So the House Republicans are thrilled that they are forcing President Obama and White House staff to also waste time on Obamacare repeal by having to veto the legislation, write a statement about why he's vetoing it, etc. House Speaker Paul Ryan is so giddy about it, in fact, that he's yelling about it in on Twitter.
He's also lying. That's because the money raised for the law is not coming from individual income taxes. And because this repeal would cost trying to keep their insurance dearly.
[T]he bill would eliminate the requirement that adult Americans carry insurance, while still requiring insurers to offer policies to everyone regardless of how healthy they might be, and without charging higher premiums to people who've been sick.
That's a disastrous combination because it would encourage people to obtain coverage only when they need care, then drop it as soon as they're healthy again. Insurers would be left to cover only those who are the costliest to insure. Premiums would quickly rise, then rise more each year as fewer and fewer people signed up for coverage that was increasingly unaffordable.
It also does away with the federal subsidies roughly 80 percent of the people purchasing Obamacare have to help pay their premiums. So the premiums would spike hugely, and people wouldn't be able to pay them. Even if they were saving on taxes (which they're not) those savings would be completely obliterated by insurance premium hikes.
Oh, and by the way, Ryan and his buddies still don't have a replacement plan.
Friday, Jan 8, 2016 · 6:06:47 PM +00:00 · Joan McCarter
As House Republicans were definitely counting on and needing to have happen, President Obama vetoed the bill with little fanfare.
"Rather than re-fighting old political battles by once again voting to repeal basic protections that provide security for the middle class, members of Congress should be working together to grow the economy, strengthen middle-class families, and create new jobs," Obama wrote.
"Because of the harm this bill would cause to the health and financial security of millions of Americans, it has earned my veto," he added.