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What does “funding healthcare” mean in this context? I ask because, in my experience, most of the people on the left use the term healthcare with the implicatio

What does “funding healthcare” mean in this context? I ask because, in my experience, most of the people on the left use the term healthcare with the implication of adopting ‘single payer, free at the point of service’ - something far too radical for Republicans to support.

lotsofpulp 4y ago
It means any kind of idea to fund healthcare. Repubs have brought zero to the table other than cutting taxes. And cutting Medicaid expansion (reducing funding for healthcare) in Repub states. In general, “fund x” means a wealth transfer from wealthier people to poorer people to pay for “x”, and Repubs have no track record of this outside of military/police/security ventures.
- al_borland 4y ago
  Wasn't the ACA essentially the Republican plan? I didn't follow it closely, but I remember hearing at the time that Obama basically went with their plan, as it was the only way he could get some kind of health care reform passed. If Republicans believe that healthcare for working adults is best covered by the private sector, then the government doesn't need to do anything to fund that. If the government did take it over, there is no guarantee it would include mental health aspects or if it would just expand sick care to all. There are a lot of assumptions that a government funded plan will be the exact plan everyone wants, but that is very unlikely, because everyone wants something different.
  - lotsofpulp 4y ago
    ACA is not the Republicans’ plan, they solidly voted against it. See Senate vote by state: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordable_Care_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordable_Care_Act ACA only happened because of Democrats pushing for greater access to healthcare, but also had to heavily compromise to win the votes of a couple senators who had insurers’ interests at heart.
    - ModernMech 4y ago
      The ACA started as a Heritage Foundation plan, and it was implemented by Mitt Romney when he was MA gov. Republicans also added over 100 amendments to the bill that were accepted (and which watered it down significantly from what Democrats wanted). Republicans didn’t vote for it largely as a political strategy to not be seen as giving Obama a “win”. But the other poster is right that the ACA was essentially the “free market” conservative version of universal healthcare.
      - lotsofpulp 4y ago
        Whatever the history might be, I cannot label legislation that Republicans lockstep voted against and Democrats voted for as Republicans. And that Republicans have tried to dismantle ever since it was passed by Democrats. Even Romney would not pass as a Republican now, and definitely not anything that came out of Massachusetts in mid 2000s. And certainly, if Repubs had control of Congress in 2008, they would have never passed ACA, or any other broad wealth transfer mechanism like it.

lotsofpulp 4y ago

It means any kind of idea to fund healthcare. Repubs have brought zero to the table other than cutting taxes. And cutting Medicaid expansion (reducing funding for healthcare) in Repub states. In general, “fund x” means a wealth transfer from wealthier people to poorer people to pay for “x”, and Repubs have no track record of this outside of military/police/security ventures.

al_borland 4y ago
Wasn't the ACA essentially the Republican plan? I didn't follow it closely, but I remember hearing at the time that Obama basically went with their plan, as it was the only way he could get some kind of health care reform passed. If Republicans believe that healthcare for working adults is best covered by the private sector, then the government doesn't need to do anything to fund that. If the government did take it over, there is no guarantee it would include mental health aspects or if it would just expand sick care to all. There are a lot of assumptions that a government funded plan will be the exact plan everyone wants, but that is very unlikely, because everyone wants something different.
- lotsofpulp 4y ago
  ACA is not the Republicans’ plan, they solidly voted against it. See Senate vote by state: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordable_Care_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordable_Care_Act ACA only happened because of Democrats pushing for greater access to healthcare, but also had to heavily compromise to win the votes of a couple senators who had insurers’ interests at heart.
  - ModernMech 4y ago
    The ACA started as a Heritage Foundation plan, and it was implemented by Mitt Romney when he was MA gov. Republicans also added over 100 amendments to the bill that were accepted (and which watered it down significantly from what Democrats wanted). Republicans didn’t vote for it largely as a political strategy to not be seen as giving Obama a “win”. But the other poster is right that the ACA was essentially the “free market” conservative version of universal healthcare.
    - lotsofpulp 4y ago
      Whatever the history might be, I cannot label legislation that Republicans lockstep voted against and Democrats voted for as Republicans. And that Republicans have tried to dismantle ever since it was passed by Democrats. Even Romney would not pass as a Republican now, and definitely not anything that came out of Massachusetts in mid 2000s. And certainly, if Repubs had control of Congress in 2008, they would have never passed ACA, or any other broad wealth transfer mechanism like it.