Healthcare

Rand Paul Opposes Repeal and Delay

Written by SK Ashby

Rand, son of Ron, can dress this up with a very Randian call for Freedumb, but we all know what's really at stake here.

Senator Paul wrote an op-ed for Rare calling on Congress to immediately replace Obamacare rather than wait several years to do so.

In so many words, Rand says he's concerned about the financial stability of the insurance industry, but if you read between the lines you can see that he's concerned about himself.

If Congress fails to vote on a replacement at the same time as repeal, the repealers risk assuming the blame for the continued unraveling of Obamacare. For mark my words, Obamacare will continue to unravel and wreak havoc for years to come. [...]

My fear is that if you leave part of Obamacare in place (the dictate that insurance companies must sell insurance to individuals with pre-existing conditions) then you will see an acceleration of adverse selection and ultimately mass bankruptcy of the healthcare insurance industry.

Don’t misunderstand me. We should repeal Obamacare, but partial repeal will only accelerate the current chaos and may eventually lead to calls for a taxpayer bailout of insurance companies.

I agree with Rand Paul that repealing Obamacare without passing a replacement will be a disaster that could assume a physical form made of marshmallow, but the problem for him and every other Republican in Congress is that every possible alternative they've proposed is garbage.

Rand, son of Ron, is correct that they're courting disaster, but his solution of "freedom" is not a solution at all. Selling insurance across state lines, or whateverthefuck this means...

What should we replace Obamacare with? Perhaps we should try freedom

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...is not a replacement for Obamacare.

The heart of the matter is Rand Paul (R-KY) is concerned because Obamacare has been a sweeping success in Kentucky where an overwhelming majority of his constituents depend on it. Rand's constituents are among the most financially vulnerable people in the country who will suffer severely if Republicans actually follow through on their promises.

Most of his constituents voted for despot-elect Donald Trump and, as far as I'm concerned they deserve what's coming to them, but Rand Paul's primary concern is Rand Paul.

The most amusing part of the coming "taxpayer bailout of insurance companies," which is not an implausible scenario, is that Republicans have accused President Obama of bailing out insurance companies through an essential mechanism of the law they're going to repeal.