I’m seeing a lot of chatter on how one thing Republicans can do in January is “Repeal and Delay”.
It’s going to be a long, hard slog to create a “replace” plan. In spite of repeated claims that it’s right around the corner, they really haven’t done it in the last 6 years. It seems silly to think they’ll get to one fast. Many won’t want to wait for that to finally claim victory in “getting rid of the hated Obamacare”. This allows them to pass a law, claim victory, and punt the actual change to after the midterms (which will avoid a debacle like we saw in 2010 for the Democrats).
Plus, some think this will put the Democrats over a barrel. If they don’t come to the table and reach an agreement, then the whole thing will blow up, and Republicans can blame it on them.
I don’t know if I agree with that. I don’t see Democrats suddenly caving any more than the Republicans caved in 2009 and 2010. I think they’ll be able to spin that the Republicans broke the system, and they own it. At the very least, I think we’ll see a standoff.
In fact, I think it’s very possible that we’ll get our new “doc fix”. Every six months to a year, everyone will panic that they health care system is about to blow up, right up to the last second there will be news stories predicting armageddon, and then Congress will agree to “kick the can” down the road another six months. The difference here is that instead of just doctor reimbursement being the thing held ransom, the health insurance and health care of more than 20 million people will be, as well as all the industries that depend on stability for financial success. So basically all of them.
About a sixth of our economy will be brought to the brink every time a deadline approaches.
I’d rather not see this happen. I think the constant brinksmanship would be bad for all of us. Unfortunately, when it comes to health care reform, kicking the can down the road is one of our government’s specialties.
