Health Care Mysteries

L: This is just me wondering how it is possible that Republicans have been bitterly complaining about the Affordable Care Act for as long as it’s been in place and announcing over and over that they will repeal and replace it as soon as they get a chance, and yet no one seems to have thought to actually craft a replacement before now. Why hasn’t someone (or multiple someones, really) pulled out a sample bill that they have written to get everyone started?

Although I agree with the underlying impulse of trying to make healthcare accessible and affordable to all, I always thought the ACA was a terrible bill. The healthcare system is extremely complicated, and “affordable” not only involves insurance coverage but medical costs. No bill should try to tackle the whole thing at once. Seems to me that a flock of less comprehensive bills, done over a long enough period of time to see effects before making the next change, would be much more sensible.

I think trying to get as many people as possible covered by health insurance is an admirable goal, but without attacking the incredible and unsustainable rise in costs, nothing will ever work. Even without all the ridiculous polarization around this topic, there is no bill that can be crafted all at once that can deal with the area of the federal budget that is the single most important component of our enormous (and growing) national debt.

J: ‘Tis a mystery to me, too.