Category Archives: Trumpcare

Is private health insurance as “beloved” as Trump says?

Posted on by
Reply

 

President Trump is known for bizarre tweets, but this one does Democrats a particularly big favor.

Polling data shows Americans clearly DON’T love private health insurance companies and prefer Medicare.

Only 8% of Medicare beneficiaries 65 or over rated their coverage “fair” or “poor,” the nonprofit Commonwealth Fund found.

By comparison, 20% of those with employer-based coverage gave their insurance plan low marks. And 33% of people who bought insurance on their own reported unhappiness with their coverage.

In fact, trust in private health insurance companies has reached an all-time low.

With premiums and deductibles “far too high” as President Trump said, who wouldn’t want to lose their private health insurance in favor of Medicare?

Indeed, 56 percent of Americans surveyed by the Kaiser Family Foundation would prefer to get their health insurance from the federal government…and government health care has become even more popular with the phrase “Medicare for All” — phrasing that Trump used in his tweet.

Republicans are terrified of the idea of Medicare for All because of the additional tax burden it would create, particularly for their wealthy donors and the damage to private insurance schemes.

But would that be such a big loss? Is Trump saying that the Democrats are threatening us with a good time?

Health policy wonks of all stripes agree: GOP health plan is terrible

Posted on by
Reply

Despite the terrible news, I was heartened to see the phrase “healthcare policy wonks” in this article. It’s a shame these wonks weren’t included in writing the Republicans’ American Health Care Act (AHCA).

Experts from across the ideological spectrum who actually understand health care policy know that the GOP’s health care plan doesn’t pass muster.

Here are a few objections.

From the left

The repeal bill will transfer money from low-income and middle-class Americans to millionaires.
Topher Spiro and Harry Stein, Center for American Progress

From the center

Some parts of the country will see very large financial hits even if they retain coverage.
Matthew Fiedler, Brookings Institute

From the right

The flat credit will price many poor and vulnerable people out of the health insurance market.
Avik Roy, Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity and health policy adviser to Rick Perry, Marco Rubio, and Mitt Romney presidential campaigns

This bill misses the mark primarily because it fails to correct the features of Obamacare that drove up health care costs.
Edmund F. Haislmaier, The Heritage Foundation