Including you. Repugnant swill not win a single seat without jerry mandering the districts and without voter suppression. You Repugnants lied about WMD and are lying about voter fraud. Every where else in the world of democracy they are getting more and more people to vote except in Repugnant controlled states.

I looked at your article, and what were the first 3 bullets? And this plan is going to dramatically alter the cost of health care as we know it? You still have the same players. You still have the same system. Where in the Republican plan is the word "CONSUMER" or "CUSTOMER"?  

Let me give a small example. I went to my doctor for a simple visit and standard blood work. The blood work was done by Quest Diagnostics, probably the largest lab provider in the country. Blood work included shit like metabolic panel, cholesterol, vitamin D, PSA, and 2 other standard tests. The total retail price was $1,058.20. I have a high deductible plan, but nevertheless I get the benefit of my insurance company's negotiated rate, aka, "the allowed amount". Instead of $1,058.20, I only paid $98.76.  

I assume 99% of Quest's customers have insurance. I assume each insurance company has basically negotiated the same allowed amount rates. I'm paying about 10% of Quest's retail price, and I assume everybody is paying about 10%. Quest is a publicly held company, so I assume they are still making money on my payment of $98.76. This significant spread between the retail price and the allowed amount is fairly consistent with all providers. So how does malpractice reform, selling insurance across state lines, enhancing health savings accounts drive down costs like the one I just mentioned, when $98.76 appears to be an acceptable profitable amount for Quest?  

Name me any other product or service on planet Earth where I can't find a price, or at least a close estimate within 2 minutes of accessing the internet? It's the only this industry where customers are held hostage by an archaic system. Until the consumer is in control as in other industries, no tweaking of the existing system as noted in your thread will dramatically transform the industry.  
 

St Croix is correct- the Republicans do not have a health care plan

 
What you are calling a “plan” Jack is a attempt to cobble together five ideas floated by Bush, McCain and Romney and then to present that as an alternative to the comprehensive Affordable Care Act. St Croix mentioned two of them – tort reform and selling insurance across state lines. And this from a guy who hates Obamacare.  But he does not let his dislike for ACA cloud his analytical ability.

The Republicans have no idea whether these 5 ideas would actually work any better than the ACA, or the pre-existing system.  There is not a single peer reviewed study that has even attempted to make a comparison, or has concluded that the plan will work.

But I can do it for you, Jack. Let’s look at the 5 components of the RSC plan.

1. Tax deductions for qualified health care? Why do you think the ACA went the subsidy route, Jack? Bc the odds of the poor using the deduction for health insurance are slim and none.  They will use it to pay their credit card bill first and go out drinking later. Bush floated this idea years ago and was immediately annihilated by critics.

2. Selling insurance across state lines? Google “race to the bottom” Jack and report back to me.

3. Tort reform? Please…we already have tort reform in the majority of states and damage caps in many. They have not worked. At best, they reduce health care costs 1 to 3 %. I dispute that by the way on a cost benefit basis.

4. Government payments for high risk pools? If you think the delays at the VA are a scandal, you should do a little reading at how well these state plans have worked for those with pre-existing conditions. Yeah let’s flood these plans with tax dollars and see how well they work.  Under the ACA, you can get that policy tomorrow, even if you need a heart transplant.

5. Expanded health savings accounts? Ok I like this idea but it is hardly a substitute for the comprehensive ACA provisions.

We still do not know whether Obamacare will work or not. But the ACA is the work of the most PHDs since the space program. The RSC plan is just something thrown together by the REpubs in an attempt to show they have a plan. No independent experts have vetted it.

 I’ll go with the academics as a matter of policy and certainly, as far as individuals are concerned Obamacare is far, far superior solely bc it eliminates the annual and lifetime caps.

No matter what happens to us as we near the end of life, we will be covered by insurance.

 
When the Republicans can offer something like that, Jack, get back to me. Until then, St. Croix is right – the Republicans have no plan

Many of the old people, who I know, can't hear their phone, don't know how to use it, forget to turn the ringer on, etc., etc. etc. In short, many of the people who want to talk to them can't get through to them.  

-- Modified on 6/24/2014 5:53:53 PM

You are such a prince, Jack. Guess us “rich folks” are the only ones who should be queried.

         Here is why "the poor" most certainly do count if we are taking a poll on the “popularity” of Obamacare.  The Affordable Care Act makes substantial improvements to state Medicaid programs. Eligibility is expanded; enrollees receive the minimum benefits the ACA requires for insurance policies; prescription drug coverage is improve; more child health programs; improved medical records; get tough on Medicaid doctors provisions -the list goes on.

        I’d guess that nearly 100% of Medicaid enrollees who understand how the ACA improved Medicaid would vote “hell yes” in a poll.  Your telephone surveys don’t even reach the poor who lack phones – I’d guess the percentage of land lines in public housing is quite low (Rasmussen “corrects” for this by doing  an online survey but "the poor" don’t have computers either Jack) - and even if we assume the surveys reach a representative sampling, they are still invalid bc the average Medicaid enrollee –just like you Jack - is unaware of the improvements to Medicaid wrought by Obamacare.

       Indeed, if someone as educated, intelligent, and informed about health care as you are is clueless about this, how could you expect the average Medicad enrollee to have information sufficient to make an informed decision when contracted over the phone by a robocaller?

      Once you add in the knowledegable poor to your poll, Jack, that “55%” disapproval (Rasmussen says only 35% of voters  rate the system as poor)  figure starts sinking …about as fast as your post – well, maybe not that fast LOL.

 
     Finally, Jack, I could not help but notice you did not give us the poll figures for repealing Obamacare. Any particular reason for that? LOL