They got nuthin'.
Congressional Republicans have a big job ahead of them in the next five months. They
have to convince the Supreme Court that the nation's healthcare system won't be thrown into chaos if the court strikes down federal subsidies under Obamacare.
Good luck with that.
"It's an opportunity that we've failed at for two decades. We've not been particularly close to being on the same page on this subject for two decades," said a congressional Republican health policy aide who was granted anonymity to speak candidly. "So this idea — we're ready to go? Actually no, we're not."
That might be the most frustrating job in government, being a health policy aide for Republicans. At least he or she isn't overworked.
"There are a lot of ideas," Senate Finance Committee Chair Orrin Hatch (UT) told TPM on Tuesday. "If the case goes the way I think it should go ... then we've gotta come up with a way of resolving the problems we're in. We're quietly looking at all that and trying to do that."
For now, the GOP's goal is to "make the world safe for [Chief Justice John] Roberts to overturn" the Obamacare subsidies, said one prominent outside conservative close to Republican lawmakers and the case, who requested anonymity to speak candidly. "What I worry about is — the goal is to not let our guys look like they're going crazy and letting the world spin into chaos." In other words, Republicans must show they're willing and able to deal with the issue.
They've had five years. And even if they do come up with a plan? Find out by reading below the fold.
One big challenge, the Republican aide said, is that a GOP plan would be unlikely to cover as many people, making it an easy piñata for Democrats to pound. "That's the brutal truth. We have a problem with that for very specific reasons. We don't have good responses," the aide said. "Show me the constituent in a town hall meeting who you can tell it's OK for them to lose their health insurance."
And because there are even more Republicans who haven't had a chance to prove to their tea party voters and the Koch brothers that they really hate Obamacare:
Thomas Miller, a health policy expert at the American Enterprise Institute, said Republicans are unlikely to have a "fully formed" plan before the ruling. He said it would be a slow burn—they may have to "let off some steam" with repeal votes before they vote on serious solutions.
Because 50+ repeal votes in the last four years just hasn't been enough to let off all that steam.
Republicans also aren't ready to call on their states to set up exchanges, likely because conservatives could attack that as supporting Obamacare. Asked about the prospect Sens. Jerry Moran (R-KS), Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Alexander demurred. Each would face a situation where many of their constituents lose insurance subsidies and perhaps their coverage.
And we know how
their constituents are going to feel about that. Congressional Republicans might just get their wish that the court crushes Obamacare. But as that poor, beleaguered policy aide says, "Our guys feel like:
King wins, game over, we win. No. In fact:
King wins, they [the Obama administration and Democrats] hold a lot of high cards. […] And we hold what?"
Be careful what you wish for.