The “Better Way” policy package that Ryan drafted earlier this year with the aid of his fellow House Republicans proposed a broad package of proposed Medicare reforms, ranging from the repeal of the IPAB to expanding the privately managed Medicare Advantage program to a full-blown overhaul of the Medicare system into a “premium support” model.
That would involve transforming Medicare from a largely single-payer federal program to a private model where seniors would be(sic) federal subsidies to buy private insurance — similar to the subsidies available to younger Americans who can now buy insurance on the ACA-mandated state marketplaces.
Medicare Advantage doesn't work for me because I'm a South Dakota resident and I never go there. Those programs tend to be local and require you to use their network of doctors. So that will be the end of traveling for us.
I don't know about you, but after two heart procedures, two ear drum rebuilds and three foot surgeries, I am not insurable. Is Ryan's plan going to do what the ACA did and forbid the use of pre-existing conditions to deny coverage? I'm pretty sure anyone who is 65 or older has something in their health history the the insurance companies won't like. Insurance premiums for the elderly are going to be punishing.
I am just sick to my stomach. The new EPA guy is a climate change denier. A key member of Trump's team is Ken Blackwell, who thinks being gay is a lifestyle choice. Trump has already said he's cutting spending for education in the first 100 days. This will allow further dumbing down of the country. Even I, a chronic pessimist, underestimated how bad this is going to be. I know many people are relying on the checks and balances provided by the three branches of government to control the amount of mayhem done, but when all three branches are controlled by the Republicans, it's hard to see where there will be many checks.
If this comes to pass, I wonder how the pensioners in Florida will feel about their support for Trump.
Then, there is this. Political correctness, aka good manners, dictated that while one could have such thoughts, one did not give voice to them. So much for that. The bullying of those who are not white males has already begun in schools and on the streets.
Even though it's not part of today's rant, I'm also concerned about the demise of the ACA, cuts in funding for the disabled and the hole being torn in the public safety net.
I promise I'm not going to make this a political blog. However, it's a journal of where I've been, and right now I am back on the edge.
So, I will leave you with this lovely image from today's hike in the Tucson Mountains.
My view is that I have done all that I can do and now is the time to give up, kick back and try not to worry. They have won and for at least the next two years they will be able to pretty much do what they want.
ReplyDeleteIt would have been nice if Mr. Ryan had not started off with a lie. That lie being that the ACA has caused problems with Medicare which need to be addressed. In fact, changes the ACA has made to Medicare will make it solvent for at least 10 years longer than before the ACA implementation.
You just have to accept that the GOP has an agenda that they will pursue by any means without any regard for facts or truth.
Our voices are irrelevant and thanks to GOP obstruction they have been so for the past 8 years.
We can only hope they don't screw it up too badly. As for climate change I have never believed anything would be done globally. The political will simply doesn't exist. Besides, how appropriate that the species who has caused so many extinctions will cause their own. The planet won't miss us.
Jim
You're right. I'm just not as far into the five stages of grief as I need to be.
DeleteI keep cycling through the stages of grief and keep getting stuck on ANGER. Hans keeps telling me that Drumpf is really more liberal than what he was spewing during his campaign in order to get votes and that he may very well swing left on actual policy...and that may very well be true based on some of the headlines I've been seeing. But I also know that his most trusted advisors are some of the most far right conservatives in office, and that scares the crap out of me.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty much high centered on anger. Pence scares me a lot.
DeleteExcellent post, Allison. I knew that Trump planned major changes to the ACA but was not aware about Medicare. That could be really bad, along with everything else you point out, especially the sickening hate and bigotry that is coming out of the closet now. Trump has really opened the floodgates on saying whatever the h*ll you think with no regard for others. I always thought we were better than that as a country!
ReplyDeleteOn a positive note, it is refreshing to know that at least a few other RVers are on "our side". As we've traveled through the country this year (mostly in bright red states), we have felt very out of place and outnumbered among the vast majority of other campers. It was pretty obvious most were Republicans and likely Trump supporters. As we drove or rode our bikes on rural roads, we saw probably a hundred Trump yard signs for every one Hillary sign, which did make me fear for the election results. When we landed in Orange County, NC (very blue and where we used to live) for the past two weeks, including Election Day, finally the blue "Stronger Together" sighs prevailed. I started breathing a sigh of relief. Here were my people, here was sanity. The election was saved! But NOT. Like the pollsters and pundits, I was dead wrong in my eternal optimism. I can only hope that I, you, and all of us on the blue side are wrong about how dangerous a Trump Administration will be.