trumpcare revisited

TRUMPCARE REVISITED

as i wrote recently
i plan to keep an open mind about the trumpcare plan

i really dont care which party or group puts forth a new plan
as long as its better and protects all americans

so i stopped yesterday and watched the press conference
of secretary price as he presented and talked about the
new proposed plan

i call it proposed since what starts out is not always
what gets spit out at the other end
after going through congress
getting eaten up by special interests with a lot of money
i guarantee that big pharma health insurance companies
hospital groups all are going to be spending big bucks
to both sides i must add to get what they want in the
new bill

eg
when a bill a starts out it will be bill z in the end

then
i notice dark clouds on the horizon already
conservative republicans dont like it
democrats dont like it
those with lots and lots of money with influence
dont like it eg the koch brothers
so this trumpcare may have an uphill ride

but
the republicans have promised theyd do one
we are starting to get closer to the mid term elections
those will influence what gets done
if this bill is not passed quickly

i realize that this is way a  new health system is going
to be built
piece by piece over time
of course thats what got us in this mess before
piece mealing it

the floor really needs to be swept clean
and
we completely create a new system
the goal
affordable
covers all
has good outcomes
our outcomes are bad compared to other industrialized countries
really an embarrassment not good

remember through all this
we are only talking about 7% of our population that this directly affects
it looks like half of those will eventually lose coverage
granted the rules that apply to the trumpcare will filter back to
those who have company insurance or government sponsored insurance
this will affect our coverage

so far
some of the good stuff from obamacare is being saved
the preexisting conditions part is being saved
but there will be high risk cost that will be applied
expect to pay more if you are high risk whatever that means

no lifetime limits on coverage thank goodness
one premature infant could wipe folks out forever
a 26 year old could stay on parents insurance

i saw no mention of the requirement for preventative care
im sure thats addresed somewhere in the bill

you are not required to have health insurance
i know that stuck in everyones craw
i understand why it was there to force healthy folks into
the insurance pool

block grants theres that word again will be used to cover folks
on medicaid however the numbers on that will drop in a few years
there will be a lot of folks left out of the system when that happens

if you drop your insurance and then get back into the system later
you will pay a 30% penalty on your premiums
this one doesnt stick in the craw as bad as the other mandate

the older you are the more premiums you will pay
the premiums will be allowed to go up 5x rather than 3x
uh oh theres nothing worse than a group of angry grayhead folks

he didnt say they would get rid of those death panels

then there is the tax credits and the health savings accounts
it seems to be helpful but it will not be as much as under obamacare
if you are lower income these may not help you as much
my guess is a lot of folks will go back to just not having
health insurance again
we all pay for this one way or the other

they have thrown the abortion issue in the new program
that will automatically lead to a lot of opposition
that the trumpcare doesnt really need
they should leave this out of the bill
add it back later if thats what the system wants

i also heard secretary price say
if you like your doctor and your hospital and your insurance
you can keep them

me thinks he should not have said that
thats not ever been true even before obamacare
its doubtful trumpcare will do this either

so my guess is
this trumpcare bill will change as it moves through
a lot of people will lose coverage
a lot of people just wont get insurance
most of us wont be affected much by these rules except
we will be paying more as we age or if we have health issues
our place in the health system rating compared to the rest of the
world will not improve

but
like i said
i plan to watch this all carefully
listening to both sides of the arguments

i personally am pleased with my health care coverage
i dont want to change
i will hold secretary price personally responsible

the organicgreen doctor