Today President Obama told state governors that repealing the healthcare reform bill was not negotiable. He said he does understand that different states may have better options specific for their states and as long as these states come up with a healthcare plan that provides at least the coverage of the Federal Law without raising the deficit, states will be able to opt out of the healthcare reform bill in prior to 2017 where this option was codified in the law.
This is an excellent maneuver on the part of the president. Firstly by rightfully tying healthcare reform to the budget and then giving the states options, he neutralizes to major tenets of the Tea Party, fiscal responsibility and states’ rights. Interesting enough these were written into the law without much news coverage. It must be noted that this was the only President successful in laying a national framework for healthcare after being tried by both Democratic and Republican presidents.
Many of the Red States opposing this law are likely the ones that will benefit the most from it. That said, the Federal Government that they hate has set a baseline with healthcare reform. They claim they can do better though to date they are much worse off than the rest of the country. In effect the President is calling their bluff.
Texas has one of the highest rates of uninsured. Texas has a budget deficit in excess of 23 billion dollars. The budget proposals thus far will balance the budget partially by denying even more care to the neediest yet our state refused healthcare reform monies. The President with this one speech has done more for healthcare reform than all of last year as it finally brings to the state their responsibility sans Federal Healthcare Reform.
When residents see that the states are unable to do better or that any changes that cost their citizens more relative to the Federal Government’s program, they will be unmasked for their demagoguery. This bill should have been much better. It should however best be viewed as a framework that will be revisited several time over several years to build upon.
Unfortunately with the misinformation campaign we will transfer many more trillions in wealth from the middle class to the upper classes before we converge on what will be a must for our aging country, Medicare for All, a Single Payer System. While many are disappointed it did not occur in this cycle they must understand that ultimately sanity will prevail.
My Book: As I See It: Class Warfare The Only Resort To Right Wing Doom
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