Saturday, June 24, 2017

Trumpcare Is Not Health Care

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

The week the thirteen Republican senators who crafted their party's response to the House version of the Affordable Care Act (Trumpcare) in secret finally trotted their monster out into the cold light of day, and to no one's surprise, the proposal benefits no one - except big corporations and America's richest people.  Bernie Sanders described it this way:

They call it a health care bill, but how can it be a health care bill when it throws 23 million people off of insurance, cuts $834 billion from Medicaid, and defunds Planned Parenthood? God knows what the implication of this legislation will be on our children, the elderly, and those of us with chronic illnesses.
It will take a minimum of fifty Republican votes to pass this bill - assuming that all of the Democrats can stand together in opposition.   There are only fifty-two Republican senators in the current Congress, so defeat of the bill is possible, but I fear, not likely.  Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will exert his considerable political power and evil influence to threaten and cajole wayward senators into holding the party line.  Unrelated spending projects will either emerge or disappear in certain states, depending on their senators' support of Trumpcare.  Mitch is not a nice human being, and he certainly doesn't lack the political resolve to twist and break a few arms.

That said, McConnell will still have to work to get this lemon off of the lot.  Four Republican senators - Rand Paul, Ron Johnson, Mike Lee, and Ted Cruz - immediately announced their opposition to the bill because it wasn't mean enough.  The next day Republican Senator Dean Heller said that he can't support it basically because it is too mean.

Senators Collins, Murkowski, and Portman have also said that they have problems with the bill in its current form.

McConnell, it would seem, has his work cut out for him, but as the Republican leader he has control of all of the political toys and candy - and his children will eventually bend to his will - or be broken in their pointless defiance.

But Mitch McConnell isn't the only one exerting pressure on senators.  Bernie Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont, is partnering with Move On to hold rallies in opposition to this bill in states with Republican senators who appear to be less than enthusiastic about its passage.  Sanders will hit some of the big concerns regarding health care in the United States:

On this tour I will ask why it is that the United States is the only major country on earth that does not guarantee health care to all of its people as a right. I will ask why we pay far more per capita than any other nation for health care—with worse outcomes—and the highest prices for prescription drugs. And I will discuss the Medicare for all, single payer legislation that I will soon be introducing in the United States Senate.

A wide range of big organizations like the American Medical Association and AARP are also openly opposing passage of the measure.  All of that, and the internet is awash in anti-Trumpcare petitions and letter-writing campaigns.

And then there was this:

On Thursday a group of disabled individuals held a protest outside of Mitch McConnell's office.  Capitol police arrested forty-two of the protesters, many of whom were in wheel chairs!  The photo ops were endless - and priceless!

Mitch is likely to win the fight, but he is damned sure going to get bloodied in the process!

Obamacare provided access to health care to millions of Americans - and Trumpcare takes it away.

Bottom line:  Trumpcare is not health care.

2 comments:

Don said...

Not so sure Mitch is going to win the fight. So far, 5 GOP members are against the plan --- which, if passed, would give GOP the money it needs to give the 1% the tax breaks that have been promised.

Xobekim said...

This is a BABY KILLER BILL. Half of all babies born in America owe their health insurance coverage to Medicaid. This bill, over time, eliminates Medicaid. Pregnant mothers will not have access to prenatal care or be able to gain admission to a hospital. Complications will arise. Babies and sometimes mothers will die because the Senators want to give billions in tax breaks to billionaires. Call your Republican Senator and tell him or her to oppose this BABY KILLER BILL.