As promised, the Senate Republicans have produced their new health care "reform" bill:
Senate Republicans Unveil New Health Bill, but Divisions Remain
It's still uncertain whether or not it's going to pass:
Two Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine, a moderate, and Rand Paul of Kentucky, a conservative, said they were not swayed even on a procedural motion to take up the bill for debate.
More interesting:
The Republican Trumpcare bill still slashes Medicaid, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, said. The cuts are every bit as draconian as they were in the previous version a devastating blow to rural hospitals, to Americans in nursing homes, to those struggling with opioid addiction and so many more.
When I was young, that was pretty much how Medicaid was criticized by the right: as a tax give-a-way to undeserving lazy poor people. It's interesting how it now seems to have a lot more support these days.
Republicans say they are trying to stabilize insurance markets and rescue consumers who face sky-high premiums and deductibles on the Affordable Care Act’s exchanges.
Funny enough, the insurance companies are complaining that the main source of instability in the exchanges are due to the Republican majority's hostility to Obamacare. If the Republicans would give up on trying to repeal it (or break it under the guise of "fixing" it) and would adequately finance the subsidies, the insurance companies would be happy to continue to participate.
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Man, this is looking like political genius on the part of Obama. Some of us may remember that when it was passed, Obamacare was unpopular among a majority of Americans. Obama must have figured that once it was working and people saw how good it was for them, that would turn around.
Patriotism is the excuse that countries give to themselves for their failures. — Stephen Marche
™ Version 4.2
