PH - come on... a bipartisan bill that didn't get bipartisan support? Newsflash - if a bill received 0% support from one side of the political spectrum that means it isn't bipartisan. The Republicans didn't want anything to do with ACA. Call it obstructionism, call it Obama hate, call it foresight...whatever you want to call it - but they did not want this, did not support this, and have decried ACA every chance they have had (even going so far as to hold meaningless votes when new members of Congress enter...so they can put their dissapproving stamp on record).
Secondly, you mean that businesses were in the planning stages of how they could best survive the added burden of more regulation and more obligation to their employees? Shocker! But again - we go back to the point. Business haven't had a chance to screw the system...neither have individuals. Because Obama squashed the Act before it was implemented (or delayed it).
And this is certainly not normal operating procedure. This is a massive overhaul of about 15% of our national economy that was railroaded through government in a strictly partisan matter ... But then once signed into law the president just decides he can ignore the law and change it how he sees fit. I am sorry, but that is not business as usual.
1.
The Affordable Care Act is built on the same scaffolding as former Gov. Mitt Romney’s health reform approach in Massachusetts. Both reforms create new coverage options through insurance reforms and Medicaid expansions, improve the affordability of coverage, and require shared responsibility for health care financing across individuals, employers, and taxpayers.
2. The new law requires all individuals to hold health coverage—
an idea advanced by Stuart Butler and Ed Haislmaier of the Heritage Foundation as far back as 1989.
Other conservative scholars and Republican policymakers who have embraced the idea of shared responsibility include Mark Pauly, a health economist at the University of Pennsylvania; Sen. John Chafee; a group of the health care law’s cosponsors—including Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT)—who introduced similar legislation in 1993; and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
3. The Affordable Care Act requires health insurers to pool the risk of small businesses and individuals through the health insurance exchange—thus giving them greater bargaining power and better rates. Enabling individuals, small businesses, and trade associations to band together and obtain better prices was
a key plank in the House Republican leadership’s “Solutions for America.”
4. The Affordable Care Act gives young adults new coverage options. These include staying on their family coverage through age 26
just like the proposal the House Republicans offered during the health reform debate.
5. Employers may automatically enroll their workers in health insurance. This was
proposed by the Republican Study Group and the House Republican leadership during the health care debate last year.
6. Employers may use premium incentives and other tools to encourage workers to participate in a range of workplace wellness programs.
This idea enjoyed widespread Republican support. Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE), the Republican House leadership, and the Republican Study Committee introduced proposals during last year’s health care debate. A bipartisan group of senators led by Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) also championed this approach in the Senate HELP Committee.
7. States may use federal funding to experiment with medical liability reforms. This is
similar to the proposals advanced by Sens. Mike Enzi (R-WY), Richard Burr (R-NC), and Tom Coburn (R-OK), and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) during the reform debate.8. Families and businesses may purchase coverage across state lines. This was an idea shepherded by Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) and others, including the House Republican leadership, during the health care debate.
9. States may pursue their own approaches to health reform as long as they can provide equivalent or better coverage at a comparable or lower cost.
The House Republican leadership championed state innovation in their alternative proposal to health reform.
10. The Affordable Care Act establishes high-risk pools that provide access to health coverage for those who generally are unable to find affordable insurance in the individual market, particularly those with a preexisting condition. This is
an idea Republicans endorsed in their alternative proposal.
Really?