December 31, 2025 • 34 mins
The John Kobylt Show Hour 1 (12/31) - Lou Penrose fills in for John. Millions of Americans brace for healthcare premiums to skyrocket beginning tomorrow. Ben Siegel, ABC News Deputy Political Director joins the show. Lou says GOP should hand it to Dems to solve.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
I am six forty.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
You're listening to the John Cobel podcast on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (00:06):
Lou Penrose sitting in for John Cobelt today. Good to
have you along with us. It's New Year's Eve and
the rain is falling in Los Angeles, so stay tuned
to KFI for all the latest on traffic and weather conditions,
and stay tuned.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
All right, Well, you heard it there at the top
of the air news cast. This is the deadline, and.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
The report is that millions of Americans are facing healthcare
premium prices to go up. Even though the House and
the Senate are planning to negotiate a new CR in January,
but it will be too late now for these healthcare
premiums to go up. ABC News Deputy Political director Ben
(00:49):
Siegl is with us in Washington. Is there concern that
the premiums are going to go up or is there
a sense that.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
This will be fixed in the next CR.
Speaker 4 (01:01):
I think there is concern, you know, from both parties
in different ways. I think Republicans are recognizing that this
is becoming a growing political problem for them. After Democrats
managed to make a lot of their messaging around the
government shut down, the preservation of these Affordable Care Act
tax credits that are expiring this year, and you know
(01:23):
tomorrow will you know, be the measure of that when
people start to see their rates go up and their
premiums go up because these because these tax credits are expiring.
And at the same time, it's also a challenge for
Democrats because uh, you know, healthcare is one of the
thorniest issues in Washington between both parties. You know, for
(01:44):
years the Republicans tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Uh, Democrats were.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
Barely able to pass it themselves during President Obama's administration.
So even when with everybody agreeing that there's a problem,
there's still a thousand and one different ways to find
a solution and to bring down the cost of healthcare.
Despite and thin that broad acknowledgement that this is a
concern for everybody.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
It is a concern for everybody.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
Also because I've been reading a lot about this and
the amount of individuals that are enrolled. Many come from
red states in red districts.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
And that was one of the concerns.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
That is it former Congress from and Margie Taylor Green
yet or she's gone in a couple of days. But
one of the reasons that she was so livid during
the government shutdown was that her constituents, in a sixty
five percent Republican you know, congressional win that she won
reelection in, we're still going to be impacted if government
(02:37):
did nothing.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
And so that's probably a.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Good thing, right, It's probably a good thing that it's
bipartisan in the anger that this has not been resolved.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
I think it's I think the fact that the whole country,
Democrats and Republicans, people from red states and blue states,
are all feeling the pain on the same issue, I
think is an acknowledgement that this is an issue that
has to be addressed by both parties, and I think
that is the place to start. But I think it's
also notable that, you know, for that and other criticisms
that she's made of the president, Congressman Martin Taylor, Green
(03:11):
is despectively pushed out of her party to the point
where she's not even going to finish out this term,
as you mentioned, So for even even speaking, you know,
making public the fact that this is the problem. The
president has this problem. He said he would fix this,
and it's hurting people in my state, and people who
support him. You know, that had earned her really a
(03:31):
scarlet letter from the President, and she is now persona
on Grada and in the Republican Party. So that just
speaks to even if if if there's an acknowledgment of
the problem being the same, and that it really affects
everybody in all kinds of states, especially because so many
people started using these marketplaces because these tax credits made
it more affordable to get healthcare. This way, the pain
(03:54):
is going to be felt in in in different ways
politically and personally, and it's also going to impact people
to her point, the President's base, we're already feeling the
compounding effects of this affordability crisis that we're seeing across
the country when it comes to justs inflation and the
costs of many goods and groceries going up, the way
that tariffs are hurting some small businesses. Although gas prices
(04:15):
have come down, so that has some good news for people,
but it's just another thing that will add to people's
pocketbooks and their obligations next year. And really the seeds
are really settling in for some political anger to be
directed at Washington in the coming year.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
I've been listening to.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
The calls for Social Security reform. For it like my
entire life and as an adult working in politics, right,
Medicare reform, social Security reform. Well, social Security was implemented
in the Roosevelt administration, Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act was
implemented during the Obama administration, and Obama is still here.
(04:52):
So it frustrates me that they don't Republicans politically don't
point the finger of blame at the the party and
that president, a former president that was responsible for it,
and say to them, hey, Speaker Pelosi or Speaker.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Polosy, you were speaker when this thing was signed.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
You come up with a solution. Former President Obama you
signed it. You come up with a solution.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
Dick Derbot, you were in the Senate, you know you're
still here. You come up with a solution.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
I mean, I'm wondering why, just politically, Republicans don't use
this as an opportunity to say, hey, this was a
Democrat idea. As you mentioned, they barely passed it. It
wasn't bipartisan, So throw it back on them to come
up with a solution.
Speaker 5 (05:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
I think that's the challenge for the Republican Party, is
that for so long the party has really been animated
by wholesale opposition to the Affordable Care Act, to the
point where, you know, dozens and dozens of votes were
taken to just repeal the Act. And you know, fast
forward to today, despite the unpopularity of these provisions and
some of the ways that this is implemented, there's more
(05:59):
of a widespread recon that this is not going anywhere,
and why don't we spend our energy on ways to
fix the system? It's been it's a challenge for the
party that's spent so long defining itself around this idea
of repealing, uh, you know, from branch and root uprooting
the Affordable Care Act system.
Speaker 5 (06:17):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (06:17):
So, it's become a challenge for Republicans to really find
another message that sticks on healthcare, that resonates with people.
And it's got to be particularly pressured for this president,
who has been so successful at really selling his ideas
to the American public, cutting through the noise, finding the
logan snap, you know, snappy ways to brand his politics,
that he really can't figure this out. The latest ideas
(06:40):
that he's been talking about is giving people money directly,
uh to pay for health care. Expenses instead of giving
it to the insurance companies. There's not really a clear
plan behind that, and it's not clear that the government
really has the ability uh to give every American a
payment that would help defraud the fray the costs of
health care in the way that you know, he is seeking.
So there's still a lot of a lot of workshopping.
(07:03):
What is the Republican plan, what is the best way
to do this? And it's you know, colliding with this
political reality in some ways that it has been. They
have been unsuccessful as a party in changing the discussion
away from Obamacare and and repealing it, you know, wholesale,
and it will.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
Be the first order of business come January and the
number one discussion. Ben Siegel, ABC News Deputy Political Director,
thank you so much. Happy New Year to you, and
we will talk to you in the new year.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
Happy new year.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Thanks.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
All right, when we get back, I want to break
this down a little bit. I worked in Congress for
a Republican member of Congress during the Obama administration. I
watched this entire Affordable Care Acting go from a crazy
idea to a crazy bill to effectively a crazy law.
And it's no surprise to me or anybody else that
(07:55):
lived it, that this was not going to work, and
now it doesn't work. So how how do we get
through it? Can't get around, it can't get over. It
got to work our way through it. And I have
recommendations for Republicans on how to handle this politically.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
We'll do that next.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Lou Penrose Info John Cobelt on The John Cobelt Show
on KFI AM six forty Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 6 (08:18):
You're listening to John Cobelt on demand from KFI AM
six forty.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Lou Penrose info John Cobelt on the John coblt Show.
So the story is starting January.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
First, the Enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies expire.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
What that means is the Affordable Care Act wasn't affordable,
it didn't work. It required government subsidies. So it appeared
to the person that enrolled in the Affordable Care Act Obamacare,
that wow, this is a lot cheaper, This is great.
This isn't anything near what Blue Cross is charging. This
(08:58):
isn't like Kaiser. This is much cheap.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
It isn't cheaper.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
It's only appears cheaper because the other taxpayers, me you
are subsidizing it, and that was not supposed to be
the plan forever.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
So I worked for.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
Three members of Congress during a number of administrations, including
the full two terms of the Obama administration, and it
was clear to almost everybody on the Hill that Obama
promised this and really wanted to deliver something, just something.
I think what he really wanted was an expansion of
(09:39):
Medicare and.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
Couldn't get it.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
See, the original plan was Medicare for all and which
is also subsidized, but it's not a whole new platform, and.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
He could not get it.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
So he had to come up with some new system
that he knew wasn't going to work, but it would
work until he was out of office, and then the
subsidi were expiring, and then the next.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Administration would have to work it out.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
But the goal was, and this is very typical of Democrats,
the goal was the people that were enrolled would get
used to having healthcare at a subsidized rate, and politically,
it would be impossible to claw back that welfare, which
is effectively what it is.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
It's healthcare welfare.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
And it's a strategy that was used a lot by
President Obama, basically ruining things.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
In the long term by making it look like it
pencils out in the short term.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
And it was very frustrating to a lot of members
of Congress, including like the business Republicans. Like Republicans have
different kinds of members.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
In the party.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
There are the social Conservatives. These are the religious nuts
from the southeast. Then you got the worldview Republicans that
just want to go to war all day and spread
the democracy around the globe. That's the Dick Cheney crowd.
And then you have the business Republicans that want to
run America efficiently, that want to lower taxes and expand
(11:12):
prosperity and come from the world of business and really
just apply a businessman's overlay to democracy. And I worked
for one of those guys, and let me tell you,
it was driving him nuts. He was a certified public
accountant by trade and one of the few CPAs in
the House of Representatives, which is shocking. I think at
(11:35):
the time there were four CPAs in the entire House
of Representatives, four hundred and thirty five members of congressman
members of Congress, only four CPAs. The rest attorneys. He
called it a fair fight, but it was definitely frustrating.
So Obama, well knew this day was coming. The way
they pencil these things out is they do them on
(11:57):
a ten year plan and they continue the subsidies for
ten years out and then dura. So it actually was
set to expire, I think in twenty twenty, and that
fell right in the middle of the Biden or right
in the Biden administration's budget year. And of course COVID
was going on and President Biden couldn't spend money fast
(12:18):
enough and they exploded the deficit, and of course extended
the Obamacare subsidies for another six years. Well here we are,
it's twenty twenty six, and it's the day of reckoning.
We cannot continue to subsidize other people's healthcare premiums with
(12:39):
our tax dollars because they haven't gotten off of the.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
Affordable Care Act. Two things that were wrong with the
Affordable Care Act.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
One it didn't pencil out, and two it didn't there
was no premiums.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
There was no warrants to cause people to move off it.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
The goal wasn't to cover all Americans under the Affordable
Care Act. The goal was to have an Affordable Care
Act so people that in the course of life were
in a position where they had no access to health
insurance and really couldn't afford the market based price of
health insurance. They could have something, but people are staying
on it for I mean, Obama was done in twenty sixteen,
(13:22):
it's twenty twenty six Can't stay on a subsidized healthcare system.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
Got to move on, work harder.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
And this is really the messaging that's so challenging for
Republicans because Republicans can't go to Americans that are on
the Affordable Care Act and say, you know, time's up.
Why haven't you made more money so that you can
buy normal health care like the rest of us. Well,
it's very expensive. I know we're working on that in
DC to try and bring down the cost by deregulating
(13:56):
the industry. But the rest of America are paying for healthcare?
Why aren't you? And that's the challenge for Republicans that
they don't know how to deliver that message.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
And I think if you're not.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
Willing to say, look, stop being a lazy ass and
get off the Affordable Care Act and go figure out
a way to provide yourself with health insurance like the
rest of us do, if.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
You don't have the guts to do that.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
Then stay away from it all together, like don't answer
the phone when CNN calls, don't engage in the conversation.
This is where Marjorie Taylor Green was wrong. Don't bring
it up. President Trump is right, stop talking about it.
This is a Democrat problem. This is not a Republican problem.
Republicans know very well that government cannot reduce the cost
(14:45):
of premiums for health insurance.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Health insurance is a marketplace.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
It is a market based system, and it is very
very very simple to understand.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
And when government really.
Speaker 3 (15:01):
Dilutes and also distorts the marketplace, it becomes very confusing.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
And of course the.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
Insurance companies are going to raise the premiums because of uncertainty.
If it's unclear whether or not the federal government is
going to subsidize these insurance premiums, of course the insurance
company is going to raise the price of the premiums.
They're not going to be left holding the bag. So
for all you people whining about your insurance premiums going
(15:30):
up because mean Republicans won't continue to subsidize your health insurance,
look at it from the point of view of the
insurance companies, what should they do lose? Insurance companies want
more people carrying insurance. The more people that have insurance,
(15:53):
the better off it is for everybody, because not everybody
is going to get sick, not everybody is going to
have a tragedy, every is going to break their leg,
but everybody will pay a lower premium. So the insurance
companies are not the bad guy here. The bad guy
is Barack Obama. So here's what my recommendation is to Republicans. Say, hey,
(16:16):
don't ask me. We told you people not to vote
for this. We warned you, we told you it wasn't
going to work. Don't say this is a Republican problem.
Don't let it become a Republican problem, and be strong
and don't fall into the trap.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
Oh you're being heartless. Heartless. Obama was heartless.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
He set people up only to have their fake insurance
expire on New Year's Eve of twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
So this is a Democrat problem to solve.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
If I was a Speaker of the House, I would
hold a press conference and I would say, regarding these
Obamacare subsidies, yeah we're not doing that anymore. With We're
not giving out welfare to insurance companies because President Obama
set it up that way. So I invite the former
President of the United States and whoever he wants to
join him to draft up a solution to Obamacare that
(17:05):
does not cost the taxpayer a dime and submit it
to us and we'll take a look at it. Next question.
Lou Penrose sitting in for John Cobelt on The John
Cobelt Show on KFI AM six forty Live everywhere on
the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 6 (17:22):
You're listening to John Cobelt on demand from KFI AM six.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
Loke Penrose in for John Cobelt on the John coblt Show.
The big story The Affordable Care Act subsidies expire tomorrow
and everybody's upset because Obamacare doesn't work and Republicans won't.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
Extend the subsidies.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
Democrats proposed a three year extension of the subsidies. Republicans rejected,
Thank goodness, three years. No, this has got to come
to an end. I say, let it expire. There's no
other way.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
We have to force the issue.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
As a Republican who worked in Congress during the Obama years,
I told you so. I really can't handle hearing the
complaints that the Affordable Care Act sold by the president
that you reelected sucks and now nobody wants to subsidize
your healthcare premiums.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
And by the way, you're not losing health care.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Your premiums are just going up, you know, like the
rest of ours.
Speaker 7 (18:27):
Dude, are you retarded? The solution was the original bill
in the first place. Just because the Republicans didn't like
it doesn't mean the Democrats have to come back and
come up with something new that the Republicans would like. No,
the whole point was the Democrats came up with the
solution in the first place.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
Jesus Christ, Yeah, maybe you should pray to Jesus and
ask Jesus for a subsidy. Have Jesus subsidize your health premium.
He doesn't subsidize my health premium, my healthcare premium.
Speaker 8 (18:53):
What do you mean?
Speaker 3 (18:54):
The solution was the bill in the first place. It's collapsing,
it's about to collapse. I think what are we saying
now that twenty million Americans are enrolled in the Affordable
Care Act and they're going to see their premiums expand
or increase, which means they'll be shopping, they'll be dumping Obamacare,
because Obamacare sucks and they'll be going out into the marketplace,
(19:16):
and if they're gonna pay more, they might as well
pay more.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
For real insurance like the rest of us.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
So no, I say, Republicans stay far away from this one.
There is no solution that a Republican lawmaker can offer,
and there's no solution that any government can offer that
can beat the promise of socialism, So you'll never win.
Democrats want to give everything away for free and use
(19:42):
hardworking people's tax dollars to pay for it. Republicans can't
compete with that, and they are doing a very bad job.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
Of explaining it. Let me explain it for you.
Speaker 3 (19:55):
Things cost money. Somebody's got to pay the doctor in
the er. Somebody's got to pay the pharmaceutical company for
manufacturing the medicine. Somebody's got to pay the nurse peep
up to pay for the hospitals. Right, you don't get
these things for free, and subsidizing them just to storts
the marketplace and spooks the insurance companies because you never know,
maybe Republicans will win and they will not extend the subsidies,
(20:20):
so they have to raise their premiums. So get out
of the whole government run health care system all together
and let the marketplace decide. See, Republicans know that government
cannot bring down the cost of health insurance. Competition is
the only thing that can bring down the cost of
health insurance.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Government can deregulate.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
The industry and let the industry compete, but there's no
guarantee that it will bring down the cost.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
That's just life.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
The expectation is more competition in the marketplace will allow
more people to offer coverage, and that will create more competition,
which will bring down costs.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
It's the only thing that can happen.
Speaker 3 (21:05):
That's the only promise a Republican can make, and they're
too afraid to make it because they don't want to
come across looking like we don't care about the little
old lady. And of course Democrats are offering it for
free or as close to free as possible.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
How do you compete with that? So don't even engage.
Don't engage.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
Point point to President Obama, say he's the problem, CNN,
he's the problem.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
MAYBC news.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
Hey, George Stephanopolis, have on former President Obama, ask him
what the plan was when the subsidies expire.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
Blame do not talk. The Republicans can't blame the Democrats
for Obama Care because their constituents benefit so much from it.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
It may be flawed, but they like that flaw. Yeah, well,
of course anybody. It doesn't matter if you're a Republican,
Democrat or independent. If something shows up less expensive, you're
going to go for it. That's human nature. That isn't
Republican constituents taking advantage.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
Of the Affordable Care Act.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
And guess what, there are Republicans that need to grow
up as well. Look, this is this is reckoning. This
is what real change looks like. Remember, President Trump and
his administration are not the welcome wagon. We are the
cleanup crew. And real change requires real change. And this
(22:34):
is what real change looks like. Let this thing crash
and burn once and for all. Let the chips fall
what they may, Let all the crying and all the
wailing and won't last long. And let Democrats hold the
blame for creating this ridiculous system.
Speaker 9 (22:52):
Hey, I'm a Republican and I need that subsidy. And
I'm not lazy at all or work my butt off.
I just have a high mortgage and water bills high.
Everything's high. Everything car insurance. So I need that insurance
to stay around for a while.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
That's too bad.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
What do you think you know, mortgage payments are for
the rest of us that are subsidizing you. What do
you think car insurance payments are for the rest of
us that are subsidizing you.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
What do you think costs are for the rest.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
Of us that are subsidizing you. Now, this is the
only way to handle this Obamacare discussion, and that is
point to Democrats and let it, let it fail, and
then get to work deregulating the industry and expanding competition
in the insurance marketplace like any other business, and let
(23:48):
the price settle wherever the supply and demand curb calls
for it to settle.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Lou Penrose, if.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
A John Cobelt on KFI AM six forty live everywhere
on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 6 (23:59):
You're listening to John Cobelt on demand from KFI six.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
Lou Penrose in for John Coblt on the John coblt
Show on New Year's Eve coming up following the news
at two. So there is federal band going into effect
on Chinese technology in drones and police and firefighters use
(24:25):
Chinese made drones and they're scrambling to figure out where
they're going to get drones from a good country or
a country that isn't a sworn enemy of the United States.
But the Trump administration is concerned about the drone use,
particularly with the upcoming Olympics other international events that will
be taking place on US soil.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
What kinds of data collection or spying the Chinese will do.
Speaker 3 (24:49):
So we'll get the latest from Alex Stone from ABC
News on that one right now, talking about the looming
ending of Obamacare, and that's really what this is.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
This will end Obamacare the hard way.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
We wanted to end Obamacare, the easy way that was
repeal and replace, right, and then Republicans campaigned on repeal
and replace. And then when President Trump got elected, all
of a sudden, John McCain hemmed and hawd.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
I'm not sure, I don't know.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
And he was a sore loser and didn't like President
Trump and voted to keep Obamacare. And then they extended
the subsidies, which is why it is affordable.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
It's not affordable.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
Affordability is a it isn't even an economic concept. It
just means that you liked the price. The reason you
liked the price of the insurance premium is because it's
being subsidized by your fellow taxpayer, no other reason. The
tax credits go to the insurance companies. That's good for them,
(25:54):
and they lowered the It's just I mean, it's a scam.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
It's a Ponzi scheme, and everybody knew it.
Speaker 3 (26:02):
So I don't want to hear any crying and belly
aching that now the subsidies are rending, which case, the
insurance companies are raising the premiums to the right level
for the person that is insured. And why are people
complaining that Republicans need to solve this.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
Republicans don't need to solve this. I told you so.
Speaker 3 (26:24):
You need to go talk to Speaker Pelosi. Former Speaker Pelosi.
You should go talk to Dick Durbin. You should go
talk to Chuck Schumer. You should go talk to Barack Obama.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
He's around, ask him.
Speaker 3 (26:35):
Call your Democrat National Committee and say let's have a
conference call. And why did President Obama set these things
to expire? Right, it's the Democrat problem to solve, not
the Republican problem to solve.
Speaker 8 (26:48):
Hey man, you should just think of it this way.
If everybody is writing the wagon who's going to pull
the wagon. Nobody thinks about that, but sure, all right, man,
they should give your own show.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
Ye, I appreciate the call. I do think about that.
Speaker 10 (27:04):
You're making me nuts about all this with Obamacare and
how it sucks, because honestly, it was great insurance when
I had it, and at an affordable price. And I
don't think you remember that prior to Obamacare, the US
government subsidized sixty percent of what is it Cobra payments,
(27:28):
so either way, the government is paying.
Speaker 3 (27:33):
Yeah, I'm glad that you loved it. I'm glad that
you found the price quite affordable. Do you want to
thank me now or when do you want to thank
the rest of us that work to pay for your subsidy?
Speaker 1 (27:44):
This is incredible to me. Cobra, what are you kidding me?
That's the worst product out there. Nobody can afford Cobra.
That was ridiculous. You go to the poorhouse.
Speaker 3 (27:55):
Cobra was for people that were really in dire straits
and we're willing to sell their second car to be
able to afford and Cobra expired. This was never designed
to be a lifestyle. This was never designed to be
(28:16):
and by the way, It didn't pencil out to be
that way. It was for people that were in a
position where they couldn't afford real insurance like normal people.
And it's been ten years, so it's time you figured
out how to live like the rest of us.
Speaker 5 (28:32):
To the moron just called you retarded because you didn't
support Obamacare. I had free healthcare insurance before Obamacare, and
it went up and up and up. My employer provided
it couldn't afford it anymore, and it screwed everybody else
that was getting their insurance through work, like we've been
(28:53):
doing for the last century or so. Get a grip
and get a clue.
Speaker 3 (28:58):
Yeah, I'm with you, and that's right. He was a
moron who called me retalking. A lot of name calling
going on on New Year's Eat.
Speaker 11 (29:05):
There is affordable health care, there's faith based insurance. I
have a three thousand dollars deductible. My payments are three
hundred dollars a month. But I do what most people
are not willing to do. I'm not fat, I do
not smoke, I do not drink, I do not do drugs.
I exercise. I take care of myself first. Therefore my
health is good. People need to be responsible for their
(29:26):
health more than they are. And there is good healthcare
out there.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
There you go. She sounds like, uh, looking for date.
Speaker 12 (29:35):
Hey, lou love it when you fill in. You're great
at this. I this health care debate and this whole thing.
It's in the Declaration of Independence, not the US Constitution,
as you know. But we have the right to life,
liberty in the pursuit of happiness. Is health care included
in that pursuit of happiness in that liberty in that life?
(29:55):
And if it is, then yeah, government should be helping
with like a lot of socialist country. If not, that's
the debate, and we haven't really resolved it.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
Oh I disagree. I have resolved the debate. You have
no right to discounted.
Speaker 3 (30:09):
Health insurance premiums zero and twenty million Americans are about
to experience that reality tomorrow. See, we don't have a
healthcare problem in the United States.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
We don't.
Speaker 3 (30:23):
You fall off your motorcycle, they take it to the
er and they'll patch up.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
Right, you cut your thumb on the Christmas ham and
it's bleeding and you need to go to urgent care.
They'll patch you up. Your kid gets RSV or whatever.
Speaker 3 (30:38):
They'll take you down, you know, you take them down
and they'll take care of them. They'll bring down the fever.
We don't have a health care issue in the United States.
There's hospitals everywhere, there's urgent care centers everywhere, there are
doctors everywhere. The problem is who pays for it after
the bleeding stops.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
It is an issue, There's no question about it.
Speaker 3 (31:02):
The costs are higher here in the United States than
in other countries. Even when government provides, it's still higher
here in the United States.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
Okay, that's an interesting challenge, right.
Speaker 3 (31:12):
You know what else is more expensive here in the
United States than other places. The cost of private education,
Private dentistry very expensive here.
Speaker 1 (31:20):
Dentistry a lot cheaper in Tijuana.
Speaker 3 (31:24):
Now you can go to Tijuana and have your teeth pulled,
or you can go to a normal dentist here in
southern California that graduated from USC. That's up to you,
and we're lucky that you have the choice and it's
only an hour's drive.
Speaker 1 (31:40):
Right. The question is who's paying for it?
Speaker 3 (31:42):
So when I hear these litterbal maniacs talk about healthcare
being a human right, the question that I have is
is the er doctor that works three twelve hour shifts
in a row during the Christmas break? Does he have
a human right to be paid? Do the nurses have
(32:05):
a right to be paid? To the hospital administrators have
a right to be paid? You have a human right.
I have a human right to have health care. Okay,
but you're not paying for it. So where do the
people that are providing you the health care? Where do
they go to get paid? Well, that's why the government
should do it, all right, Well, who's the government? The
government doesn't have money. We have money. We give the
(32:29):
money to the government. So if the government doesn't have
enough money to subsidize your god given right to go
to any emergency room you want, all day, every day,
then you don't get to have it in which proves
the point that you'd never have the right in the
first place, because if there's no money there, there's no
hospital there.
Speaker 1 (32:50):
And if there's no hospital there, you're up a creek.
Speaker 3 (32:55):
So that's the way you figure out the riddle of
do I life liberty and pursuit of happiness? Well, does
health care insurance fall under pursuit of happiness? And the
answer is no, because if there's no money, then there's
no subsidies. And if there's no subsidies, there's no place
to go with your subsidized healthcare premium because no doctor
will be there, no hospital will be there, no urgent care.
Speaker 1 (33:17):
So that's how you unravel that riddle.
Speaker 3 (33:21):
You only have a right to life and liberty and
the personal pursuit of happiness. Everything else comes with a price,
and you have to work to pay the cost of
where it is you want.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
Now, I get it, there are.
Speaker 3 (33:38):
Benefits to you know, safety nets and all of that,
but this is not what we're talking about. We're talking
about twenty million people that have been subsidized and their
subsidies are about to come to an end. And that's
reality in twenty twenty six, and it's going to quit
hit them quite hard.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
But they're not losing their health insurance, just they're paying.
It's going to go up. It's not that big of
a deal. No crying, no whining. Lou Penrose on KFI
AM six forty Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (34:08):
Hey, you've been listening to the John Cobalt Show podcast.
You can always hear the show live on KFI AM
six forty from one to four pm every Monday, through Friday,
and of course anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
I am six forty.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
You're listening to the John Cobel podcast on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (00:06):
Lou Penrose sitting in for John Cobelt today. Good to
have you along with us. It's New Year's Eve and
the rain is falling in Los Angeles, so stay tuned
to KFI for all the latest on traffic and weather conditions,
and stay tuned.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
All right, Well, you heard it there at the top
of the air news cast. This is the deadline, and.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
The report is that millions of Americans are facing healthcare
premium prices to go up. Even though the House and
the Senate are planning to negotiate a new CR in January,
but it will be too late now for these healthcare
premiums to go up. ABC News Deputy Political director Ben
(00:49):
Siegl is with us in Washington. Is there concern that
the premiums are going to go up or is there
a sense that.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
This will be fixed in the next CR.
Speaker 4 (01:01):
I think there is concern, you know, from both parties
in different ways. I think Republicans are recognizing that this
is becoming a growing political problem for them. After Democrats
managed to make a lot of their messaging around the
government shut down, the preservation of these Affordable Care Act
tax credits that are expiring this year, and you know
(01:23):
tomorrow will you know, be the measure of that when
people start to see their rates go up and their
premiums go up because these because these tax credits are expiring.
And at the same time, it's also a challenge for
Democrats because uh, you know, healthcare is one of the
thorniest issues in Washington between both parties. You know, for
(01:44):
years the Republicans tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Uh, Democrats were.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
Barely able to pass it themselves during President Obama's administration.
So even when with everybody agreeing that there's a problem,
there's still a thousand and one different ways to find
a solution and to bring down the cost of healthcare.
Despite and thin that broad acknowledgement that this is a
concern for everybody.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
It is a concern for everybody.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
Also because I've been reading a lot about this and
the amount of individuals that are enrolled. Many come from
red states in red districts.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
And that was one of the concerns.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
That is it former Congress from and Margie Taylor Green
yet or she's gone in a couple of days. But
one of the reasons that she was so livid during
the government shutdown was that her constituents, in a sixty
five percent Republican you know, congressional win that she won
reelection in, we're still going to be impacted if government
(02:37):
did nothing.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
And so that's probably a.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Good thing, right, It's probably a good thing that it's
bipartisan in the anger that this has not been resolved.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
I think it's I think the fact that the whole country,
Democrats and Republicans, people from red states and blue states,
are all feeling the pain on the same issue, I
think is an acknowledgement that this is an issue that
has to be addressed by both parties, and I think
that is the place to start. But I think it's
also notable that, you know, for that and other criticisms
that she's made of the president, Congressman Martin Taylor, Green
(03:11):
is despectively pushed out of her party to the point
where she's not even going to finish out this term,
as you mentioned, So for even even speaking, you know,
making public the fact that this is the problem. The
president has this problem. He said he would fix this,
and it's hurting people in my state, and people who
support him. You know, that had earned her really a
(03:31):
scarlet letter from the President, and she is now persona
on Grada and in the Republican Party. So that just
speaks to even if if if there's an acknowledgment of
the problem being the same, and that it really affects
everybody in all kinds of states, especially because so many
people started using these marketplaces because these tax credits made
it more affordable to get healthcare. This way, the pain
(03:54):
is going to be felt in in in different ways
politically and personally, and it's also going to impact people
to her point, the President's base, we're already feeling the
compounding effects of this affordability crisis that we're seeing across
the country when it comes to justs inflation and the
costs of many goods and groceries going up, the way
that tariffs are hurting some small businesses. Although gas prices
(04:15):
have come down, so that has some good news for people,
but it's just another thing that will add to people's
pocketbooks and their obligations next year. And really the seeds
are really settling in for some political anger to be
directed at Washington in the coming year.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
I've been listening to.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
The calls for Social Security reform. For it like my
entire life and as an adult working in politics, right,
Medicare reform, social Security reform. Well, social Security was implemented
in the Roosevelt administration, Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act was
implemented during the Obama administration, and Obama is still here.
(04:52):
So it frustrates me that they don't Republicans politically don't
point the finger of blame at the the party and
that president, a former president that was responsible for it,
and say to them, hey, Speaker Pelosi or Speaker.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Polosy, you were speaker when this thing was signed.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
You come up with a solution. Former President Obama you
signed it. You come up with a solution.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
Dick Derbot, you were in the Senate, you know you're
still here. You come up with a solution.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
I mean, I'm wondering why, just politically, Republicans don't use
this as an opportunity to say, hey, this was a
Democrat idea. As you mentioned, they barely passed it. It
wasn't bipartisan, So throw it back on them to come
up with a solution.
Speaker 5 (05:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
I think that's the challenge for the Republican Party, is
that for so long the party has really been animated
by wholesale opposition to the Affordable Care Act, to the
point where, you know, dozens and dozens of votes were
taken to just repeal the Act. And you know, fast
forward to today, despite the unpopularity of these provisions and
some of the ways that this is implemented, there's more
(05:59):
of a widespread recon that this is not going anywhere,
and why don't we spend our energy on ways to
fix the system? It's been it's a challenge for the
party that's spent so long defining itself around this idea
of repealing, uh, you know, from branch and root uprooting
the Affordable Care Act system.
Speaker 5 (06:17):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (06:17):
So, it's become a challenge for Republicans to really find
another message that sticks on healthcare, that resonates with people.
And it's got to be particularly pressured for this president,
who has been so successful at really selling his ideas
to the American public, cutting through the noise, finding the
logan snap, you know, snappy ways to brand his politics,
that he really can't figure this out. The latest ideas
(06:40):
that he's been talking about is giving people money directly,
uh to pay for health care. Expenses instead of giving
it to the insurance companies. There's not really a clear
plan behind that, and it's not clear that the government
really has the ability uh to give every American a
payment that would help defraud the fray the costs of
health care in the way that you know, he is seeking.
So there's still a lot of a lot of workshopping.
(07:03):
What is the Republican plan, what is the best way
to do this? And it's you know, colliding with this
political reality in some ways that it has been. They
have been unsuccessful as a party in changing the discussion
away from Obamacare and and repealing it, you know, wholesale,
and it will.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
Be the first order of business come January and the
number one discussion. Ben Siegel, ABC News Deputy Political Director,
thank you so much. Happy New Year to you, and
we will talk to you in the new year.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
Happy new year.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Thanks.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
All right, when we get back, I want to break
this down a little bit. I worked in Congress for
a Republican member of Congress during the Obama administration. I
watched this entire Affordable Care Acting go from a crazy
idea to a crazy bill to effectively a crazy law.
And it's no surprise to me or anybody else that
(07:55):
lived it, that this was not going to work, and
now it doesn't work. So how how do we get
through it? Can't get around, it can't get over. It
got to work our way through it. And I have
recommendations for Republicans on how to handle this politically.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
We'll do that next.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Lou Penrose Info John Cobelt on The John Cobelt Show
on KFI AM six forty Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 6 (08:18):
You're listening to John Cobelt on demand from KFI AM
six forty.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Lou Penrose info John Cobelt on the John coblt Show.
So the story is starting January.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
First, the Enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies expire.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
What that means is the Affordable Care Act wasn't affordable,
it didn't work. It required government subsidies. So it appeared
to the person that enrolled in the Affordable Care Act Obamacare,
that wow, this is a lot cheaper, This is great.
This isn't anything near what Blue Cross is charging. This
(08:58):
isn't like Kaiser. This is much cheap.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
It isn't cheaper.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
It's only appears cheaper because the other taxpayers, me you
are subsidizing it, and that was not supposed to be
the plan forever.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
So I worked for.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
Three members of Congress during a number of administrations, including
the full two terms of the Obama administration, and it
was clear to almost everybody on the Hill that Obama
promised this and really wanted to deliver something, just something.
I think what he really wanted was an expansion of
(09:39):
Medicare and.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
Couldn't get it.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
See, the original plan was Medicare for all and which
is also subsidized, but it's not a whole new platform, and.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
He could not get it.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
So he had to come up with some new system
that he knew wasn't going to work, but it would
work until he was out of office, and then the
subsidi were expiring, and then the next.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Administration would have to work it out.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
But the goal was, and this is very typical of Democrats,
the goal was the people that were enrolled would get
used to having healthcare at a subsidized rate, and politically,
it would be impossible to claw back that welfare, which
is effectively what it is.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
It's healthcare welfare.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
And it's a strategy that was used a lot by
President Obama, basically ruining things.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
In the long term by making it look like it
pencils out in the short term.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
And it was very frustrating to a lot of members
of Congress, including like the business Republicans. Like Republicans have
different kinds of members.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
In the party.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
There are the social Conservatives. These are the religious nuts
from the southeast. Then you got the worldview Republicans that
just want to go to war all day and spread
the democracy around the globe. That's the Dick Cheney crowd.
And then you have the business Republicans that want to
run America efficiently, that want to lower taxes and expand
(11:12):
prosperity and come from the world of business and really
just apply a businessman's overlay to democracy. And I worked
for one of those guys, and let me tell you,
it was driving him nuts. He was a certified public
accountant by trade and one of the few CPAs in
the House of Representatives, which is shocking. I think at
(11:35):
the time there were four CPAs in the entire House
of Representatives, four hundred and thirty five members of congressman
members of Congress, only four CPAs. The rest attorneys. He
called it a fair fight, but it was definitely frustrating.
So Obama, well knew this day was coming. The way
they pencil these things out is they do them on
(11:57):
a ten year plan and they continue the subsidies for
ten years out and then dura. So it actually was
set to expire, I think in twenty twenty, and that
fell right in the middle of the Biden or right
in the Biden administration's budget year. And of course COVID
was going on and President Biden couldn't spend money fast
(12:18):
enough and they exploded the deficit, and of course extended
the Obamacare subsidies for another six years. Well here we are,
it's twenty twenty six, and it's the day of reckoning.
We cannot continue to subsidize other people's healthcare premiums with
(12:39):
our tax dollars because they haven't gotten off of the.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
Affordable Care Act. Two things that were wrong with the
Affordable Care Act.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
One it didn't pencil out, and two it didn't there
was no premiums.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
There was no warrants to cause people to move off it.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
The goal wasn't to cover all Americans under the Affordable
Care Act. The goal was to have an Affordable Care
Act so people that in the course of life were
in a position where they had no access to health
insurance and really couldn't afford the market based price of
health insurance. They could have something, but people are staying
on it for I mean, Obama was done in twenty sixteen,
(13:22):
it's twenty twenty six Can't stay on a subsidized healthcare system.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
Got to move on, work harder.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
And this is really the messaging that's so challenging for
Republicans because Republicans can't go to Americans that are on
the Affordable Care Act and say, you know, time's up.
Why haven't you made more money so that you can
buy normal health care like the rest of us. Well,
it's very expensive. I know we're working on that in
DC to try and bring down the cost by deregulating
(13:56):
the industry. But the rest of America are paying for healthcare?
Why aren't you? And that's the challenge for Republicans that
they don't know how to deliver that message.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
And I think if you're not.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
Willing to say, look, stop being a lazy ass and
get off the Affordable Care Act and go figure out
a way to provide yourself with health insurance like the
rest of us do, if.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
You don't have the guts to do that.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
Then stay away from it all together, like don't answer
the phone when CNN calls, don't engage in the conversation.
This is where Marjorie Taylor Green was wrong. Don't bring
it up. President Trump is right, stop talking about it.
This is a Democrat problem. This is not a Republican problem.
Republicans know very well that government cannot reduce the cost
(14:45):
of premiums for health insurance.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Health insurance is a marketplace.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
It is a market based system, and it is very
very very simple to understand.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
And when government really.
Speaker 3 (15:01):
Dilutes and also distorts the marketplace, it becomes very confusing.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
And of course the.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
Insurance companies are going to raise the premiums because of uncertainty.
If it's unclear whether or not the federal government is
going to subsidize these insurance premiums, of course the insurance
company is going to raise the price of the premiums.
They're not going to be left holding the bag. So
for all you people whining about your insurance premiums going
(15:30):
up because mean Republicans won't continue to subsidize your health insurance,
look at it from the point of view of the
insurance companies, what should they do lose? Insurance companies want
more people carrying insurance. The more people that have insurance,
(15:53):
the better off it is for everybody, because not everybody
is going to get sick, not everybody is going to
have a tragedy, every is going to break their leg,
but everybody will pay a lower premium. So the insurance
companies are not the bad guy here. The bad guy
is Barack Obama. So here's what my recommendation is to Republicans. Say, hey,
(16:16):
don't ask me. We told you people not to vote
for this. We warned you, we told you it wasn't
going to work. Don't say this is a Republican problem.
Don't let it become a Republican problem, and be strong
and don't fall into the trap.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
Oh you're being heartless. Heartless. Obama was heartless.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
He set people up only to have their fake insurance
expire on New Year's Eve of twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
So this is a Democrat problem to solve.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
If I was a Speaker of the House, I would
hold a press conference and I would say, regarding these
Obamacare subsidies, yeah we're not doing that anymore. With We're
not giving out welfare to insurance companies because President Obama
set it up that way. So I invite the former
President of the United States and whoever he wants to
join him to draft up a solution to Obamacare that
(17:05):
does not cost the taxpayer a dime and submit it
to us and we'll take a look at it. Next question.
Lou Penrose sitting in for John Cobelt on The John
Cobelt Show on KFI AM six forty Live everywhere on
the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 6 (17:22):
You're listening to John Cobelt on demand from KFI AM six.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
Loke Penrose in for John Cobelt on the John coblt Show.
The big story The Affordable Care Act subsidies expire tomorrow
and everybody's upset because Obamacare doesn't work and Republicans won't.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
Extend the subsidies.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
Democrats proposed a three year extension of the subsidies. Republicans rejected,
Thank goodness, three years. No, this has got to come
to an end. I say, let it expire. There's no
other way.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
We have to force the issue.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
As a Republican who worked in Congress during the Obama years,
I told you so. I really can't handle hearing the
complaints that the Affordable Care Act sold by the president
that you reelected sucks and now nobody wants to subsidize
your healthcare premiums.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
And by the way, you're not losing health care.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Your premiums are just going up, you know, like the
rest of ours.
Speaker 7 (18:27):
Dude, are you retarded? The solution was the original bill
in the first place. Just because the Republicans didn't like
it doesn't mean the Democrats have to come back and
come up with something new that the Republicans would like. No,
the whole point was the Democrats came up with the
solution in the first place.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
Jesus Christ, Yeah, maybe you should pray to Jesus and
ask Jesus for a subsidy. Have Jesus subsidize your health premium.
He doesn't subsidize my health premium, my healthcare premium.
Speaker 8 (18:53):
What do you mean?
Speaker 3 (18:54):
The solution was the bill in the first place. It's collapsing,
it's about to collapse. I think what are we saying
now that twenty million Americans are enrolled in the Affordable
Care Act and they're going to see their premiums expand
or increase, which means they'll be shopping, they'll be dumping Obamacare,
because Obamacare sucks and they'll be going out into the marketplace,
(19:16):
and if they're gonna pay more, they might as well
pay more.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
For real insurance like the rest of us.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
So no, I say, Republicans stay far away from this one.
There is no solution that a Republican lawmaker can offer,
and there's no solution that any government can offer that
can beat the promise of socialism, So you'll never win.
Democrats want to give everything away for free and use
(19:42):
hardworking people's tax dollars to pay for it. Republicans can't
compete with that, and they are doing a very bad job.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
Of explaining it. Let me explain it for you.
Speaker 3 (19:55):
Things cost money. Somebody's got to pay the doctor in
the er. Somebody's got to pay the pharmaceutical company for
manufacturing the medicine. Somebody's got to pay the nurse peep
up to pay for the hospitals. Right, you don't get
these things for free, and subsidizing them just to storts
the marketplace and spooks the insurance companies because you never know,
maybe Republicans will win and they will not extend the subsidies,
(20:20):
so they have to raise their premiums. So get out
of the whole government run health care system all together
and let the marketplace decide. See, Republicans know that government
cannot bring down the cost of health insurance. Competition is
the only thing that can bring down the cost of
health insurance.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Government can deregulate.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
The industry and let the industry compete, but there's no
guarantee that it will bring down the cost.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
That's just life.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
The expectation is more competition in the marketplace will allow
more people to offer coverage, and that will create more competition,
which will bring down costs.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
It's the only thing that can happen.
Speaker 3 (21:05):
That's the only promise a Republican can make, and they're
too afraid to make it because they don't want to
come across looking like we don't care about the little
old lady. And of course Democrats are offering it for
free or as close to free as possible.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
How do you compete with that? So don't even engage.
Don't engage.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
Point point to President Obama, say he's the problem, CNN,
he's the problem.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
MAYBC news.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
Hey, George Stephanopolis, have on former President Obama, ask him
what the plan was when the subsidies expire.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
Blame do not talk. The Republicans can't blame the Democrats
for Obama Care because their constituents benefit so much from it.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
It may be flawed, but they like that flaw. Yeah, well,
of course anybody. It doesn't matter if you're a Republican,
Democrat or independent. If something shows up less expensive, you're
going to go for it. That's human nature. That isn't
Republican constituents taking advantage.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
Of the Affordable Care Act.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
And guess what, there are Republicans that need to grow
up as well. Look, this is this is reckoning. This
is what real change looks like. Remember, President Trump and
his administration are not the welcome wagon. We are the
cleanup crew. And real change requires real change. And this
(22:34):
is what real change looks like. Let this thing crash
and burn once and for all. Let the chips fall
what they may, Let all the crying and all the
wailing and won't last long. And let Democrats hold the
blame for creating this ridiculous system.
Speaker 9 (22:52):
Hey, I'm a Republican and I need that subsidy. And
I'm not lazy at all or work my butt off.
I just have a high mortgage and water bills high.
Everything's high. Everything car insurance. So I need that insurance
to stay around for a while.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
That's too bad.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
What do you think you know, mortgage payments are for
the rest of us that are subsidizing you. What do
you think car insurance payments are for the rest of
us that are subsidizing you.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
What do you think costs are for the rest.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
Of us that are subsidizing you. Now, this is the
only way to handle this Obamacare discussion, and that is
point to Democrats and let it, let it fail, and
then get to work deregulating the industry and expanding competition
in the insurance marketplace like any other business, and let
(23:48):
the price settle wherever the supply and demand curb calls
for it to settle.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Lou Penrose, if.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
A John Cobelt on KFI AM six forty live everywhere
on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 6 (23:59):
You're listening to John Cobelt on demand from KFI six.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
Lou Penrose in for John Coblt on the John coblt
Show on New Year's Eve coming up following the news
at two. So there is federal band going into effect
on Chinese technology in drones and police and firefighters use
(24:25):
Chinese made drones and they're scrambling to figure out where
they're going to get drones from a good country or
a country that isn't a sworn enemy of the United States.
But the Trump administration is concerned about the drone use,
particularly with the upcoming Olympics other international events that will
be taking place on US soil.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
What kinds of data collection or spying the Chinese will do.
Speaker 3 (24:49):
So we'll get the latest from Alex Stone from ABC
News on that one right now, talking about the looming
ending of Obamacare, and that's really what this is.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
This will end Obamacare the hard way.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
We wanted to end Obamacare, the easy way that was
repeal and replace, right, and then Republicans campaigned on repeal
and replace. And then when President Trump got elected, all
of a sudden, John McCain hemmed and hawd.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
I'm not sure, I don't know.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
And he was a sore loser and didn't like President
Trump and voted to keep Obamacare. And then they extended
the subsidies, which is why it is affordable.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
It's not affordable.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
Affordability is a it isn't even an economic concept. It
just means that you liked the price. The reason you
liked the price of the insurance premium is because it's
being subsidized by your fellow taxpayer, no other reason. The
tax credits go to the insurance companies. That's good for them,
(25:54):
and they lowered the It's just I mean, it's a scam.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
It's a Ponzi scheme, and everybody knew it.
Speaker 3 (26:02):
So I don't want to hear any crying and belly
aching that now the subsidies are rending, which case, the
insurance companies are raising the premiums to the right level
for the person that is insured. And why are people
complaining that Republicans need to solve this.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
Republicans don't need to solve this. I told you so.
Speaker 3 (26:24):
You need to go talk to Speaker Pelosi. Former Speaker Pelosi.
You should go talk to Dick Durbin. You should go
talk to Chuck Schumer. You should go talk to Barack Obama.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
He's around, ask him.
Speaker 3 (26:35):
Call your Democrat National Committee and say let's have a
conference call. And why did President Obama set these things
to expire? Right, it's the Democrat problem to solve, not
the Republican problem to solve.
Speaker 8 (26:48):
Hey man, you should just think of it this way.
If everybody is writing the wagon who's going to pull
the wagon. Nobody thinks about that, but sure, all right, man,
they should give your own show.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
Ye, I appreciate the call. I do think about that.
Speaker 10 (27:04):
You're making me nuts about all this with Obamacare and
how it sucks, because honestly, it was great insurance when
I had it, and at an affordable price. And I
don't think you remember that prior to Obamacare, the US
government subsidized sixty percent of what is it Cobra payments,
(27:28):
so either way, the government is paying.
Speaker 3 (27:33):
Yeah, I'm glad that you loved it. I'm glad that
you found the price quite affordable. Do you want to
thank me now or when do you want to thank
the rest of us that work to pay for your subsidy?
Speaker 1 (27:44):
This is incredible to me. Cobra, what are you kidding me?
That's the worst product out there. Nobody can afford Cobra.
That was ridiculous. You go to the poorhouse.
Speaker 3 (27:55):
Cobra was for people that were really in dire straits
and we're willing to sell their second car to be
able to afford and Cobra expired. This was never designed
to be a lifestyle. This was never designed to be
(28:16):
and by the way, It didn't pencil out to be
that way. It was for people that were in a
position where they couldn't afford real insurance like normal people.
And it's been ten years, so it's time you figured
out how to live like the rest of us.
Speaker 5 (28:32):
To the moron just called you retarded because you didn't
support Obamacare. I had free healthcare insurance before Obamacare, and
it went up and up and up. My employer provided
it couldn't afford it anymore, and it screwed everybody else
that was getting their insurance through work, like we've been
(28:53):
doing for the last century or so. Get a grip
and get a clue.
Speaker 3 (28:58):
Yeah, I'm with you, and that's right. He was a
moron who called me retalking. A lot of name calling
going on on New Year's Eat.
Speaker 11 (29:05):
There is affordable health care, there's faith based insurance. I
have a three thousand dollars deductible. My payments are three
hundred dollars a month. But I do what most people
are not willing to do. I'm not fat, I do
not smoke, I do not drink, I do not do drugs.
I exercise. I take care of myself first. Therefore my
health is good. People need to be responsible for their
(29:26):
health more than they are. And there is good healthcare
out there.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
There you go. She sounds like, uh, looking for date.
Speaker 12 (29:35):
Hey, lou love it when you fill in. You're great
at this. I this health care debate and this whole thing.
It's in the Declaration of Independence, not the US Constitution,
as you know. But we have the right to life,
liberty in the pursuit of happiness. Is health care included
in that pursuit of happiness in that liberty in that life?
(29:55):
And if it is, then yeah, government should be helping
with like a lot of socialist country. If not, that's
the debate, and we haven't really resolved it.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
Oh I disagree. I have resolved the debate. You have
no right to discounted.
Speaker 3 (30:09):
Health insurance premiums zero and twenty million Americans are about
to experience that reality tomorrow. See, we don't have a
healthcare problem in the United States.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
We don't.
Speaker 3 (30:23):
You fall off your motorcycle, they take it to the
er and they'll patch up.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
Right, you cut your thumb on the Christmas ham and
it's bleeding and you need to go to urgent care.
They'll patch you up. Your kid gets RSV or whatever.
Speaker 3 (30:38):
They'll take you down, you know, you take them down
and they'll take care of them. They'll bring down the fever.
We don't have a health care issue in the United States.
There's hospitals everywhere, there's urgent care centers everywhere, there are
doctors everywhere. The problem is who pays for it after
the bleeding stops.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
It is an issue, There's no question about it.
Speaker 3 (31:02):
The costs are higher here in the United States than
in other countries. Even when government provides, it's still higher
here in the United States.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
Okay, that's an interesting challenge, right.
Speaker 3 (31:12):
You know what else is more expensive here in the
United States than other places. The cost of private education,
Private dentistry very expensive here.
Speaker 1 (31:20):
Dentistry a lot cheaper in Tijuana.
Speaker 3 (31:24):
Now you can go to Tijuana and have your teeth pulled,
or you can go to a normal dentist here in
southern California that graduated from USC. That's up to you,
and we're lucky that you have the choice and it's
only an hour's drive.
Speaker 1 (31:40):
Right. The question is who's paying for it?
Speaker 3 (31:42):
So when I hear these litterbal maniacs talk about healthcare
being a human right, the question that I have is
is the er doctor that works three twelve hour shifts
in a row during the Christmas break? Does he have
a human right to be paid? Do the nurses have
(32:05):
a right to be paid? To the hospital administrators have
a right to be paid? You have a human right.
I have a human right to have health care. Okay,
but you're not paying for it. So where do the
people that are providing you the health care? Where do
they go to get paid? Well, that's why the government
should do it, all right, Well, who's the government? The
government doesn't have money. We have money. We give the
(32:29):
money to the government. So if the government doesn't have
enough money to subsidize your god given right to go
to any emergency room you want, all day, every day,
then you don't get to have it in which proves
the point that you'd never have the right in the
first place, because if there's no money there, there's no
hospital there.
Speaker 1 (32:50):
And if there's no hospital there, you're up a creek.
Speaker 3 (32:55):
So that's the way you figure out the riddle of
do I life liberty and pursuit of happiness? Well, does
health care insurance fall under pursuit of happiness? And the
answer is no, because if there's no money, then there's
no subsidies. And if there's no subsidies, there's no place
to go with your subsidized healthcare premium because no doctor
will be there, no hospital will be there, no urgent care.
Speaker 1 (33:17):
So that's how you unravel that riddle.
Speaker 3 (33:21):
You only have a right to life and liberty and
the personal pursuit of happiness. Everything else comes with a price,
and you have to work to pay the cost of
where it is you want.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
Now, I get it, there are.
Speaker 3 (33:38):
Benefits to you know, safety nets and all of that,
but this is not what we're talking about. We're talking
about twenty million people that have been subsidized and their
subsidies are about to come to an end. And that's
reality in twenty twenty six, and it's going to quit
hit them quite hard.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
But they're not losing their health insurance, just they're paying.
It's going to go up. It's not that big of
a deal. No crying, no whining. Lou Penrose on KFI
AM six forty Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (34:08):
Hey, you've been listening to the John Cobalt Show podcast.
You can always hear the show live on KFI AM
six forty from one to four pm every Monday, through Friday,
and of course anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
The John Kobylt Show News
Host
John Kobylt
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