Trump's first year in office saw 3.2 million more Americans without health insurance.

Courtesy of TPM:  

Over the course of President Donald Trump’s first year in office, the number of Americans without health insurance increased 1.3 percent—with 3.2 million more people uninsured, according to Gallup-Sharecare’s latest tracking report published Tuesday. 

It’s the largest one-year increase in the uninsured population since Gallup-Sharecare began the survey in 2008. 

The study noted “several factors” swelling the ranks of the uninsured, from increased premiums caused by insurance companies dropping out of the individual market to uncertainty around whether the Trump administration would enforce the individual mandate’s penalty for forgoing health insurance. Exacerbating both factors, the GOP-controlled Congress repealed the individual mandate in December, which is expected to hike premiums by an additional 10 percent or more. 

Premiums also went up significantly in 2017 when the Trump administration cut off cost-sharing reduction payments to insurance companies, though the vast majority of people on the individual market were shielded from the increase by a bump in their federal tax credits. 

Though the uninsured rate remains well below the high of 18 percent—the year before the Affordable Care Act went into effect—the increase in 2017 is the first reversal of several years of decline. And Gallup-Sharecare predict that the trend will continue, with more people dropping or losing their insurance coverage in the years to come.

Gee, who would have thought that constantly attacking Obamacare without having a better plan to take its place would have such a negative effect?

Oh that's right, the almost 66 million people who voted for his opponent.

Despite claims by Donald Trump that it is dead, Obamacare enrollment is way up.

You know I'm going to kill Obamacare. Wanna bet?

Courtesy of Newsweek: 

The White House is trying kill Obamacare. Americans are throwing it a lifeline. 

Despite the Trump Administration’s promises to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act, enrollment for health insurance under the program is quite healthy with less than a month to go in the current sign-up period, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, a federal agency. 

“In week three of Open Enrollment for 2018, 798,829 people selected plans using the HealthCare.gov platform,” the agency reported.

That brings the total number of enrollees in this period to 2.3 million, which is almost 900,000 people — or 64 percent — more than the number of customers who signed up during the first four weeks of enrollment in 2016, according to CNBC.

The figures included more than 566,000 new consumers and 1.7 million renewals, with total Healthcare.gov users exceeding 8.1 million.

And keep in mind this is without the Trump Administration doing a damn thing to help advertise this open enrollment.

It's almost as if the Obama Administration created a pretty good program that the American people want in their lives, and have come to rely on.  

The Republicans are trying it yet again!

RED ALERT: Senate GOP just added provision to their tax plan that would gut ACA & kick 13M ppl off insurance. Yes, it's same tax plan that would add $1 trillion+ to deficit while giving majority of benefits to corporations & the rich. We need you to make your voices heard again.

— Sen. Al Franken (@SenFranken) November 14, 2017

Courtesy of WaPo: 

Senate Republican leaders moved Tuesday to include a repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate in their tax bill, a major change of strategy as they try to accomplish two of their top domestic priorities in a single piece of legislation. 

They also announced that the individual tax cuts in the plan would be made temporary, expiring at the end of 2025 to comply with Senate rules limiting the impact of legislation on the long-term deficit. A corporate tax cut, reducing the rate from 35 to 20 percent, would be left permanent.

Repealing the mandate, which compels most Americans to buy health insurance or pay a fine, would free up more than $300 billion in government funding over the next decade that Republicans could use to finance their proposed tax cuts, but it would result in 13 million fewer people having health insurance, according to projections from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. 

The CBO has also projected that repealing the individual mandate would drive up insurance premiums for many Americans by roughly 10 percent.

Simply put they are NEVER going to stop doing this until they no longer have the numbers to make the attempt.

And the only way to ensure that, is to start electing Democrats to put a stop to it for good.

And towards that end the Democrats are gathering an army.

Courtesy of The Hill: 

House Democrats' campaign arm has named the first round of candidates to its "Red to Blue" program as the party looks to highlight promising Democratic challengers ahead of the 2018 midterms. 

All but one of the 11 candidates highlighted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) are running against GOP incumbents. 

Only three in districts that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton won in 2016, suggesting that they face a tougher path to victory. But Democrats are emboldened by the early signs from these campaigns, as well as the national trends tilting in the party's direction, as they look to seize the House majority in 2018.

Having good candidates is the first step, but then we have to push hard to get out the vote and take power back from these Republican thugs, and not only protect Obamacare, but also finally do the tweaking that it needs to be a more successful program to meet the needs of the American people. 

Senator Elizabeth Warren holds health insurance executive's feet to the fire, while also making argument for single payer.

This from the You Tube site: 

Elizabeth Warren is shocked to find out that the health insurance giant, Anthem, gets roughly half their quarterly earnings from the federal government, and still has the audacity to pull out of the Affordable Care Act marketplace--thus sowing more instability for millions of the poorest Americans--because their demands aren't being met. 

I have to say that if I were somebody involved in some shady shit and I knew I was about to be grilled by Elizabeth Warren I would be pooping my pants.

She is unbelievably good at this stuff and simply does not tolerate bullshit.

And she is right, this kid of greed in the health insurance market is exactly why we need to seriously consider moving to a single payer, government controlled, health care system.

(H/T to Democratic Underground.)

Lawsuit may force Trump Administration to pay billions to Obamacare insurers.

Courtesy of Politico: 

A pending court decision could force the Trump administration to pump billions of dollars into Obamacare insurers, even as the president threatens to let the health care law “implode.” 

Health insurers have filed nearly two dozen lawsuits claiming the government owes them payments from a program meant to blunt their losses in the Obamacare marketplaces. That raises the prospect that the Trump administration will have to bankroll a program the GOP has pilloried as an insurer bailout.

Insurers are owed more than $8 billion in payments, and the tab is likely to grow. Insurers say spending restrictions Republicans forced on the “risk corridors” program during the Obama administration, aside from being illegal, are partly to blame for severe turbulence in some Obamacare marketplaces. 

“[The Obama administration] repeatedly assured us it was there and it would be a clear obligation of the government,” said Tom Policelli, CEO of Minuteman Health, which is among the insurers suing the government over the shortfall. “Even the federal government is subject to the rules.” 

The fiscal hit to the feds could be huge if the insurers win. And it would be one more embarrassing setback for Republicans, who likely saw their best shot at dismantling Obamacare slip away in the Senate’s failed repeal vote early Friday morning. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has threatened to pull billions in funding from a separate Obamacare subsidy program he's labeled a "bailout" for insurers.

The Trump Administration seems blissfully unaware that until the law is changed they are on the hook for keeping the promises made by Obamacare, and that if they fail to keep them they risk costly lawsuits as well as a cost politically.

Now currently these cases are headed to a three judge panel in Washington, but if the insurers emerge victorious I am positive they will find their way to the Supreme Court.

And what happens there is anybody's guess.

Donald Trump brings Republican Senators together for lunch, threatens the reelection of one, and then lies to the public about what is in the Senate Health Care bill.

TRUMP to HELLER: "Look, he wants to remain a senator, doesn't he?" pic.twitter.com/LFiwuEY693

— JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) July 19, 2017

Courtesy of Slate:

President Donald Trump invited the Republican Senate caucus to lunch to talk about health care on Wednesday. The goal of the lunch was kind of a mystery, considering that enough Republican Senators have already come forward to torpedo both Trump’s signature effort to repeal and replace Obamacare with a program that would cost tens of millions of people their insurance, as well as his back up plan of just repealing it outright in a way that would cost more than 30 million people their insurance. 

It turned out that Trump had brought them to the White House to try to browbeat and harangue recalcitrant Senators into changing their mind. The most emphatic example of this attempted bullying came with Trump's treatment of Nevada Sen. Dean Heller. The seating arrangements conveniently placed Heller, one of the earliest Senators to come out publicly and vociferously against the initial Senate health care bill, next to the president. This offered the insult comic in chief the opportunity to come up with a singularly awkward gibe. 

As it turns out Heller's seat is especially vulnerable, so Trump putting a target on his back should be especially troubling to Mitch McConnell and the GOP.

Besides Heller was not one of the Republican Senators who actually torpedoed the health care plan:

What's especially fun about this is that Heller wasn't even one of the Senators to come out and kill the revised version of the bill, nor did he kill the backup plan of repealing Obamacare without a replacement. That was Sens. Susan Collins, Rand Paul, Mike Lee and Jerry Moran in the first instance, and Sens. Collins, Shelley Moore Capito, and Lisa Murkowski in the latter. 

Murkowski, by the way, was sitting several seats over on Trump's left, looking decidedly uncomfortable and completely unconvinced by his pathetic sales pitch.

And what a pitch it was. When Trump was not threatening or shaming the Republican Senators he was outright lying to the American people.

Trump listed off a number of bald faced lies about a bill that it is clear he has never read, including that it will cover more Americans, bring insurance costs down, and still cover all preexisting conditions.

The bill will do none of that, however it will will gut $772 billion in Medicaid funding over the next ten years which will imperil health care for millions of Americans including 5 million special needs children. And it will also kick tens of millions off of their health care plans.

 Perhaps Donald Trump should try selling THAT to the American people?

Paul Ryan is too afraid to be confronted about Trumpcare to hold any town halls.

Hey no town halls right now, until we are finished screwing you over.

Courtesy of Slate:  

House Speaker Paul Ryan won’t hold public town hall meetings because he’s concerned about protesters coming in from outside his district. Ryan, who once seemed to relish overflowing town halls, seemed to make the policy official after holding several closed-door meetings with constituents. 

“I don’t want to have a situation where we just have a screaming fest, a shouting fest, where people are being bused in from out of the district to get on TV because they’re yelling at somebody,” Ryan told reporters in Madison on Friday. “That does nobody any good. What I want to do is have a civil, good, quiet conversation with constituents.” That is why Ryan says he has been “looking for new and creative ways to interact with my constituents in a civil way.” 

So far, these “new and creative ways” have meant telephone town halls, meetings with constituents behind closed doors with pre-arranged questions and no follow-ups, and office hours.

Another Republican coward who talks big in private, but is too afraid to face the music when his constitutions want him to explain how he can take health care away from millions of Americans. 

The GOP for some reason decides to attack Hillary Clinton for not fixing health care even though their candidate is now president. She responds perfectly.

“We’ve got to fix what’s broken.” Where's your plan, @HillaryClinton? pic.twitter.com/CmRB4mCsZd

— GOP (@GOP) July 5, 2017

So for some bizarre reason the GOP decided to send out that tweet.

It pissed me off a little so I responded with my own tweet.

If you had not allowed your Russian buddies to steal the election, you would now be seeing her plan. And I be it would have been awesome! https://t.co/uYMuwjQ4cC

— Gryphen 2009 (@Gryphen2009) July 5, 2017

However apparently Hillary also got wind of it and she responded by linking to the health care proposals that she developed as a candidate.

Here are some of them:  

Defend and expand the Affordable Care Act, which covers 20 million people. Hillary will stand up to Republican-led attacks on this landmark law—and build on its success to bring the promise of affordable health care to more people and make a “public option” possible. She will also support letting people over 55 years old buy into Medicare. 

Bring down out-of-pocket costs like copays and deductibles. American families are being squeezed by rising out-of-pocket health care costs. Hillary believes that workers should share in slower growth of national health care spending through lower costs. 

Reduce the cost of prescription drugs. Prescription drug spending accelerated from 2.5 percent in 2013 to 12.6 percent in 2014. It’s no wonder that almost three-quarters of Americans believe prescription drug costs are unreasonable. Hillary believes we need to demand lower drug costs for hardworking families and seniors. Read more here. 

Protect consumers from unjustified prescription drug price increases from companies that market long-standing, life-saving treatments and face little or no competition. Hillary’s plan includes new enforcement tools that make drug alternatives available and increase competition, broaden emergency access to high-quality treatments from developed countries with strong safety standards, and hold drug companies accountable for unjustified price increases with new penalties. Read more here. 

Fight for health insurance for the lowest-income Americans in every state by incentivizing states to expand Medicaid—and make enrollment through Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act easier. 

Expand access to affordable health care to families regardless of immigration status. Hillary will expand access to affordable health care to families regardless of immigration status by allowing families to buy health insurance on the health exchanges regardless of their immigration status. 

Expand access to rural Americans, who often have difficulty finding quality, affordable health care. Hillary will explore cost-effective ways to make more health care providers eligible for telehealth reimbursement under Medicare and other programs, including federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics. 

Defend access to reproductive health care. Hillary will work to ensure that all women have access to preventive care, affordable contraception, and safe and legal abortion. 

Double funding for community health centers, and support the healthcare workforce: As part of her comprehensive health care agenda, Hillary is committed to doubling the funding for primary-care services at community health centers over the next decade. Hillary also supports President Obama’s call for a near tripling of the size of the National Health Service Corps.

Great job GOP. Now you have not only reminded the American people that you have no plan for bringing affordable health care to the American people, but also that the candidate who could have accomplished that represented the Democrats in the last election.

And damn would she have made a magnificent President!

A number of Republican Senators are begging Mitch McConnell to cancel the August recess for fear of what they may face from constituents this 4th of July after failing to make progress on a health care bill.

Courtesy of WaPo: 

An even larger group of Senate Republicans suggested Friday that McConnell should scale back or cancel the chamber’s month-long August recess, given the lack of progress they have made on not just health care but a tax-code overhaul, spending bills, the debt ceiling and a budget resolution. 

Senate Republicans David Perdue (Ga.), Steve Daines (Mont.), Joni Ernst (Iowa), John Neely Kennedy (La.), James Lankford (Okla.), Mike Lee (Utah), Mike Rounds (S.D.), Luther Strange (Ala.), Dan Sullivan (Alaska) and Thom Tillis (N.C.) sent McConnell a letter Friday asking him to shorten or cancel the August recess so they can get more done. 

“Delivering meaningful results was never assumed to be easy, but the millions of Americans who placed their confidence in our leadership expect our full and best effort,” the 10 senators wrote. 

Republicans are steeling themselves for attacks on their health-care negotiations over the July Fourth recess, with progressive activists planning to pressure any members of Congress they see at public events. Most GOP senators were keeping their plans close to their vests, though a handful, including Cassidy, Ted Cruz (Tex.), Susan Collins (Maine), Jerry Moran (Kan.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) have announced town halls or parade visits. 

Collins, a vocal critic of the current Senate draft, had publicized just one scheduled appearance — in the 1,300-person town of Eastport, Maine, near the Canadian border. 

At (Louisiana Senator Bill) Cassidy’s town hall at the Living Faith Christian Center in Baton Rouge, he tried to make the case for transitioning Medicaid recipients into private insurance. But constituents interrupted him repeatedly, prompting him to chastise them for being rude. 

“I’ll tell you what’s rude — kicking 22 million people off of health care in this country,” said a man in the front row after the senator recognized him to speak. 

The audience erupted into cheers. 

Reminding Cassidy, a medical doctor, of his stint treating patients at a hospital for the uninsured, the man continued: “You worked at Earl K. Long for many years. You know what people are like at their lowest.” 

Senate Democrats are staging events aimed at highlighting how the Senate’s draft bill could hurt health-care delivery in their home states. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) is visiting at least two rural hospitals over the break to underscore the impact of proposed funding cuts.

Yeah I bet these GOP Senators are absolutely dreading these 4th of July events.  

I think that Alaska's two senators are only planning on attending the parades, but I have little doubt that they will be inundated with demands that they protect Medicaid and work to expand health coverage up here.

I especially think that is true of Lisa, who many see as being much more likely to reject the GOP plan, and who is the subject of a lot of anti-repeal advertising on our local radio and television stations right now.

The GOP's plan to repeal Obamacare just went into a ditch. Or careened off a cliff. Kinda depends on who you ask.

WATCH: Senate Dems hold "People's Filibuster" against ObamaCare repeal pic.twitter.com/mGkyRvBwFQ

— The Hill (@thehill) June 27, 2017

Courtesy of CNN Politics:

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will delay the vote on the Republican leadership's health care bill until after the July 4 recess. 

McConnell told GOP senators that he wants to make changes to the bill, get a new Congressional Budget Office score and have a vote after the holiday, two sources told CNN. 

McConnell said that President Donald Trump had invited all Republican senators to the White House on Tuesday afternoon. 

"We're going to continue discussion in our conference," McConnell told reporters on Capitol Hill after his meeting with his caucus.

The republicans are insisting that this does not mean the bill is dead, but can you imagine what these Senators will face back home during this break?

Most will likely hide in their houses or state offices at avoid the angry crowds gathered outside, and those that are brave enough to hold a town hall will spend the entire time pressed up against the wall attempting to inch toward the exit.

There is NO WAY they come back from that anxious to pass a health care bill.

Alaska's Lisa Murkowski is clearly a no vote on anything that the Republicans could come up with.

GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski: “People support greater access to health care. Planned Parenthood provides for that.” https://t.co/XLEolQj5AG

— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) June 27, 2017

And even Mitch McConnell has signaled that it might be time to bring in the "A" Team.

You know, the Democrats:  

Mitch McConnell is delivering an urgent warning to staffers, Republican senators and even the president himself: 

If Obamacare repeal fails this week, the GOP will lose all leverage and be forced to work with Chuck Schumer.

Those ought to be some fun negotiations, especially since Elizabeth Warren has now stated categorically that it is time for Democrats to push for single payer.

Warren: The Next Step For Dems Is Single-Payer Health Care https://t.co/syfo9PhUNV via @TPM

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) June 27, 2017

As we have already reported Americans are supporting the idea of single payer now more than ever, which might give Democrats a little more leverage than in times past.

I think the most important thing that Democrats can do in the interim is to make the Republicans solely responsible for every problem that crops up in health care until new legislation gets passed, and that includes higher rates, loss of coverage, and fewer available options.

If I were a Democratic Senator or Congressperson I would have a bumper sticker on my car that read "We can permanently fix health care in America, ask us how."

CBO score for the Senate version of Trumpcare is out, essentially just as "mean" as the House version of Trumpcare.

Breaking News: The Senate health bill got its official score. 22 million would lose insurance by 2026. https://t.co/g8gkiSLXPp

— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 26, 2017

Courtesy of the New York Times: 

The Senate bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act would increase the number of people without health insurance by 22 million by 2026, a figure that is only slightly lower than the 23 million more uninsured that the House version would create, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Monday. 

Next year, 15 million more people would be uninsured compared with current law, the budget office said. 

The legislation would decrease federal deficits by a total of $321 billion over a decade, the budget office said. 

The release of the budget office’s analysis comes as a number of reluctant Republican senators weigh whether to support the health bill, which the majority leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, wants approved before a planned recess for the Fourth of July.

This Senate bill covers just one million more Americans than the House bill did, so whoopee.

However that certainly does not mean this thing is not draconian. Check this out:  

Earlier Monday afternoon, Senate Republican leaders altered their health bill to penalize people who go without health insurance by requiring them to wait six months before their coverage would begin. Insurers would generally be required to impose the waiting period on people who lacked coverage for more than about two months in the prior year.

That means that if you suddenly got sick or were diagnosed with a life threatening illness, you would not be able to get insurance coverage for six months.

Plenty of time for a cancer to metastasize.

Just like the House bill this one also repeals the taxes on the wealthy that helped pay for Obamacare, waives essential health care benefit requirements for insurance companies, still allows insurance companies to charge older Americans up to five times as much for coverage,  and eliminates the employer mandate so you cannot rely on getting more affordable insurance through your place of work.

Donald Trump said that the House bill was "mean" and according to Sean Spicer wanted the Senate bill to "have heart."

Well there does not seem to be much heart in this thing, unless the Republicans have an entirely different definition for the word "heart."

Republican Senators are working very hard to get there, with no help from the Democrats. Not easy! Perhaps just let OCare crash & burn!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 26, 2017

And it appears that if this thing fails Trump will just walk away from it and focus on damaging the country in some other way. 

Experts warn that Trumpcare could destabilize insurance markets, as Senate Republicans express doubts there are enough votes for it to pass.

Courtesy of The Hill:

One of the primary arguments from Republicans for repealing ObamaCare is that the healthcare law is “collapsing.” But experts warn that the GOP’s legislation might destabilize insurance markets even more over time. 

The Senate’s ObamaCare repeal-and-replace bill, released Thursday, would abolish ObamaCare’s mandate for people to have insurance, but it would still bar insurers from denying people coverage for pre-existing conditions. 

Experts warn that arrangement would allow people to wait until they get sick to buy insurance coverage, likely driving up premiums.

On top of that, the GOP bill cuts back on ObamaCare’s tax credits, providing less financial assistance to help people afford a plan. So in addition to the lack of an enforcement “stick” to get healthy people to enroll, there would also be less of a “carrot,” in the form of financial assistance. 

This combination could lead to more insurers pulling out of the market or hiking premiums, experts say, exactly the problems under ObamaCare that Republicans have talked about solving. 

“A combination of repealing the individual mandate and diminishing premium subsidies would tend to destabilize the market,” said Larry Levitt, a healthcare expert at the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Like I said before, the Republicans are not working to replace Obamacare with something better, they are just taking the worst parts of the law and amplifying them.

And that has not been lost on some key Republican Senators who fear the passage of this bill will be their downfall.

Courtesy of Politico: 

Senate Republicans are casting doubt on their leaders’ plans to vote this week on repealing Obamacare, with lawmakers from all wings of the party so far withholding support from the massive reshaping of the health care law that they campaigned on for seven years. 

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky faces problems from seemingly every corner of his conference, and — from wary moderates to conservatives and even leadership allies — few Republicans were willing Sunday to predict the Senate repeal bill could pass this week, before lawmakers leave Washington for a weeklong July 4 recess.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) outlined “very serious concerns” about GOP leaders’ bill on ABC’s “This Week,” saying that “it's certainly going to be very difficult” for McConnell to win the 50 votes he needs to pass it on such a tight time frame.

I really doubt that more time will make much difference as the Republicans at their core really don't want to pass a health care plan. 

But their inability to pass this crappy bill really does not do much to help those who need health insurance.

The Republicans have already done much to undermine the success of Obamacare, and if they do not work to make it better it will get steadily worse.

That may be something they think works for them politically, but in reality it literally means a substantial loss of life and Americans suffering needlessly from health care problems that could be solved with one or more visits to a doctor. 

Support surges for single payer health care.

Courtesy of The Hill: 

Single-payer healthcare is growingly increasingly popular in the United States, according to a Pew Research Center poll released Friday. 

33 percent of poll respondents said they favor a single-payer system, in which the government covers medical expenses with tax money, over the current system based on private insurance companies. 

That's an increase of five percentage points since January, and twelve points since single payer was polled in December 2015. 

60 percent of Americans who were surveyed said the federal government is responsible for providing healthcare coverage to all Americans, compared to 39 percent who said it was not the government’s job. 

The poll comes a day after Senate Republicans unveiled the first draft of their plan to repeal ObamaCare.

Like I have said before the Republicans may actually be inadvertently pushing this country toward single payer, and clearly the American people are ready for it.

Just the other day Rand Paul said, and I quote, "What I'd like to do is legalize inexpensive insurance, and you should be able to get insurance for $1 a day. I mean, you really should."

Well I have news for Mr. I Have a Squirrel Toupee, thirty dollar a month for insurance premiums would only be possible through a single payer system that every single American had signed onto. 

And the best way to do that is through a government program like Medicaid or Medicare.

So essentially the Republicans want single payer health care as well, they are just too stupid to realize it.

Trumpcare details leaked. Yes it is just as bad as you imagined.

New information has now surfaced on the Republicans' attempt to health care away from millions of Americans.

The new "plan," if one can call it that, is to leave the Obamacare framework in place and then just make it shittier.

Here are some key points as reported by Slate:  

1) Instead of providing Americans tax credits to buy insurance based on their age, as the House bill does, the Senate would offer them based on “financial need”—which is more or less how Obamacare works. But under the GOP’s proposal, fewer Americans would qualify for help. Under the Affordable Care Act, households can receive insurance subsidies if they earn up to 400 percent of the poverty line. Senate Republicans would lower that threshold to 350 percent. Subsidies will also be smaller for those who still qualify.

The writer of the article volunteers that he is not sure who this would please.

The answer of course is that it would please the ancient demon to which Republicans have apparently pledged their allegiance, and their very souls.

Or it could be to please their insurance company donors. Kind of the same thing really.

2) The Senate bill eliminates all of Obamacare’s taxes except the “Cadillac tax” on expensive health plans. This will please the medical device makers, investors, high earners, and insurance companies that were taxed by the ACA.

Yes but it will also dramatically cut the funding that the health care law would need to survive, essentially ensuring that it will ultimately fail.

Good planning.

3) It rolls back Obamacare's Medicaid expansion “more gradually than the House bill,” according to the Post, though how much more gradually is unclear. Senate Republicans have been haggling over whether to phase out the expansion over as little as three years or as many as seven—but the final outcome would be the same either way. Meanwhile, it sounds like the Senate is going to run with its plan to impose even more draconian spending cuts on Medicaid over the long term by capping per-patient spending, then increasing funding more slowly each year than the House would.

And here is where more Americans get left to die on their own without access to health care.

Can't have a GOP health care plan that doesn't kill people, now can we?

4) What about consumer protections? The House bill notoriously allowed states to opt out of Obamacare's insurance regulations, such as rules barring carriers from discriminating against patients with pre-existing conditions or requiring them to cover certain services. Sensing that it might be politically suicidal to strip cancer and heart patients of their protections, Senate moderates have reportedly resisted going down that path. Right now, it's unclear who won the argument.

And with that the Republicans do away with any pretense of wanting to help more people get access to health care, or that they support their ability to keep it when they need it most.

This is Republican politicians, with some the best health care available in the world, looking down at the masses and urinating on the sick and elderly standing below.

But wait, there's more.

5) The Senate bill would kill funding for Planned Parenthood but wouldn't bar the government from subsidizing private insurance that pays for abortions, which will infuriate religious conservatives.

Well if Lisa Murkowski wants to save her chances of being reelected she will have to vote no to killing funding or Planned Parenthood, and I cannot imagine that too many arch conservatives are going to support a bill that allows the subsidizing of abortions, which would suggest that this bill is dead in the water.

But, perhaps not.

Courtesy of WaPo: 

Aides stress that the GOP plan is likely to undergo more changes to garner the 50 votes Republicans need to pass it.

The opposition to this bill is almost overwhelming with 67% opposing it.

Just take a look at the protests outside of Mitch McConnell's office today.

Dozens of protesters, some in wheelchairs, stage "die-in" in Mitch McConnell's office; they were soon dragged out https://t.co/WPxrMTKkYA pic.twitter.com/hwsqiaRCHf

— CBS News (@CBSNews) June 22, 2017

Does not get much more impassioned than that.

Look if they manage to pass this bill, it will be the undoing of the Republican party.

Once they put their brand on it they can no longer blame the lack of coverage on Obamacare, nor can they suggest that they have any better ideas than the ones presented by the Democrats.

In fact the passing of this bill will likely someday be touted as the event which ushered in the start of single payer health care in America.

Though for me that credit will always go to President Obama, who laid the groundwork necessary to provide Medicaid for all.

Senator Lisa Murkowski takes stand for Planned Parenthood. Wait, MY Senator Lisa Murkowski?

Courtesy of Politico: 

Sen. Lisa Murkowski has assured an Alaska constituent that she's committed to preserving Planned Parenthood funding as part of a health care bill — the strongest line she's drawn yet over one of the most controversial elements of the Obamacare repeal effort. 

"I am committed to ensuring that important provisions of the ACA, such as covering those with pre-existing conditions, continued support for Medicaid expansion, coverage for dependents and no lifetime limits, and funding for Planned Parenthood remain intact," Murkowski wrote in the constituent letter obtained by POLITICO.

Murkowski is one of the most important swing votes in the health care debate, making her position on Planned Parenthood potentially pivotal to the shape of the final bill. Most Republicans, as well as anti-abortion groups, want the organization defunded as part of the health bill. 

In the past, Murkowski has said publicly that she doesn't think Planned Parenthood defunding should be part of the repeal effort. But she hasn't said that she would automatically vote against a bill that included it.

Well damn, I'm actually impressed by this.

It is not often that Murkowski takes a political stance that some lobbyist is not paying her to take, so this is to be celebrated.

And having said this out loud, I really don't think that Murkowski can renege on this position without it essentially dooming her reelection chances, so I am pretty confident that she will stand by it despite the pressures put on her by her fellow Republicans.

Look I know it's not much, but she is all we Alaskans have by way of ethical politicians representing us in Washington.

Besides her we only have Dan "Koch brothers' bitch" Sullivan and Don "How much will you pay me for my vote" Young.

Sometimes Lisa can be as wishy washy as they come, but if she stands by this decision, and I really think she will, she has essentially ensured that Trumpcare is dead in the water.

Republicans may inadvertently be paving the way for single payer health care.

Courtesy of Vox:  

On Friday, McConnell reportedly “delivered a private warning to his Senate Republicans: If they failed to pass legislation unwinding the Affordable Care Act, Democrats could regain power and establish a single-payer health-care system.” 

History may record a certain irony if this is the argument McConnell uses to successfully destroy Obamacare. In recent conversations with Democrats and industry observers, I’ve become convinced that just the opposite is true: If Republicans unwind Obamacare and pass their bill, then Democrats are much likelier to establish a single-payer health care system — or at least the beginnings of one — when they regain power. 

“I will tell you,” says Len Nichols, director of the Center for Health Policy Research and Ethics at George Mason University, “Democratic politicians I never thought would utter the words have mentioned single-payer to me in a non-joking way of late.” 

If Republicans wipe out the Affordable Care Act and de-insure tens of millions of people, they will prove a few things to Democrats. First, including private insurers and conservative ideas in a health reform plan doesn’t offer a scintilla of political protection, much less Republican support. Second, sweeping health reform can be passed quickly, with only 51 votes in the Senate, and with no support from major industry actors. Third, it’s easier to defend popular government programs that people already understand and appreciate, like Medicaid and Medicare, than to defend complex public-private partnerships, like Obamacare’s exchanges.

Even worse for the Republicans would be if they successfully pass Trumpcare, which even Donald Trump seems to want to abandon, since it will likely cause even more Americans to lose their health care, or be forced into substandard policies, and that outcome will be traced directly back to the GOP with no chance remaining to blame Obama.

Ultimately all of this might be exactly the shot in the arm that Democrats need to put forward a policy that actually covers ALL Americans and which leaves the health insurance companies right where they belong, on the ash heap of history.

I think all of this is more than just possible, I think it is quite probable.

Donald Trump seems to be abandoning Trumpcare.

Keep smiling exercise boy, I am planning to screw you over once your back is turned.

Courtesy of the AP:  

President Donald Trump told Republican senators Tuesday that the House-passed health care bill he helped revive is “mean” and urged them to craft a version that is “more generous,” congressional sources said. 

Trump’s remarks were a surprising slap at a Republican-written House measure that was shepherded by Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and whose passage the president lobbied for and praised. At a Rose Garden ceremony minutes after the bill’s narrow House passage on May 4, Trump called it “a great plan.” 

The president’s criticism, at a White House lunch with 15 GOP senators, also came as Senate Republican leaders’ attempts to write their own health care package have been slowed by disagreements between their party’s conservatives and moderates. 

Trump’s characterizations seemed to undercut attempts by Senate leaders to assuage conservatives who want restrictions in their chamber’s bill, such as cutting the Medicaid health care program for the poor and limiting the services insurers must cover. Moderate GOP senators have been pushing to ease those restrictions. 

Facing expected unanimous Democratic opposition, Republicans will be unable to pass a Senate bill if just three of the 52 GOP senators vote “no.” Alienating any of them could make approving the measure trickier for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who’s been hoping for a vote before Congress’ July 4 recess.

According to the Washington Post's Jennifer Rubin this might have repercussions for all of the conservative's future policy decisions:  

The Senate was unlikely to come up with its own bill before this episode; now, that possibility becomes even more remote. Trump cannot be trusted to support what Republicans put out, so why go out on a limb for extremely unpopular legislation? If they pass Trump’s tax cuts, they run the risk that Trump will call it a giveaway to the rich, or if they pass repeal of Dodd-Frank, they might get labeled Wall Street pawns by the president. He’s loyal to no one and believes in nothing, so whenever their actions draw criticism, Trump will be among the first to cut and run, decrying the very action he demanded his party take. 

Ironically, as Republicans refuse to distance themselves from Trump’s egregious behavior, scandals and ethical shortcomings, he repays them — by creating the perfect soundbite for Democratic ads in 2018.

Gee who could have predicted that an impulsive self absorbed megalomaniac would act this way?

Oh that's right, most of us.

Popcorn anyone?

Trumpcare only has about 17% support among the American people. They are still working to pass it though.

Courtesy of The Independent:  

Less than a fifth of Americans support Donald Trump’s new healthcare plan, a new poll suggests. 

According to a Quinnipiac University poll, 17 per cent of US voters approve the Republican Healthcare plan.

Sixty-two per cent of people polled disapprove, and 21 per cent said they don’t know.

That however has not stopped the Republicans from trying to force this tax break for the wealthy masquerading as a health bill through however.

Courtesy of Politico: 

As Obamacare repeal talks enter crunch time with a vote as soon as this month, the Senate bill continues to tilt toward more moderate members of the GOP on keeping some of Obamacare’s regulatory structure and providing a more generous wind-down of the law’s Medicaid expansion. The movement has made Republicans increasingly pessimistic that two critical conservative senators, Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky, will be able to vote for the GOP’s ultimate agreement on health care, according to senators and aides. 

“I think [Lee is a no]. And Rand will be a no," said a Republican senator granted anonymity to discuss sensitive internal conference matters. 

Losing those two senators would be a major blow that would allow Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell no further defections in his 52-senator majority and make Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska the key swing votes, further imperiling conservatives’ negotiating position in a Senate in which McConnell needs 50 votes at a minimum.

I can't speak for Susan Collins, but I know that Lisa Murkowski has been shaken by the number of calls and emails that she has received speaking out against this bill. 

I would be very surprised if she voted in favor of the bill because she is constantly testing to see which way the wind is blowing and it is clearly blowing against this bullshit bill.

However let's not forget that even if the Republicans fail to push this through they are still working to undermine the Affordable Care Act at every opportunity.

Seriously our only real hope is to clean house and put a Democratic majority in the House and the Senate.

Donald Trump tells advisers he wants to end key Obamacare subsidies because he doesn't gain anything by continuing them.

Courtesy of Politico: 

President Donald Trump has told advisers he wants to end payments of key Obamacare subsidies, a move that could send the health law's insurance markets into a tailspin, according to several sources familiar with the conversations.

Trump told aides in a Tuesday Oval Office meeting that he wants to end the payments to insurers because he doesn't gain anything by continuing them, according to a senior White House adviser. "Why the hell would we?" he asked about continuing the payments, according to the adviser. Trump added that if Congress wants the subsidies, lawmakers would find a way to pay for them, the adviser said.

He has a point.

After all what does a billionaire, with the kind of health care that only presidents and the very wealthy can receive, gain from supporting the paying of subsidies to help less fortunate people stay healthy?  

Kind of like why worry about global warming, when you live in buildings with best the climate control available?

Or why worry about causing a third world war when you yourself are protected by highly trained security 24/7?

After all Donald Trump did not become president to help people.

Donald Trump became president to feed his ego.

The AHCA in a nutshell.

It's always about the taxes.