The American Health Care Act is to the Affordable Care Act what "All Lives Matter" is to "Black Lives Matter." It is more opposition to a thing than a thing itself. It is an attempt to jump into a conversation by people who have nothing to say. People who declare "All Lives Matter" aren't expected to back that philosophy up by actually doing anything. They're not expected to march or demonstrate or agitate for criminal justice reform. Similarly, anybody touting the recently unveiled American Health Care Act is not really serious about providing health care for people who've found it unaffordable or inaccessible. They're merely voicing opposition to a bill that already has benefited people who found health care insurance unaffordable or inaccessible.
Even before the Congressional Budget Office released its prediction that the number of Americans losing health care coverage would number in the tens of millions, the discerning person would have already been suspicious of this Republican-led plan.
Back in 2009, when President Barack Obama was pushing the Affordable Care Act forward, Republicans protested that he was going about health care reform the wrong way.
But Republicans had held the White House for eight years, and they had had a majority in both houses of Congress for part of that time.
What did they do then to make health insurance available for people with pre-existing conditions?
What did they do then to help young twentysomethings who might not be able to afford such coverage on their own?
What did they do to help people too rich for Medicaid but too poor to actually buy health care policies for their families?
Nothing. That's what Republicans did: nothing.
Consequently, the Republican's American Health Care Act doesn't appear to be motivated by a desire to provide Americans health care. The Affordable Care Act - though not perfect and though not equally beneficial to everybody - has already greatly increased the number of people who have health care coverage.
Therefore, this bill seems to be motivated by a desire to undo what Obama has done, to undo what Democrats have done, even though the Affordable Care Act was based on the conservative idea of personal accountability. Mitt Romney, when he was governor of Massachusetts, signed a law mandating that everybody in the Bay State be insured. People who weren't insured were driving up the costs of those who were, a Romney aide explained in a 2011 New Yorker story about the Massachusetts law. Romney, according to that aide, argued, "We gotta stop these free riders!"
Next year alone, the Congressional Budget Office report says, under the Republican's American Healthcare Act the number of uninsured would grow by 14 million. Over the next decade, we should expect that number to have swelled to 24 million. How does it even count as a health care act if drives down the number of people who have health insurance?
"It's awful," U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Baton Rouge Republican, said of the CBO's prediction. "It has to be a concern. President Trump said he wanted as many people covered as under Obamacare."
If that's what Trump wants, then he can just leave the law alone or fine tune it. But his description of Obama as "one of the worst presidents in the history of our country" would be exposed as meaningless talk if he left alone Obama's signature accomplishment. Better to save face and dismantle it -- even if in the dismantling Trump and the Republicans help inflict misery upon millions who have been helped by the expansion of coverage.
Together Baton Rouge, a coalition of congregations and community-based organizations, created a survey this week asking for the public's response to the new bill. To a person, people are scared, if not for themselves then for somebody else. A person now covered by Medicaid writes, "I work full time, but cannot afford to pay for insurance. I have several major health issues. I would die without coverage." A pregnant woman worries that she won't be able to afford mental health care and that her niece won't be able to get treatment for her Type 1 diabetes. A double organ transplant recipient worries that with no insurance to pay for medications, there will be no avoiding dialysis.
Those neighbors of ours were made more secure by the passage of the Affordable Care Act, and they shouldn't have to worry that something called the American Health Care Act will make them sicker than they are now.
-Jarvis DeBerry
My take: The sheer callous hypocrisy of Republicans wanting to cut back on accessibility to life saving, life changing-improving healthcare when cuts can easily be made to the military to more than pay for the Affordable Care Act(Obamacare) should open every ones eyes to the indifference of the 1%, the gated communities, the separated ruling class. Good health gets people up and going to achieve and be all they can be. A caring people want that and appreciate that for their fellow citizens but the corporate serving, money serving Republicans are hardened to it's wisdom but then maybe that's just an excuse. Maybe it is more likely they are just used to being selfish, self-centered and uncaring because money is their real god. Like the article says above, the Republicans when they had the chance did nothing about healthcare. Nothing.
The entire world has free healthcare but the stingy Republicans can't even tolerate market-based Obamacare for U.S. citizens. What a sick spirited pathetic GOP congress that once supported subsidies and medicaid expansion in their own bill but won't now because a Democratic president bought into their idea and implemented it. Peoples lives and quality of care are on the line but oh yes the Republican congressmen rest fine in the peace of mind of their own healthcare. They will be taken care of, they will be healthy Hypocrites!
Even before the Congressional Budget Office released its prediction that the number of Americans losing health care coverage would number in the tens of millions, the discerning person would have already been suspicious of this Republican-led plan.
Back in 2009, when President Barack Obama was pushing the Affordable Care Act forward, Republicans protested that he was going about health care reform the wrong way.
But Republicans had held the White House for eight years, and they had had a majority in both houses of Congress for part of that time.
What did they do then to make health insurance available for people with pre-existing conditions?
What did they do then to help young twentysomethings who might not be able to afford such coverage on their own?
What did they do to help people too rich for Medicaid but too poor to actually buy health care policies for their families?
Nothing. That's what Republicans did: nothing.
Consequently, the Republican's American Health Care Act doesn't appear to be motivated by a desire to provide Americans health care. The Affordable Care Act - though not perfect and though not equally beneficial to everybody - has already greatly increased the number of people who have health care coverage.
Therefore, this bill seems to be motivated by a desire to undo what Obama has done, to undo what Democrats have done, even though the Affordable Care Act was based on the conservative idea of personal accountability. Mitt Romney, when he was governor of Massachusetts, signed a law mandating that everybody in the Bay State be insured. People who weren't insured were driving up the costs of those who were, a Romney aide explained in a 2011 New Yorker story about the Massachusetts law. Romney, according to that aide, argued, "We gotta stop these free riders!"
But when Obama proposed a national law similar to the law in Massachusetts, the idea was suddenly transformed into the most liberal thing ever. It became for Republicans the thing that must be undone even if undoing it makes millions of Americans less secure.
Even if you were inclined to ignore history, even if you were inclined to give Republicans the benefit of the doubt and assume that their goal was to be helpful to Americans who need help, the report from the nonpartisan CBO should snap you back to reality.
Next year alone, the Congressional Budget Office report says, under the Republican's American Healthcare Act the number of uninsured would grow by 14 million. Over the next decade, we should expect that number to have swelled to 24 million. How does it even count as a health care act if drives down the number of people who have health insurance?
"It's awful," U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Baton Rouge Republican, said of the CBO's prediction. "It has to be a concern. President Trump said he wanted as many people covered as under Obamacare."
If that's what Trump wants, then he can just leave the law alone or fine tune it. But his description of Obama as "one of the worst presidents in the history of our country" would be exposed as meaningless talk if he left alone Obama's signature accomplishment. Better to save face and dismantle it -- even if in the dismantling Trump and the Republicans help inflict misery upon millions who have been helped by the expansion of coverage.
Together Baton Rouge, a coalition of congregations and community-based organizations, created a survey this week asking for the public's response to the new bill. To a person, people are scared, if not for themselves then for somebody else. A person now covered by Medicaid writes, "I work full time, but cannot afford to pay for insurance. I have several major health issues. I would die without coverage." A pregnant woman worries that she won't be able to afford mental health care and that her niece won't be able to get treatment for her Type 1 diabetes. A double organ transplant recipient worries that with no insurance to pay for medications, there will be no avoiding dialysis.
Those neighbors of ours were made more secure by the passage of the Affordable Care Act, and they shouldn't have to worry that something called the American Health Care Act will make them sicker than they are now.
-Jarvis DeBerry
My take: The sheer callous hypocrisy of Republicans wanting to cut back on accessibility to life saving, life changing-improving healthcare when cuts can easily be made to the military to more than pay for the Affordable Care Act(Obamacare) should open every ones eyes to the indifference of the 1%, the gated communities, the separated ruling class. Good health gets people up and going to achieve and be all they can be. A caring people want that and appreciate that for their fellow citizens but the corporate serving, money serving Republicans are hardened to it's wisdom but then maybe that's just an excuse. Maybe it is more likely they are just used to being selfish, self-centered and uncaring because money is their real god. Like the article says above, the Republicans when they had the chance did nothing about healthcare. Nothing.
The entire world has free healthcare but the stingy Republicans can't even tolerate market-based Obamacare for U.S. citizens. What a sick spirited pathetic GOP congress that once supported subsidies and medicaid expansion in their own bill but won't now because a Democratic president bought into their idea and implemented it. Peoples lives and quality of care are on the line but oh yes the Republican congressmen rest fine in the peace of mind of their own healthcare. They will be taken care of, they will be healthy Hypocrites!
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