The general consensus is the the Republican "replacement" for the ACA stinks. Tom Sullivan discusses the whole mess at Hullabaloo:
Basically, it's pretty much what we figured: it knocks a few million people off of Medicaid, a few million more lose their exchange policies because they get priced out of the market, it gives the wealthy a bunch of goodies, and makes a lot of money for the insurance companies -- or it would if so many people weren't unable to afford policies at all.
The most interesting aspect of this, to me, is the rush to get it to the floor for a vote.
I don't know why everyone is surprised at the rush -- it's garbage, the Republican leadership knows it's garbage, they don't care about costs or the deficit unless they're debating a Democratic budget, it screws poor and middle-income people as well as older people, and it is a step toward erasing the last eight years (which is the major plus, as far as they're concerned).
They're seriously trying to rush it through before the opposition gets organized; they figure they can sneak it through while the press is focused on Trump's paranoid fantasies about being bugged. And they know Trump will sign it, because he'll sign anything anyone puts in front of him, and once that happens, mission accomplished.
House Republicans last night unveiled their first pass at a replacement for Obamacare. It comes in two parts. You can read the American Health Care Act here and here. There is a summary of changes here. The Congressional Budget Office has not yet scored the costs of the proposal. Moments after its release, Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) dubbed it Obamacare 2.0.
Basically, it's pretty much what we figured: it knocks a few million people off of Medicaid, a few million more lose their exchange policies because they get priced out of the market, it gives the wealthy a bunch of goodies, and makes a lot of money for the insurance companies -- or it would if so many people weren't unable to afford policies at all.
The most interesting aspect of this, to me, is the rush to get it to the floor for a vote.
Klein is incredulous:
After literally years of complaining Obamacare was jammed down the American people’s throats with insufficient information or consideration, the GOP intends to hold committee votes on their bill two days after releasing it, and without a Congressional Budget Office report estimating either coverage or fiscal effects. It’s breathtaking.
I don't know why everyone is surprised at the rush -- it's garbage, the Republican leadership knows it's garbage, they don't care about costs or the deficit unless they're debating a Democratic budget, it screws poor and middle-income people as well as older people, and it is a step toward erasing the last eight years (which is the major plus, as far as they're concerned).
They're seriously trying to rush it through before the opposition gets organized; they figure they can sneak it through while the press is focused on Trump's paranoid fantasies about being bugged. And they know Trump will sign it, because he'll sign anything anyone puts in front of him, and once that happens, mission accomplished.
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