2677
2678

There are a lot of Republicans in the House who are sighing in relief at this.

2679

They still have a few days to cajole and bribe for votes, right?

2680

Technically, yes. But even Republicans in the senate are starting to see the bad optics of vastly overhauling a bill and rushing it through passage in 4 days.

2681

So ā€¦ meet back up here again next fiscal year?

2682

The debate on CNN tonight will be interesting.

2683

Maybe, they have to ram it through before midterms start warming up and give people enough time to forget about it/find a way to blame Hillary for it.

2684

Yes, it is not happening.

McCain in a pretty powerful interview on 60 Minutes, again pushed for regular order and bi-partisanship on health care last night. It looks like Congress is working overtime to fulfill Churchillā€™s prophecy "You can always count on Americans to do the right thing ā€” after theyā€™ve tried everything else,ā€

2685

Now Louis Gohmert from Texas is arguing to recall McCain and roads him.

The GOP is dominated by truly terrible, immoral people. They literally disgust me.

2686

I hope CNN stresses that the bill was terrible and thatā€™s why it didnā€™t come up for a vote. Instead, they keeps stressing how incompetent the GOP is and how the party wonā€™t fall into line. I think they would fall in line for a less terrible bill - they just donā€™t seem to know how to craft one, thank god.

2687

While many here already agree - and Timex has said as much - a really good op-ed on CNBC on why market economics wonā€™t work for health care

2688

Yes, I hate this too.

ā€œThe GOP sucks because they couldnā€™t ram this bill through.ā€

The GOP failing here is a better GOP than one that passes a bill. Here at least we have a handful of Senators who decided not to do a terrible thing.

2689

Even more than just being a terrible, immoral bill, itā€™s really really terrible politics. If it wouldnā€™t harm so many people, Iā€™d be rooting for this piece of shit to pass because it would doom the GOP in the midterms and probably 2020 as well.

2690

Did anyone else watch the CNN debate on health care?

Lindsey graham made a comment about a certain hidden video of planned parenthood and i am 95% sure that he was referencing the now well acknowledged hoax video.

2691

That Op-Ed is half right. He correctly states the reality that market economics are not a good fit for the health care market but heā€™s wrong about why. He tries to get at the why but heā€™s looking at things legally (being a lawyer) rather than economically. He blames the insurance companies, correctly pointing out that for-profit insurance is a bad fit for health care. He then tries (I donā€™t really follow his logic) to blame the employer based system we use, but he misses the elephant in the room: the need for health care is NOT flexible. Unlike other goods and services, where failing to get a new iPhone wonā€™t kill you, failing to get the health care you need CAN kill you. The fancy economic term is inelasticity of demand.

The author of the Op-Ed misses this. Instead he says:

"As a result, most Americans have their insurance chosen for them by a middleman.

This distortion dramatically limits consumersā€™ ability to use the free market to their advantage"

So he misses the larger point: if you somehow ā€œgiveā€ consumers the ability to buy insurance on the free market instead of getting it through employment thatā€™s going to make things better? NO. Anyone who has tried to buy insurance on the individual market pre-ACA knows that the free market for health care for individuals was NOT an advantage.

The bigger issue is that market forces are not a fit for health care, PERIOD. Market forces are the best economic tool we humans have figured out thus far, but like any tool, it does not fit every scenario. The only methods to deliver health care effectively for the bulk of the population require very significant government intervention either harnessing the market with a multi-payer Swiss Model system, or partially/fully replacing the market with single payer or nationalized health care.

No effort to ā€œgive consumers more choicesā€ is going to work b/c the one big choice in health care, the choice to live or die, is NOT FUCKING NEGOTIABLE. Jesus wept.

Itā€™s simple. The need for health care is not flexible; health care demand does not have the flexibility required for a health market so we should STOP Fā€™ING TRYING TO FORCE MARKET FORCES TO WORK. They never will, unless they are systematically harnessed as in Germany, or Singapore, or (wait for it) the ACA.

The ACA, or an overall similar system is the most market oriented solution that will work. Anything less just gets crushed by the iron reality of inflexible demand.

2692

Man, that type of all caps rage is something more akin to what Iā€™d post on the subject ;)

But weā€™ll put, as usual. I fully endorse your position here.

2693

I felt better after posting that.

2694

I did.

Ya boy Bernie was an absolute lion. Stern, stalwart defense of the ACA and the need to stabilize it and not undermine it the way the administration is attempting to do.

2695

I totally forgot about that debate in the recent chaos. Good to hear Bernie was on point.

2696

Kudos to him.