wow, what a bunch of cucks."

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It's so sad that so many people are lying about the negative implications of the bill in order to push their partisan agenda. Over 20 million losing their health insurance, and they don't care. And for what? What are they gaining? It's sad.

They were elected on a promise to repeal and replace ObamaCare.

They were each elected for a plethora of reasons, not just that one. And a lot of "opponents" of Obamacare didn't realize until now how they benefit from many of its protections.

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I remain skeptical that this is actually going to pass as its own standalone thing.  But I do think people are underrating the chances that elements of it will get packaged in with the 2018 budget or with the tax reform bill.  I mean, it's not really Obamacare repeal.  It's a Medicaid cut and a tax cut.  The tax cut portion, for example, could certainly pass if it was separated off from the Medicaid cut.  Though, yeah, they might have to be made temporary if they can't offset the cost with anything else.  Not sure how much leeway there is on the budget rules for reconciliation.

Tell that to people with incomes between 350% and 400% of FPL who will see their subsidies canceled and their premiums skyrocket.

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So I'm guessing Trump acted like an ass at the meeting tonight?

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Breaking: Shelley Moore Capito comes out against repeal without replace: https://mobile.twitter.com/SenCapito/status/887319867208204292/photo/1

Assuming Heller and Collins oppose it as well, McConnell's proposal is DOA.

That's great that she's against it now, but is anyone going to call her out for voting yes on the same bill 2 years ago?

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Would there be any value in Democrats voting Yes on the MTP to force a vote on the actual thing, with the idea being that a bill officially voted down is more "dead" than one that just had an MTP fail, or more likely, pulled?

Or would that backfire spectacularly?

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With McCain's long-term absence, it only takes 2 GOP nos to kill the bill, right? Or will he still be voting somehow?

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Assuming McCain would vote yes but can't make it there to actually do it, is there any chance he resigns and allows the AZ gov to send a replacement? If/when McCain is ready to come back, the replacement could resign and the governor could appoint McCain back to the seat.

And/or is there any chance Republican leaders are pushing for this behind the scenes?

If it was a Democratic senator in this situation and the state had a D gov, I would be demanding this to happen.

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Assuming McCain would vote yes but can't make it there to actually do it, is there any chance he resigns and allows the AZ gov to send a replacement? If/when McCain is ready to come back, the replacement could resign and the governor could appoint McCain back to the seat.

And/or is there any chance Republican leaders are pushing for this behind the scenes?

If it was a Democratic senator in this situation and the state had a D gov, I would be demanding this to happen.

If that happened, then McCain's status changes from elected senator to appointed senator, requiring him into run in a 2018 special election to keep the seat.

So?

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Assuming McCain would vote yes but can't make it there to actually do it, is there any chance he resigns and allows the AZ gov to send a replacement? If/when McCain is ready to come back, the replacement could resign and the governor could appoint McCain back to the seat.

And/or is there any chance Republican leaders are pushing for this behind the scenes?

If it was a Democratic senator in this situation and the state had a D gov, I would be demanding this to happen.

If that happened, then McCain's status changes from elected senator to appointed senator, requiring him into run in a 2018 special election to keep the seat.

He would also lose seniority. He's currently in office since 1987. That would change to 2017 or 2018. Even newcomers like Kamala Harris or James Lenkford would gain seniority over McCain in such a scenario. Pretty unlikely.

The party leader can grant or remove seniority at will. McConnell would certainly make an accomdation for McCain in this scenario.

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It's all theater. It's going to pass.

RIP America.

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It's all theater. It's going to pass.

RIP America.

MotionToProceed =/= Passing healthcare bill

Even if the senate succeeds in starting debate, its not happening tomorrow.

Do you really they'd be flying McCain back to DC if his vote didn't mean the difference in passing or failing?

Heller and Collins will vote no, everyone else will be bought off, Pence will break the tie, the House will pass as is (even if they get rid of Planned Parenthood defunding), Trump will sign, the insurance market will collapse, millions will lose coverage, tens of thousands will die, and all the Trump supporters who rely on Obamacare will just blame Democrats anyway somehow.

I hope everyone who for whatever reason failed to vote for Hillary on 11/8 is happy. (Who am I kidding - they are.)

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Also John McCain has to hold the record for the world's biggest cuck. Trump mocks him and says he's not a war hero, and now McCain's going to put his cancer treatment on hold to fly back to DC and bail out his horrible health care bill.

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It's all theater. It's going to pass.

RIP America.

MotionToProceed =/= Passing healthcare bill

Even if the senate succeeds in starting debate, its not happening tomorrow.

Do you really they'd be flying McCain back to DC if his vote didn't mean the difference in passing or failing?

Heller and Collins will vote no, everyone else will be bought off, Pence will break the tie, the House will pass as is (even if they get rid of Planned Parenthood defunding), Trump will sign, the insurance market will collapse, millions will lose coverage, tens of thousands will die, and all the Trump supporters who rely on Obamacare will just blame Democrats anyway somehow.

I hope everyone who for whatever reason failed to vote for Hillary on 11/8 is happy. (Who am I kidding - they are.)

Jesus christ, people.

They aren't voting on a bill tomorrow, it is MTP.

We all know that there will be some time for debate and grandstanding before the votes on the bill. You're not informing us of anything.

The bill is going to pass. McConnell wouldn't go through all this theater only to have the repeal effort fail.

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And so if the motion to proceed is voted down tomorrow, will that convince you that maybe, just maybe, this isn't going to pass?  Or will you still be sure that they'll come back with something else next week?  I'm just wondering what kind of evidence is sufficient that it's not a sure thing?

If the MTP fails and McConnell votes yes, I'll calm down. If it fails and he votes no, he'll just try it again next week or next month or whenever and let everyone continue to live in limbo.

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Sounds like the MTP will pass.

I've already had to bury a parent. It was stage 4 lunch cancer - there was nothing anyone could do for him.

Looks like my wife may get to go through that same awful experience herself, this time not because it was unpreventable, but because Republicans pridefully wanted to score a fleeting political victory over Obama. Millions of Americans are coming to that same realization today. What a tragedy.

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It's gonna pass if they can get Rand on board

Super classy to stick out your tongue at my MIL and the millions of other Americans Trump and the Republicans are sentencing to death today.

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Repealing the individual mandate is incredibly short sighted. While im glad it looks like Medicaid is safe (for now), with no individual mandate, Obamacare will collapse.

Yes, analyses consistently show that no individual mandate = 20-30% home in health insurance premiums. Many insurers have already gotten permission to revise their premiums if the mandate is eliminated.

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It's gonna pass if they can get Rand on board

Super classy to stick out your tongue at my MIL and the millions of other Americans Trump and the Republicans are sentencing to death today.

Oh please we're just trimming the fat. Wait until it's time for our Republican chili cook-off. That's when we're actually going to start rounding up teh poors.

I know you're just trolling because you think I'm being hyperbolic, but you need to cut it out. To an uninsured person  even a treatable cancer diagnosis is a death sentence.