Personally, I'm rooting for the Republicans to introduce something better. Premiums in my state have risen by over 60%. No one can afford it, so providers have slowly been dropping out. First it was BCBS followed by Cigna. All that's left is Humana, who already gave a deadline for when they are out. That leaves us with nothing. We are not the only state with this issue, no matter how many times you turn your cheek. The ACA will implode. Something has to change.
We need to define "better" here, and the fact I am saying this is telling.
In your eyes, what is better? In the eyes of the GOP, the following was part of a better plan.
- Axe 24 million people on coverage
- Put fixed blocks of income on Medicaid, starving the program to death
- Not disconnected with the above point, but link the program as means-tested employment program. That's right; no job? You might not even get fucking Medicaid, and that's
for people at the bottom.
- No tax credits to help with coverage
- 30% increase to premiums if there's a gap in coverage
- Axe essential health benefits: insurers can deny covering you if you're too expensive and lack the highest premium plan. The following will be some of those
- Don't cover any women's reproductive measures
- Eliminate preventive care coverage
- Don't cover child care
-
Don't cover emergency hospital visits
You want something good from the GOP? Get them out of fucking office.