Trumpcare: Taking Care of Everybody ⚐
23 Jun 2017“I am going to take care of everybody. I don’t care if it costs me votes or not. Everybody’s going to be taken care of much better than they’re taken care of now” — Donald Trump 1 Both the House and Senate Health Care bills destroy health care for the poor and elderly.
More moderate Republican senators, such as Dean Heller of Nevada, expressed their own qualms, as did the American Hospital Association, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network and the Association of American Medical Colleges. “We are extremely disappointed by the Senate bill released today,” the medical school association wrote. “Despite promises to the contrary, it will leave millions of people without health coverage, and others with only bare bones plans that will be insufficient to properly address their needs.”
Make it difficult for millions of people to get affordable health care. That’s definitely better that what we have today.
Some senators have concerns based on other issues specific to their states, including the opioid epidemic that has battered states like West Virginia and Ohio.
You know which single health care insurer covers the most opioid treatments? Medicaid.
State with the largest number of opioid deaths? West Virginia. Percentage of population on Medicaid? 30%.
State with the third largest number of opioid deaths? Kentucky. Percentage of population on Medicaid? 28%.
State with the next largest number of opioid deaths? Ohio. Percentage of population on Medicaid? 25%.
Once again, this is clearly better than what we have now.
It would also repeal most of the tax increases imposed by the Affordable Care Act — a capital gains tax cut for the affluent would be retroactive for this year — to pay for expanded coverage, in effect handing a broad tax cut to the affluent in a measure that would also slice billions of dollars from Medicaid, a health care program that serves one in five Americans, not only the poor but almost two-thirds of people in nursing homes.
The poor and elderly getting kicked so that the rich can have a tax break. All negotiated in secret by a small committee of 13 white men and lobbyists.
Better for everybody is what that group has in mind.
Who benefits? It’s all about the tax cuts, almost half of which will go to people with incomes over $1 million, the great bulk to people with incomes over 200K.
So, is this bill good for you? Yes, if you meet the following criteria:
1.Your income is more than $200,000 a year
2.You have a job that comes with good health insurance
3.You can’t imagine any circumstances under which you lose that > job or income
4.You don’t have any family members or friends who don’t meet those criteria
5.You have zero empathy for anyone else
— Paul Krugman, June 23, 2017 2 Think what you want about Krugman, but he’s not wrong. This isn’t about health care. It’s about tax cuts for the wealthy. It’s perfectly fine if, as a citizen or representative, you want to argue that this is the right thing.
But don’t try to package it up in fixing health care.
And don’t try to sell it as taking better care of everybody.