162 Comments
User's avatar
Robert Eckert's avatar

"we would cut health care in half" doesn't mean what she thinks it means. It reminds me of the Tory leader in the UK (sorry, I forget which one) who promised to "cut homeless people in half."

Expand full comment
Lefty Wright's avatar

Sorry Nikki, but health insurance companies are not taking 50% of the health care dollar. Sure, they could do better and a national health insurance policy would be a lot cheaper. But not 50% cheaper. In fact the ACA set a minimum of 85% of the premium dollar go toward actual health care services.

Of course with private health insurance you have marketing, billing and reimbursement costs, salaries, and negotiating with thousands of hospitals and private practices on what rates they will pay. Some of this is also a cost Medicare must cover but obviously they do not have to compete nor are there rate negotiations. But they do have to determine what they consider reasonable rates for thousands of billing items from a Tylenol to a hip joint, with different rates in different parts of the country, and handle protests since their rates are not always correct. Medicare also has the problem of setting rates so low that some doctors will not see Medicare patients or limit those they do see. Medicaid is even worse.

Anyway, a single payer national system would be cheaper but it is not without problems as most European countries do not have a true single payer system and some services like physical therapy provided in private and public health insurance here are not covered in Canada and some European countries, for example, unless you have a private supplement.

Nikki is spouting bullshit on lots of things but the claim she can crack down on health insurance and cut health care cost by 50% is one of the bigger piles of bullshit. even Bernie did not claim those savings and he wanted to get rid of insurance companies. Even if you completely eliminated private health insurance I doubt health care costs would go down even 10%, far short of Nikki's claim. I'm really getting tired of the torrent of absolute lies spewing out of the mouths of Republican candidates for president and the total failure of news shows to call them on it.

Expand full comment
Wookiee Monster's avatar

“ When I am president, ”

Okay, lemme stop you right there, Nikki.

Expand full comment
beb's avatar

The GIF at the top of this article made me seasick. Don't do that again, please.

Expand full comment
John_atx's avatar

Googling emergency rooms in order to compare costs while bleeding out from a severed arm.

Expand full comment
carovee's avatar

Capitalism at its finest.

Expand full comment
Boojum's avatar

The statute says that the DOD can't pay to "perform" abortions. It says nothing about paying to travel to the doctor for the purpose of obtaining an abortion. If Tubby doesn't like that plain language interpretation, Tubby should pass a law to change it.

Expand full comment
Boojum's avatar

"Why don't patients get to negotiate their own reductions!"

Because individual patients don't have any bargaining power, you moron, and little ability to shop around before getting urgent or even necessary treatment even if they had bargaining power!

Expand full comment
Davis's avatar

"Hard truths", "transparency" my ass.

Expand full comment
carovee's avatar

Yeah, like Nikki Haley of all people is really going to go after those insurance companies and force greater transparency on them. It's always infrastructure, I mean, health care week in Wingnutville.

Expand full comment
Christi Blue Dot's avatar

I love the idea of having to price shop and negotiate while I'm bleeding out or facing cancer or trying to get my kids the specialty medical care they need. Yeah great, please add more headaches to healthcare so for profit companies can compete about it. Excellent idea, never president Haley. JFC.

Expand full comment
Up Here in the Clouds's avatar

Oh yeah.......earlier this summer I was foolish enough to leave my mom alone in the er observation area while I went home to feed the dogs and sleep for 6 hours. After spending most of the last 36 hours and 3 trips to the er, I needed some not in a hard chair sleep. Came back to her being wheeled off for surgery on her knee. I was so mentally and physically exhausted I did not think to ask about insurance or billing, after demanding answers on the surgery. Luckily she is on Medicare, because when the surgeon tried to pull an "I don't take your insurance, here's your $5000.00 bill" one call to Medicare took care of it. I shudder to think of what would have happened if it had been me instead, with my crappy insurance.

Expand full comment
beb's avatar

The break-up of the phone company should have been a clue. Nobody liked the idea that you had to shop around for carrier service or should shop around every 6 months to "get the best deal." People have better things to do with their lives. They prefer to be done with something once and for all. A closely regulated phone was the best for all. Just as universal health coverage would be best for all.

Expand full comment
Doug Langley's avatar

You want to talk about Upchuck Todd? Fine. I still remember his interview with then President Obama. He tore into Obama like a rabid dog. "Why do you betray Americans? When do you apologize?" He raged and snarled.

But put a Republican in front of him and he's all sweetness and smiles.

Expand full comment
Runfastandwin's avatar

Schumer needs to call the hand. Put them up one at a time and don't stop until it's done. Can't anybody here play this game?

Expand full comment
Secret Agent Super Dragon's avatar

Hey now, it's not like a majority leader can cancel recess to power through a backlog of legislation...

https://www.npr.org/2018/06/05/617219548/mitch-mcconnell-cancels-senates-august-recess

oops.

Expand full comment
Runfastandwin's avatar

100%

Expand full comment
Kel Varnsen's avatar

If he had started voting when Potatotown first pulled this shit they would be done by now

Expand full comment
Runfastandwin's avatar

100%

Expand full comment
Boaty the plural's avatar

They don't even have an august recess anymore!

Expand full comment
Skunk Formerly Known As Stoner's avatar

Fixed it for her: “But the way we deal with it is, we need to start exposing the donors to wingnut causes like the Federal Society, make them all transparent.

Expand full comment
Kay Ducky's avatar

Eli Roth is a scary motherfucker in that movie, that is all.

Expand full comment
fuflans's avatar

love love love love that movie.

i used the theme song as a ringer for texts for a while. but it got terrifying.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-0B7I1ZeD8

Expand full comment
alt_Tabby's avatar

Flames_On_The_Side_Of_My_Face.gif

Fuck all the way off Haley.

Expand full comment
Dorothea is a Democrat's avatar

Haley is using a word salad to pretend she cares about people getting healthcare. But there are several telling comments. First, blaming the insurance companies. Everybody hates insurance companies but they're private businesses. Haley can't dictate shit to them, and neither can their victims, the consumer. Which is why if you were to ask her how she would accomplish this supposed 3 way negotiation you would get no answer. Given that the current state of "capitalism" in America is predatory because business has mostly eliminated competition and Haley and the GOP have said nothing against it, it seems unlikely that she has any solutions at all. At least she didn't advocate repealing Obamacare. And she isn't winning any points with suburban women with her stance on the military. She is purposely misleading the American people. So, Jake, even though people "perceive you as stupid," maybe you could have dug a little deeper on the Nikki bullshit.

Expand full comment
Secret Agent Super Dragon's avatar

It's also annoying she keeps saying we should discount the negotiating power of insurance companies, as if I'm going to get a batter deal of drug prices than Kaiser Permanente.

Expand full comment