The Day To Day Operations of ObamaCare from the Cleveland Clinic CEO

[Hoonose]

Originally Posted by lifeexplorer

Because the Democrats killed those bills before they even come forward.

Medicare part D was very definitely a Pub act. Not their best work IMO.

[WRnative]

<<
Under the 2003 law that established the prescription drug benefit portion of Medicare, called Part D, the government is banned from directly negotiating prices with industry. Instead, private health insurance companies negotiate prices. The drug program, which beneficiaries can choose to add on to traditional Medicare, covers 39 million seniors and younger people with disabilities.

The drug program was passed by the Republican-controlled Congress at the time, and signed into law by President George W. Bush. Drug companies had lobbied to include the ban and some lawmakers later unsuccessfully tried to lift it.>>

Why Clinton, Sanders and Trump's Drug Negotiation Plans Are Unlikely | US News

From earlier in this same article:

<<Republican front-runner Donald Trump surprised many when he endorsed a proposal that has been on President Barack Obama's wish list for years: allowing government-run Medicare to set drug prices to reduce the growth in healthcare costs.

"When it comes time to negotiate the cost of drugs, we are going to negotiate like crazy," Trump said at a campaign event in New Hampshire earlier this month.

This straightforward-sounding proposal has also been endorsed by Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

A Kaiser Family Foundation poll shows that 93 percent of Democrats and 74 percent of Republicans support the idea. But like a lot of promises candidates make during campaigns, this one will be difficult to keep. For one, it would require an act of Congress. The pharmaceutical industry, which has a strong lobbying presence, opposes the idea of government-set prices.>>

Unfortunately, it appears that Trump has caved into the Republican House leaders on Medicare negotiated drug prices.

Here's a discussion of the Republican Party platform on healthcare approved at its convention:

<<And despite Trump's statements about letting Medicare negotiate prices with pharmaceutical companies, there is no discussion about how to control soaring prescription drug costs.

The platform promises that on the first day in office, a Republican president will use “legitimate waiver authority” to “halt” the “advance” of the Affordable Care Act, and then, with the unanimous support of congressional Republicans, sign its repeal. But the platform makes no mention of what Republicans would replace it with to help consumers afford health insurance. In addition, legal experts say there is no waiver authority in the law that would allow a president to block enforcement of the ACA.>>

http://www.modernhealthcare.com/arti...BLOG/160719888

<<A top GOP chairman on Tuesday shot down one of Donald Trump’s most high-profile healthcare pitches: allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices.

When asked at a healthcare panel at the Republican National Convention if he would back Trump's proposal, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) flatly said, "No," prompting laugher in the room. >>

GOP chair won't back Trump on negotiating Medicare drug prices | TheHill

Anybody who argues that the Republican-controlled Congress ever will pass a bill to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices is being disingenuous. However, if a Democratic President uses the "bully pulpit" to push for Medicare negotiated drug prices, some Republicans might change their position despite the great power of the pharma lobbyists.

From page 36 of the Democratic Party platform:

<< Democrats will also fight to make sure that Medicare will negotiate lower prices with drug manufacturers.>>

https://www.demconvention.com/wp-con...6-no-lines.pdf

[jacqueg]

Originally Posted by Serious Conversation

All I've seen is that the people at the low end without insurance still can't afford the premiums on increasingly fewer offered plans, even if everyone is theoretically offered coverage. Everyone else's costs are going through the roof with the increased regulation, general overhead, and the fact that only the sick are buying insurance, and people are only buying when they expect they might need coverage.

Your state - Tennessee - is one of the 25 that sued to be able to opt out of the Medicaid expansion. That expansion is what is allowing states that did accept it to deal with the affordability gap you are seeing.

Opting Out Of Medicaid Expansion: The Health And Financial Impacts

[jacqueg]

Originally Posted by Hoonose

Medicare part D was very definitely a Pub act. Not their best work IMO.

No kidding, it is just awful. I had just joined AARP when that act was passed. I unjoined it, and will never go back. The Bush administration craved AARP support on this, and AARP gave it with no conditions. It was a golden opportunity to have held out for negotiations on drug prices. The AARP lost quite a few members over that.

[Hoonose]

Originally Posted by jacqueg

No kidding, it is just awful. I had just joined AARP when that act was passed. I unjoined it, and will never go back. The Bush administration craved AARP support on this, and AARP gave it with no conditions. It was a golden opportunity to have held out for negotiations on drug prices. The AARP lost quite a few members over that.

No doubt they must have felt they were doing what's best for seniors. Part D has not been a total failure, but certainly has fallen short.

[War Beagle]

The absolute dumbest thing about American healthcare is that we spend significantly more public dollars on healthcare per capita than any other Western country and the prices are still high and not everyone has regular coverage. Think about the level of governmental ineptitude and idiocy that requires.

Granted, everyone has coverage because they can waddle their fat rear ends to the ER for sniffles, which is a whole other level of stupid in and of itself