Lankford On Stalled Obamacare Repeal Vote: This Is A No-Fail Moment

[turbinetree]

Source: Talking Points Memo

By NICOLE LAFOND Published JULY 18, 2017 7:55 AM

Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) and other GOP Senators were busy eating “American beef” with the President Monday evening and discussing “next steps” for the Senate Obamacare repeal bill, when Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) announced their opposition to the plan on Twitter.

Appearing on “Fox and Friends” Tuesday morning, Lankford said the group dining with President Donald Trump had no idea their colleagues were going to come out against the motion to proceed that evening and said they were talking with Trump about “what we have to do to finish this and tweak out things in this bill,” he said.

Despite the blow to the Better Care Reconciliation Act, Lankford said he remains “optimistic,” but said passing a repeal bill is “something that has to be done.”

“Just in my state in Oklahoma insurance rates went up last year 76 percent. Seventy-six percent in one year. We have thousands of people that used to have insurance that can no longer afford health care insurance anymore,” he said. “I’m still optimistic that we can because we must. This is a kind of a no-fail moment that you have to be able to resolve all these issues.”

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/lankford-on-stalled-obamacare-repeal-vote-this-is-no-fail-moment

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Yes Senator in your state insurance claims rates have gone up your state there because your fucking state government and worthless governor did not expand into the medicaid expansion under the Affordable Heath Care Act, so in other words your are full of shit Lankford, a lot of shit;

https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/resources/primers/medicaidmap

[Cracklin Charlie]

1. So much shit.

[OKNancy]

2. It's true that rates in OKLA went up drastically, but....

if you bought it on the exchange, the subsidy increase too.

[mr_lebowski]

7. This points though to a big flaw in the ACA ... just because my wife COULD get ins. through my job

Even though together we're low-enough income to qualify for some help for her ins ... we can't get subsidized at all through ACA. The ins. through my work is almost $700/mo for her and cheapest decent plan on exchange (this is in AZ where prices like DOUBLED since last year) is around $650. We can afford neither w/o some help. This is a major donut hole, one that needs fixing.

[OKNancy]

10. Yes, for one person, my husband it is 995.00 per month for the cheapest plan

with a $6500.00 deductible. I am a little older so I am on Medicare. He will be 65 in November.
We got a subsidy because our income tumbled.... he got cancer!
Blue Cross paid $230,000 last year. We paid about $9,000. My Mom gave us some money to help, plus
we took money out of retirement. That's another crappy thing... Retirement money is considered income when
figuring out your subsidy. So, in order to pay the medical bills, we had to pull money out and that makes us get a penalty at the end of the year.
Sucks, but better that $230,000.

[Cryptoad]

3. hah,,, even the title of their bill was a lie,,,

a "better" health care bill wouild provide for more people being insured than ACA
not less.

[Cicada]

4. Why did rates rise in Oklahoma?

Blue Cross Blue Shield is the only provider of Obamacare plans in Oklahoma. Oklahoma is one of only 3 states which does not have a regulator which can block unreasonable rate increases. In 47 states the insurer must prove the rate hike is justified by higher costs. But not in OK. If they had proposed a five billion percent increase then prices would rise five billion percent. But aren't they concerned sales will decline? Not really because Obamacare subsidies also rise. The price the insured pay stays the same for most people. In fact the number of people buying Obamacare policies WENT UP in Oklahoma in 2017 - because the premiums actually paid by those insured stayed about the same for almost everyone insured.

When you have a monopoly and the govt by law must pay the price increases you set then prices will skyrocket.

[tclambert]

5. It's actually a no win situation for Republicans.

If they can't pass a bill, they look like feckless failures.

If the do pass a bill, they will face the consequences of how horrible that bill is.

[harun]

6. Typical load of bull from the Reds

[Grins]

8. Gee, whadashame, Senator. Up 76% you say...?

"Just in my state in Oklahoma insurance rates went up last year 76%. Seventy-six percent in one year. "

Gee, whadashame, Senator. Up 76% you say? Well, that's a shit-ton better than the 260% increase in homeowner premiums and three increases in deductibles because your state is being wracked by earthquakes due to fracking, isn't it? Not to mention Travelers Insurance Company, The Hartford, and Oklahoma Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company have completely abandoned earthquake coverage from their existing homeowner policies.

Whatabitch, no?

As for your healthcare?

“We are nearing A COLOSSAL COLLAPSE of our health care system in Oklahoma. We have doctors turning away patients. We have people with mental illnesses who are going without treatment. HOSPITALS ARE CLOSING, and this is only going to get worse this summer if the Legislature does not act immediately to turn this around.” - Craig Jones, president of the Oklahoma Hospital Association, 2016.

Must suck to be you.

[BannonsLiver]

9. It's not actually even 76 percent

Not sure from where in his ass he pulled those numbers from.