The problem with politicians isn't just that they are all
talk and no action, although true, their real problem is that they live to
serve their egos, re-election interests and donors in that order.
They no longer feel embarrassed at being caught in lies,
because their integrity is mutable, their honor is self serving, and their expedient
conscience is full of guiltless rationalizations. Politics has chemically
castrated their conscience and enlarged their egos into believing that their incessant
lies to the public, are fair play and necessary if one hopes to hold political
power. Therefore being politically shrewd in a politician's mind, requires that
you shred all vestiges of shame when speaking dishonestly.
Repealing Obamacare was a central political campaign,
talking point of the GOP since it was passed in 2010. First, they promised to
fight its constitutional lawfulness in the courts. Their efforts and
determination to that task was, quite frankly, limp fisted.
Second, they promised to defund Obamacare in the House,
again their tough talk resulted in failures because the Democrat controlled
Senate slapped away all those budget provisions. Lastly, the GOP promised to
repeal Obamacare, even though Harry Reid's Senate threw out all the repeal
bills. However, for those that suggested that because the Democrats had control
of the Senate, and that Obama would veto any bill repealing or defunding
Obamacare, that it was a masturbatory political exercise, yes and no.
Yes the passing of a repeal bill was impossible, but using
the Democrats defeat of repeal bills to highlight their encampment with
dictatorial big government and disregard for Middle America would have been a
win. Only Ted Cruz's and Doctor Zeus's "Green
eggs and ham" won.
The GOP knew they would fail, the GOP knew they were
handcuffed to Obamacare, until they had the majority in both the House and
Senate. So they then campaigned heavily on that issue at each election cycle,
imploring voters that if they wanted to restore a private marketplace in
healthcare insurance, then they needed to defeat Democrats in the Senate and
give the GOP control.
The GOP was successful in keeping their majority in the
House and gaining the majority in the Senate coupled with winning the White
House in 2016. So Obamacare is repealed, right? After seven long years the GOP
has a well thought out set of laws that help Americans see more choice and
experience lower rates in their healthcare insurance costs, right? The GOP
would never have played bait and switch for years and now want to go from
repealing Obamacare, to saving Obamacare, right?
Wrong! Politicians tell us that it is complicated. They tell
us that you can't just repeal a huge Bill that has many tangled tentacles that
could have damaging impact on multiple industries and patients. They tell us
that it can't be repealed but must be bailed out, and slowly unwound, in order
to cause the least pain and panic to the industry and policy holders. Wait,
what?
So Trump touts on the campaign trail that Congress should
repeal and replace. After Trump and Americans heard for years that the GOP had
better solutions. Therefore, if repealing Obamacare leaves a mess, then let's
repeal the mess of Obamacare and immediately replace it with the GOP
alternative. Right?
Okay, sounds
reasonable, so what has the GOP come up with as a replacement of Obamacare? Is
their plan a great, free market, patient driven, choice laden set of laws that
would reign in insurance companies, create competition and keep government out
of snooping into our lives? Nope, wrong again. It was a bailout bill for big
insurance.
You see, the GOP had a campaign talking plan, not a real
written down and workable plan. The GOP had a sales pitch, but there was no
showroom behind them. They never had a product, just the sales pitch for the
phantom product. Worse, for seven years the insurance companies have been
filling the GOP's re-election campaign troughs, and whispering sweet promises
of more donations in their ears, if they would bail them out when Obamacare
collapsed.
Yes, most of the GOP lives in the swamp with Democrats and
enjoys that the muck flows downhill and away from their fancy shoes. The GOP is
as politically rotten to the core of its crabapple as the Democrats. The
Democrats let the big insurance companies write Obamacare, make billions and
gobble up all their smaller rival insurance companies, and now the GOP is going
to bail these greedy two-timing companies out, because they bet on a lame liberal
horse. Who gets the spurs to the ribs and the crop stick in the backside hide?
Yes, correct, the American taxpayer. We get robbed twice in our wallet, by high
premiums and then stuck in the delicate area again by taxpayer money handed
over for insurance bailouts.
But that is how the Washington swamp works. This is why we
refused to elect another talking head politician and Trump won the presidency.
This is why Americans don't trust politicians, don't like politics and are
angry at the deafening sound of our underrepresented voice.
Here is an idea: make all Insurance policies become health
negotiated bond-like policies, that have a monetary price, where premiums become
like monthly mortgage payments. One can buy a few thousand dollar policy (rent a room) of a
few million dollar policy, (huge house) similar to house buying. When one gets ill, the money
transfers out of the Health bond (not allowed to be traded in the Wall Street market)
and there are ZERO provisions excluded because your policy is about having
health money not a contract of coverage. Government offers low interest bonds
for the poor and the insurance companies stop dictating what medical procedures
are experimental and therefore, not covered. Patients can decide how to use their tax free
healthcare bonds, to buy more coverage, as their wallets permit.
Of course tort reform, and other legislative acts such as
allowing those healthcare bonds to be purchased outside of state lines, able to
be willed to surviving family members and or used to cover funeral expenses,
could be enacted.
So the catastrophic health care plan would transform and
become a healthcare bond similar to a (healthcare savings account) but with the
benefit of buying as big a health bond dollar value as you can afford. Equally,
if you default on the bond, as if when you default on a mortgage, you could
lose your bond, but you could negotiate a lower monthly rate, based on a lower
bond value, and as your income and financial circumstances change, you could increase the dollar value on your health bond, in the future.
This is an example of good ideas out in America (this one
being mine) that the GOP could be proposing as legislation.
Time for the voters to spit out their demand to the GOP to
repeal Obamacare. Time to rinse and flush out the non-conservatives in the
Party in 2018. Time to spit out in
e-mails and phone calls to their Representatives, the many ideas that would
help healthcare insurance be fair, competitive and workable in the free market
for all.
