ObamaCare Bushwacked, Well, Sort Of

Jeb Bush is presenting his plan to New Hampshire voters to repeal and replace ObamaCare while keeping 2 of its provisions - guaranteeing coverage for those with pre-existing conditions and allowing young adults under 26 to stay on their parents’ plans.

The Buag plan “promotes innovation,” “lowers cost,” and “returns power to states,” by, among other things, by giving more tax credits, putting a catastrophic lid on health costs, expanding Health Saving Accounts limits to $6550 for individuals, allowing small businesses to contribute more tax-free benefits to workers, permitting workers to choose lower priced plans with fewer benefits rather than maintaining the present laws which calls for 10 essential benefits for all plans.

Bush would leave states in charge of overseeing a “transition plan” for covering 17 million people who now get coverage under the health law. States would also be responsible for crafting plans to cover those with pre-existing conditions . He would give states the option of adopting more flexible plans to cover those in their states on Medicaid. Finally, he would cap benefits that employers get for providing health insurance for workers.

the Bush plan will play well with voters is unknown. Bush tends to be more thoughtful than most candidates in presenting details for reforming and replacing ObamaCare. Most voters say they want ObamaCare improved but not repealed. Hillary Clinton supports health plans with high deductibles tha consumers must pay before benefits kick in. Bernie Sanders favors a Medicare-for-all plan, the costs of which would run up to $15 trillion over the next decade.

To date, Jeb Bush has lagged badly in the polls. His health care proposals, while thoughtful and credible, so far have not galvanized voters, even those 175 million Americans enrolled in employer-sponsored health plans.

One problem, according to J Bush, is that “you can’t fix everything that was broken in the first place

A second problem is that health plan details get lost in the technical and jargon underbrush, and you can’t cut through the underbrush in one whack, when 17 million people are protected by the underbrush.

A third problem, such as what to do about the 40% levee on “Cadillac “ health plans whose value exceeds $12,500 for individual and $27,500 for families doesn’t kick in until 2018, an infinity in politics, and the 2016 election could change everything, and is unlikely to raise Bush in the polls in Republican primary state elections.