Post by bot on Sept 24, 2017 18:59:37 GMT -5
Editorial Boards Oppose Latest TrumpCare Bill
While Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans prepare to bring their latest TrumpCare bill to the Floor next week, editorial boards across the country are voicing strong opposition to the legislation – which would be even worse for families than previous versions of the bill – and are urging Senators to oppose it:
Minneapolis Star Tribune: Remaining Obamacare repeal bill still offers the wrong prescription
“Even the last-gasp, supposedly improved health reform package now pushed by leading Republicans — a measure that would have to pass by Sept. 30 — would threaten many Minnesota families' health coverage and create a big budget hole for state taxpayers to fill.”
“Repeated analyses by the Congressional Budget Office showed that the various GOP plans would all result in millions of Americans losing coverage. Graham-Cassidy contains the same warmed-over toxic stew that would lead to coverage losses — reduced subsidies to buy private insurance, weakened consumer protections and radical federal funding cuts for the Medicaid program.”
“Graham-Cassidy would cut federal dollars as well for the Medicaid program, which serves the poor and elderly, leading the Minnesota Department of Human Services to sound the alarm Thursday about the legislation. Officials warned of $30 billion in lost revenue over 10 years and lost health coverage for thousands of Minnesotans if it passes.”
Houston Chronicle: Health care, again
“Natural disasters have a way of grabbing all the attention. So while Harvey and Irma dominated the news, what was the United States Senate working on? That hallowed body - while you were digging out of the rubble - was trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Again.”
“The bill will weaken protections for people with pre-existing conditions, such as diabetes, alcohol or drug addiction, pregnancy or mental health issues. Millions of Americans will lose their insurance coverage. Prices will skyrocket for working-class families that rely on subsidies to afford health care.”
“But Graham-Cassidy doesn't merely unwind parts of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The bill also completely rewrites Medicaid. The state-federal insurance system, which covers children, pregnant women, the poor, the elderly and people with disabilities, will be transformed into a grant program. Politicians will have newfound control over how health care dollars are spent. Power will be stripped away from doctors and patients.”
Baltimore Sun: Repeal and replace redux
“Just when you thought the Republican plot to destroy the Affordable Care Act had been thwarted, Senate Republicans are angling to swing the ax again. Their new proposal is, if anything, even more draconian than their previous attempts to strip millions of Americans of health insurance coverage.”
“The bill in Congress sponsored by Sens. Lindsey Graham, Bill Cassidy, Ron Johnson and Dean Heller would turn back the clock on virtually all the protections built into the current law that make health care coverage affordable for low-income Americans.”
Cleveland.com: No more waffling, Sen. Rob Portman - oppose latest GOP health rewrite
“The current repeal measure, sponsored by Sens. Lindsay Graham of South Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, would, if anything, be worse for Ohio -- with its large Medicaid population -- than prior measures. It goes far beyond repeal to essentially eliminate all federal Medicaid payments to states and replace them with what amounts to block grants. Ohio would be one of the big losers under this approach.”
“Medicaid coverage for opioid treatments so critical in Ohio, epicenter of the epidemic? Eviscerated. Health insurance for hundreds of thousands of lower-income Ohioans? Gone. Basic health care protections for children and the elderly that long have underpinned Medicaid? On life support.”
“Only someone who puts party loyalty over loyalty to the Ohioans who elected him would agree to this.”
New York Times: The Republican Health Care Zombie Is Back
“Republican lawmakers have wasted much of the year trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act, a move that would deprive millions of people of health insurance. They’re back at it. Like a bad sequel to a terrible movie, a proposal whose main architects are Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina would in many ways be worse than bills that came before.”
“It is hard to overstate the cruelty of the Graham-Cassidy bill. It would eliminate the mandate that even healthy people buy health insurance, end the subsidies that help people purchase coverage and stop the expansion of Medicaid. It would offer states block grants they could use to help people get insurance but would leave people at the mercy of individual state legislatures and, over all, would provide $239 billion less than what the federal government would spend under current law between 2020 and 2026, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.”
“The rush job proposed by Mr. Cassidy and Mr. Graham and endorsed by the president is deeply unfair and leaves other lawmakers with little time to understand what’s in the bill or its true costs.”
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Last-ditch Graham-Cassidy health care bill is the worst one yet
“Under cover of a fog of news, Senate Republicans have been trying to round up enough votes for yet another bid to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. The bill they have in mind is in many ways worse than any of the three bills that failed this summer.”
“Polls show a majority of Americans support keeping the ACA, but two in three Republicans still want it repealed. Graham-Cassidy is a sneaky and cynical political ploy that will crush millions of America’s sickest and most vulnerable citizens. ‘Shameful’ hardly covers it.”
USA Today: Last-ditch Obamacare repeal would be poison
“Like previous efforts, this measure would strip tens of millions of people of their health coverage. It would gut Medicaid, the program responsible for funding nearly half of baby deliveries and most of nursing home care. It would allow insurers in some states to deny coverage based on a previous medical condition. And it would allow insurers to skip coverage of essential services, including maternity care.”
“That's all bad enough, but the Graham-Cassidy measure adds a new level of cynicism. Unlike previous efforts, it would retain — at least for the next 10 years — some of the revenue now helping low-income Americans buy private insurance. This money, however, would be redirected to states in form of block grants, with states that vote largely Republican faring far better than Democratic ones. In other words, it would punish those who vote against this ill-considered measure while rewarding those who vote for it.”
Los Angeles Times: Graham-Cassidy: Another day, another lousy GOP healthcare bill
“It’s ‘Groundhog Day’ for congressional Republicans: Rush out a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare, see it fail, rush out a bill again, see it fail, rush out a third bill, see it fail — following the same basic playbook over and over in the hope that somehow the end result will change.”
“Although it would overhaul the way millions of Americans pay for health insurance and treatment, the measure has undergone no formal public scrutiny and only limited expert analysis. And if it nevertheless managed to become law, Graham-Cassidy would produce many of the same unwelcome results as its failed forebears: more uninsured Americans, and millions of others facing higher premiums and deductibles for the coverage they have today.”