The Affordable Care Act is a multi-faceted law, but one of the more important policy elements is the creation of "exchanges." Republicans hate the idea -- or at least, they pretend to -- but now is probably a good time for them to get over it.
Exchanges, like the mandate, used to be a key GOP proposal. The word may seem wonky, but it's a pretty simple idea: create a menu for consumers featuring coverage plans from private insurers. Americans can pick the plan that works best for them, and in order to participate, regulated insurers have to meet established standards. What's more, under "Obamacare," states set up their own exchanges, so it's not some heavy-handed system imposed by Washington.
Sounds good, right? The public seems to think so -- a recent national poll found 80% of Republicans approve of exchanges. But GOP voters and GOP officials aren't on the same page, and many Republicans at the state level refuse to comply with the law.
Last week, former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) said his party is making a mistake, arguing there's simply no reason for the GOP to fight against this worthwhile GOP idea. This Miami Herald report makes matters slightly worse for the right.
In the months before he became Florida House speaker, Marco Rubio crisscrossed the state searching for ways to make Florida better.
The best proposals, dealing with topics ranging from property taxes to education, became a book: 100 Innovative Ideas for Florida's Future.
Chapter 8 is titled "Quality Healthcare at an Affordable Price," and it includes Idea No. 87: "Florida should launch a marketplace of affordable health insurance."
Yep, as recently as 2008, Marco Rubio, Mitt Romney, and many throughout the Republican Party thought exchanges made a lot of sense -- they give consumers choices, they spur competition, they create a new private marketplace, etc.
But in 2012, the Republican plan from Rubio, Romney, and others is to destroy the exchanges before they're created, guaranteeing fewer choices and less competition. (Rubio didn't want to talk to the Herald about why he was for exchanges before he was against them.)
Incidentally, as we've talked about before, states that balk at creating exchanges invite the federal government to create, and possibly manage, exchanges for these states. The great irony of Republican intransigence at the state level is that they're encouraging expanded federal control over health care in their states.
But for now, the Perrys, Scotts, Jindals, and Haleys of the GOP don't care, and would rather have more federal control than comply with the ACA.
Leave a Comment:
Logical consistency is only important in the reality-based community, and we all know Republicans create their own reality.
Politicians, especially Republicans, have always paid lip service to ideas that they have no intention of fulfilling. Reagan courted the uber-right evangelicals for his entire campaign. After he had won his office it was, "Who are you?". Of course, I laughed my ass off when that happened, but, it only maddened the draconian religionists and made them even more determined.
Political expediency is the governing rule. When McConnell said that defeating the President was job number one, he meant it literally. No good ideas, whether Republican or Democrat, shall be permitted to see the light of day.
You seem to imply that the governors who oppose the exchanges have analyzed the situation and have taken the effects on their constituents into account. Nothing is further from the truth. These governors from Goodhair to No Hair have absolutely no concern whatsoever for the average person in their states. All they care about is whether they can get the rubes to vote for them by pretending to care about some mythical right wing philosophy of self-reliance and wife beating.
Well, no one has ever said that Republicans were particularly bright. They obviously cannot be trusted with any of their proposals since they flip-flop so often you cannot count on them having any principles or core convictions. Which way the Tea Party blows now controls their direction. Republican governors have even flip-flopped on being advocates for "states rights" by allowing the federal government to create the health-care exchanges for them. Hypocritical to the core.
The exchanges are for whom? Those without a corporate subsidised insurance. So, when employers figure out it will cost less to pay the fine, more people will need the exchanges. And, without cross border competition, rates will vary. The ACA is a farce, endorced by Obama to claim a victory. Wait until the final cost comes in, both to the govt and individuals. Forget CBO projections which never get realized. A good idea, but misconceived.
Frist should know, he's a health lobby scion, and can diagnose things from a video screen like Schiavo's forensic condition.
"There is much to like about this law," The Republican said, "If only the President hadn't tried to politicize it, by calling it 'OBAMACARE'!"
The republicans in their haste to defy Obama have backed themselves into a corner. They now have to defy their own idea which is a neat trick. They are running around with their repeal and replace mantra but have not told a soul about what they will replace their own idea with. Well the only other way if you're against the exchanges and individual mandates to insure millions is a public option. So there you have it. The republicans in order to defy Obama one more time will unveil a public option as their insurance plan.
The types of things the GOP has been highlighted as advocating in their recent past are the reasons I've always considered myself an independent. Great ideas can come from both parties. The types of things that the GOP is advocating and railing against are the reason I've become a very left-leaning independent.