GOP's long game to destroy health care
Paul Ryan, Tom Price and Mick Mulvaney are creating a story. Ryan, in particular, has been laying the groundwork for years and is now salivating at the opportunity to make his move. The idea is simple. And it's right out of Grover Norquist's "starve the beast" playbook. Starve the government department you want to kill of its financial resources, then, as it becomes less and less functional, point to it and say "See, it's not working!"
At stake right now is the ACA and Medicare/Medicaid. The GOP's game plan is to throw these programs into financial turmoil so they can then claim that cutbacks to benefits are necessary in order to prevent them from going broke, paving the way for privatization.
While it's true that the ACA is headed toward fiscal instability, with five states now having only one insurance option on the exchange and carriers in other states backing off because they aren't making enough money, this instability is intentionally being caused by the GOP. Marco Rubio kicked it off by attaching a poison pill rider to a must-pass budget bill, effectively cutting off tax money from the rich being provided to insurance companies during the first three years of the ACA.
A key component of the program, "risk corridors" incentivize insurance companies to stay in the exchanges by reducing their risk during those critical first few years when it's primarily the old and sick, the least of our brothers, who are the first to sign up. This money partially offsets high losses until more young and healthy people join and broaden the risk pool. Because yes, Paul Ryan, as you so thoughtfully explained to all of us in your PowerPoint presentation, this is precisely how insurance works.
The GOP has now set the stage for the president and others to loudly proclaim how Obamacare and Medicaid are collapsing, furthering their narrative and the end game of privatization and vouchers, otherwise known as coupons. But as all thrifty consumers know, coupons never come close to covering the cost of the item.
Stan Martin Jr.
Libertyville