If they get rid of the Affordable Care Act, if we get the Senate, can't we just do a Public Option

[Quixote1818]

at that point?

[grobertj]

1. End the filibuster and then pass Medicare for All!!

[J_William_Ryan]

9. Which would be struck down

by a five-justice majority of partisan, conservative ideologues.

[Klaralven]

15. Not if it is clean, clear, simple, constitutional legislation

The ACA was too complicated and too vulnerable due to multiple compromises between special interests during its creation.

[marlakay]

25. If they let everyone have it

Even for a year or two it would take to get to higher court no way will people let them take it away. Obamacare people still have to pay pretty high monthly payments, medicare for all is suppose to if done right be cheap.

[mucifer]

2. Remember the insane battle for the ACA and the moderate dems that wouldn't support

the Public Option? It's not going to be easy. I guess it depends on how many senators we get and how much those senators care about people having healthcare.

[LizBeth]

4. The upside is Republican and Democrat alike are using ACA and once lost, they will be wanting a

replacement. Just get them to realize their ACA is Obamacare, morans.

[LizBeth]

3. This is what I am considering, Biden in and congress can't we do this or something

with Medicare and reduce age that could be set up immediately? I would think we would be able to get something in place.

[Volaris]

17. And public option at its core is a one paragraph law:

This law expands medicare to anyone between the ages of 20 and 60 who wishes to pay for its services as health insurance. In addition to your regular mandated payroll tax, you will be required to pay an additional monthly 'premium', same as for any other ins plan. The price of that premium will be variable annually depending on how many people sign up for it, and based on your own annual income, but never to EXCEED (insert sane number here--mine would be 500$).

Dont think it's a good idea? DONT BUY IT, and have fun in the private market.

Nothing unconstitutional about the Free Market, is there GOP?

[LizBeth]

18. I am so poor on the ACA for bronze I pay 1.11 and when I was on silver last year 146.00.

How much does it take income into account? Because anything over 150-200 is unaffordable to me. Actually that was not even affordable and monthly living expense exceeded monthly income. I left work for covid and have been applying for a job but I think being 59 is really hurting me. I get interviews and not hires.

What a mess.

[Volaris]

23. In your immediate circumstance, I'd say your 'sane number'

Is less than 50 per month.

[LizBeth]

24. Thank you for a guessament. I appreciate an answer.

[Fiendish Thingy]

5. With the pandemic, the momentum for Universal Health Care will be at its peak

Biden will have a once in a century opportunity on healthcare and numerous other issues- let’s hope he doesn’t squander it for the safety of “normalcy” and “pragmatic incrementalism”.

It will be up to us to hold their feet to the fire - put your legislators on speed dial, if you haven’t already. Activism doesn’t end on November 3.

[Laelth]

11. +1 n/t

-Laelth

[LizBeth]

19. I agree.

[uponit7771]

30. +1,

[Demsrule86]

39. Not if the courts attack anything he does.You have to understand unless we can expand the court,

we are finished. Now we must win the Senate in order to do anything too.

[Fiendish Thingy]

41. Yup, expansion of the court must be a priority but if true Universal Healthcare is set up

The courts can do little about it.

If congress creates a dept. of healthcare, with payroll deductions for premiums, and coverage for everyone, including retired and unemployed or underemployed, what grounds would SCOTUS have for blocking the law?

It’s only with pragmatic incremental half measures, with mangled enrolment mandates and provisions for states to opt out, where things get messy.

[murdock744]

6. Not sure..

Does Biden support the public option or Medicare for all? I understood his policy is strengthen the ACA.

[J_William_Ryan]

8. Correct.

But Biden would sign MFA into law if passed.

[Demsrule86]

36. The courts will overturn it and it won't pass...there is no MFA plan...it doesn't exist. and

regular medicare won't work.

[Mariana]

10. He can't strengthen the ACA if the ACA doesn't exist. nt.

[LizBeth]

20. +1

[uponit7771]

31. +1,

[Demsrule86]

32. MFA won't work....figure a family with three kids ...that would be five Medicare premiums, five

wraps for the 20% and a pharmacy plan for five as well...it simply won't work.

[Mariana]

34. He can't strengthen the ACA if the ACA doesn't exist. nt.

[Demsrule86]

38. Yes...and the ACA would still be around when Joe arrives...the decision won't be

announced until the spring...add a public option which as been designed for families, add back the mandate which is what assholes are using to get rid of the ACA...strengthen premiums and pack the court....there done.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

7. As I recall, the Public Option was taken off the table immediately.

Which really pissed me off. Everything should have been on the table at the beginning.

[Laelth]

12. If you're talking about 2009, the House passed the public option.

The Senate nixed it, and then Congress just barely passed the law now known as the ACA.

The political climate now, assuming 53-47 D control of the Senate in 2021, is such that we could re-pass the ACA and add the public option to it if Biden could be brought on board. Kamala Harris might be able to do that.

We’ll see.

-Laelth

[LizBeth]

21. Thank you for the facts. We were on a cross country trip when this was going on and followed it

consistently all the way thru. You are right on. We have to remember why we got what we did and how monumental it was we got this. ACA was just a start to be built on but then we need congress to make it better and the votes were not there. One of the reasons was the ACA passing.

[Demsrule86]

35. Your recall is faulty. The public option was going to be used for those 55 and over

but Lieberman ruined that idea. We never had the votes after Kennedy got sick and when Scott Brown won, we had to pass it just as it was because no changes could be made. We didn't have the votes in the Senate and could not change it anyway. We barely got it passed...Nancy gave up her majority to pass health care.

[NCjack]

13. If Americans are denied healthcare insurance, then we must demand that

every American be guaranteed a job, be paid $50/hr so we can buy private insurance, or we will strike.

[kurtcagle]

14. I think MFA much more likely now, not less.

Political mood has changed, too many Republicans use ACA, population is older, and the pandemic has reframed many of the arguments. ACA was flawed from the beginning in that it gave insurers too much wiggle room, it was too complex for its users, and it placed too much of the onus of operating it on the states. I think it will be bad to see it go, but I suspect we may have 12 or 16 years to build something better if that happens.

[andym]

16. No, it needs to be configured like Medicare

if they then strike it down, they'll have to strike down Medicare as well.

[Takket]

22. i doubt it.....

under the barrett court, they will treat "free markets" as essentially ingrained in the constitution and any sort of government/socialized programs will be struck down.

[Demsrule86]

29. Then we pack the court.

[uponit7771]

33. +1, I'm so sick of going high and not punching back

[Takket]

37. Damn straight!

only question isn't "if" but "how many"

[Yavin4]

26. An emergency Public Option plan would have to go into effect

It would be an unmitigated disaster to have millions of people lose their health insurance all at once.

[Demsrule86]

28. And the premiums for those with kids would be sky high...hubs and I figure when we go on Medicare it

will cost us around $600.00when all is said and done...And medicare does not stop pre-existing if you are under 65. My sis in law was under 65 on disability and could not get a wrap as she had cancer at one point. Also, without addressing Medicare, those older people in long term care would be tossed out of facilities...shit show. But there is no simple solution.

[Demsrule86]

27. Medicare is not family friendly...very expensive. Revive the ACA with a tax or a mandate and

add a public option.

[Midnight Writer]

40. I believe we will need to get big money out of politics before we get any major healthcare reform.

20% of our economy is in healthcare, and the profits are astronomical.

As long as the oligarchs are making a "killing" in healthcare, and using their profits to control politicians, we, the common citizens, are not going to have the programs we need.