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Congress bears down on budget deal

15 Dec 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“Make your hearts firm,” counsels the author of the second reading this Sunday; “do not complain, brothers and sisters, about one another.” Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives are encouraging dissenters in their ranks to stop complaining and fall in line behind a two-year budget deal negotiated with Democrats behind closed doors, indicating that the normally rambunctious group of lawmakers is not spoiling for a year-end fiscal fight.Despite conservative groups and some Republicans in the Senate denouncing the $85 billion plan, the Republican-controlled House could vote as early as Thursday to lock into place a measure that would minimize chances of any further government shutdowns at least until October of 2015. Passage in the House, just before the chamber recesses for the year on Friday, would all but guarantee the same in the Senate, probably next week.The sea-change in a Congress which opinion polls show is scorned by the public also came as Republicans are investing nearly all of their energy in showcasing problems with President Barack Obama's landmark healthcare law. Another messy fight over the budget could have taken attention away from the program known as Obamacare after Republicans have scored public relations gains from its flawed rollout in October.Republicans have openly acknowledged they also did not want a budget fight to tamp down consumer confidence during the Christmas buying season which is so crucial to retailers. At the same time they have resisted Democratic efforts during budget negotiations to extend federal benefits for the long-term unemployed, which are set to expire later this month.With 1.3 million people set to lose those benefits amid a 7 percent national jobless rate, the Obama administration said the economy could take a hit as long-term unemployed people have less money to spend.Homily hint: Budgets express priorities and values. What does your personal budget reveal? You might be surprised to compare how much goes to personal entertainment and how much of it goes to helping others. The holiday season is a good time to reflect on your spending priorities. Sources: Articles by David Lawder and Thomas Ferraro for Reuters and Mark Trumbull for the Christian Science Monitor

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Healthcare subsidies under attack

08 Mar 2015 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday’s first reading, Moses receives the divine law that declares what must be done and must not be done. Before the Supreme Court this week: yet another challenge to the Affordable Health Care Act, this one claiming that the law as written forbids healthcare subsidies in all states that have not established their own healthcare exchanges. Skeptics of the merits of the case abound, but the outcome of the challenge will remain uncertain until the high court rules, likely in June. Homily hint: It is perhaps a sign of these polarized times that years after healthcare reform became the law of the land the nation’s political leadership remains deeply divided and continues to fight over the law. Should there be a statute of limitations on carrying a political axe? Support leaders who work together, not those who sow division. For more on the challenge to the heathcare rule, see: U.S. Supreme Court split over Obamacare challenge; Supreme Court appears split in challenge to Affordable Care Act

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Take care with Obamacare repeal and replace

15 Jan 2017 - Preaching the News for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

After having “waited, waited for the Lord,” the psalmist is able to affirm that the Lord’s “law is within my heart!” The American people have been waiting to see how Republican lawmakers plan to handle the Affordable Care Act (ACA) now that they control all the levers of government. And it seems an overwhelming majority of the public disapprove of any plan to repeal Obamacare without having a ready replacement at hand, according to a poll released last week. Judging by the letter-writing and lobbying in the first week of the new congressional session, many healthcare and business groups agree. A poll released last Friday by the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that 75 percent of Americans say they either want lawmakers to leave Obamacare alone or repeal it only when they can replace it with a new healthcare law. Twenty percent of those polled say they want to see the law killed immediately. But Drew Altman, CEO of the Kaiser Family Foundation, says the poll shows lawmakers don't have a strong mandate to repeal Obamacare. "Most of the American people said they're either against repealing it or they're against repealing it unless Republicans put a replacement plan on the table," Altman says. "They want to see what comes next before they see the ACA repealed." Americans are about equally divided over whether Congress should repeal Obamacare, the poll shows. But of the 48 percent who want the law rolled back, about 60 percent want lawmakers to wait until they have an alternative plan. Some observers believe Obamacare may be safer than it seems. The reason is simple but underappreciated: Because of Obamacare, Republicans have inherited an obligation to ensure access to affordable health insurance for every American—a duty the federal government didn’t have before. They could disavow the burden, but they haven’t. Indeed, President-elect Donald Trump has embraced it. During his campaign, Trump promised to enact a "beautiful new plan [for] much better healthcare at a much lower cost." After the election, he repeated the pledge, saying: "Everybody’s got to be covered." In the short run, that means Obamacare has to continue operating until a new plan is ready. Indeed, Democrats have already been taunting Republicans with what some call the Pottery Barn rule: “You break it, you own it.” “We’re talking about a three-year transition,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said. “People are being understandably cautious to make sure nobody’s dropped through the cracks.” Republicans in the Senate and House are hard at work on a new plan, drawing on conservative proposals drafted well before the election. The irony is that the drafts most likely to succeed share some basic features with Obamacare. They agree on the basic goal of universal coverage—or, at least, universal access to affordable insurance. They agree on subsidies to make it possible for low- and middle-income families to afford insurance—in most cases, in the form of tax credits (“refundable” credits, so they would go even to people who don’t pay taxes). Some Republican plans would even keep the state insurance exchanges that Obamacare set up—and in at least one case, the federal healthcare.gov exchange as well. There are big differences too, all of which make the GOP proposals less generous and less universal in coverage than Obamacare. Most of the Republican alternatives would push many people into bare-bones catastrophic insurance policies, with less coverage than Obamacare offers. (They would pay less, but get less.) They would cover fewer people too—at least 4 million fewer, according to one forecast. And there’s a controversial divergence on guaranteed coverage for people with preexisting conditions: The GOP plans provide it only for users who have maintained “continuous coverage” for some period of time. James Capretta, a conservative health policy expert at the American Enterprise Institute, believes the political imperative will be for the GOP to deliver something credible on its promises. “They’re halfway to where they need to go,” he says. "They need to make sure everybody in the country can get health insurance if they want it . . . and that the prices are right—that this looks to most Americans like a reasonable way to get health insurance. Voters and history will judge them to have failed if the end result is millions of people becoming uninsured again." Lessons drawn from the readings Republicans leaders have been attacking the healthcare law for years, with leaders such as Trump, House Speaker Paul Ryan, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell all saying repeal of the law would be an immediate priority for the new Congress. They are now singing a slightly different tune. The sobering reality of the task in front of them has perhaps led them to a place similar to that of the psalmist, who, after waiting on the Lord was able to proclaim that “He put a new song into my mouth.” The gung-ho attitude seems to have cooled in recent days, as Republicans leaders have cited the need to ensure that the more than 20 million people who have gained healthcare through the ACA retain their coverage. Ryan cited the need for a "stable" transition to a replacement during a press conference Wednesday, while Vice president-elect Mike Pence stressed "an orderly and smooth transition to a market-based healthcare reform system." Other Republicans lawmakers, including Sens. Rand Paul and John McCain, also emphasized the need to be cautious on repeal without a replacement plan in place. Final thought in light of the news Healthcare reform has convulsed the nation like no other issue the over the past eight years. No other advanced industrialized nation seems to be tied into knots over healthcare the way we have been. The issue presents perhaps the greatest challenge to our nation’s ability to move forward with a sense of unity. Let’s find common ground and move forward together so that we can create a system we can all live with—literally!

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Quote of the week

15 Jan 2017 - Preaching the News for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

“In two weeks I will no longer be a politician, but I'll still be a citizen. I envy you so much right now, because I would love to be on the field.” —President Obama, in a closed-door meeting with Democratic members of Congress called to strategize about defending the Affordable Care Act Obama tells Democrats: 'Don't rescue' Republicans on 'Trumpcare'

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Fact of the week

15 Jan 2017 - Preaching the News for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

The cost of employer-provided coverage has gone up since passage of the ACA. But the annual price hikes were considerably larger in the decade before the law was passed. FACT CHECK: Once Again, Lawmakers Are Stretching The Facts On Obamacare

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