Trumpcare Arrives, After 4 Years

“President Trump capped his fruitless four-year journey to abolish and replace the Affordable Care Act by signing an executive order Thursday that aims to enshrine the law’s most popular feature while pivoting away from a broader effort to overhaul the nation’s health insurance system.

The order declares it is the policy of the United States for people with preexisting health conditions to be protected, avoiding the thorny details of how to ensure such protections without either leaving the ACA, or Obamacare, in place or crafting new comprehensive legislation.

Trump announced the move during a trip to North Carolina, outlining his ‘vision’ for revamping parts of the nation’s health care. During the speech, which came shortly before a campaign swing to Florida, Trump barely veiled the political nature of his intent.”

— “After years of promising his own health care plan, Trump settles for rebranding rather than repealing Obamacare,” Toluse Olorunnipa, Washington Post

More:

“President Trump Finally Laid Out His Healthcare Plan. It Doesn’t Do Anything.” Paul McLeod, BuzzFeed News

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Florida: Biggest Health Care Fraud Ever

A Federal jury has found Florida health care network owner Philip Esformes guilty of running an 18-year, $1.3 billion Medicare and Medicaid fraud scheme. He used some of the money to bribe the University of Pennsylvania basketball coach to get his son into Penn. If his son is pre-law, maybe the kid can help him with the fraud appeal.

Philip Esformes, a man of convictions. We reluctantly point out that this is the “largest health care fraud in U.S. history.” Every time we do that, some Florida Man is found pulling an even bigger scam.

More:

“Florida businessman convicted in $1B Medicare fraud case,” Adriana Gomez Licon, Associated Press

“Miami healthcare exec Philip Esformes found guilty of paying kickbacks and bribes,”Jay Weaver and David Ovalle, Miami Herald

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Mitch McConnell Says He’s Coming For Your Health Care

“Republicans could try again to repeal Obamacare if they win enough seats in U.S. elections next month, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday, calling a failed 2017 push to repeal the healthcare law a ‘disappointment.’

In a forecast of 2019 policy goals tempered by uncertainty about who would win the congressional elections, McConnell blamed social programs, such as Social Security and Medicare, for the fast-rising national debt.”

— “McConnell says Senate Republicans might revisit Obamacare repeal,” David Morgan, Reuters

More:

“Mitch McConnell blames the soaring deficit on Medicare and Social Security, not the GOP tax cuts,” Peter Weber, The Week

“Republican Doublespeak on Health Care Starts at the Top,” Max Nisen, Bloomberg

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McConnell: GOP Wants a Health Care Time Bomb

The GOP’s murderous senate health bill flatlined on Monday, but there’s a Republican Plan B. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will introduce a measure that would repeal the Affordable Care Act (aka ObamaCare) in two years.

That’s it. No alternative plan to replace it.

Your health insurance will self-destruct at the stroke of midnight on December 31, 2019.

More:

“McConnell’s ‘nuclear option’ after health care failure,” Mike Allen Jonathan Swan, Axios

“Republican senator announces no vote on ObamaCare repeal: ‘I did not come to Washington to hurt people,'” The Week

“Dem senator: ObamaCare repeal without replacement would be ‘humanitarian disaster,’” Aida Chavez, The Hill

“McConnell Obamacare repeal plan already taking fire from Republicans,” Daniella Diaz and Ted Barrett, CNN

“’Repeal and delay’: McConnell’s new, risky health care plan, explained,” Sarah Kliff, Vox

UPDATE:

“GOP’s repeal-only plan quickly collapses in Senate,” Jessie Hellmann and Jordain Carney, The Hill

Related:

“House GOP Budget Plan Cuts Medicare and Social Security,” Priscilla Alvarez, The Atlantic

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Trump Wants 32 Million Americans to Lose Health Care

If Republican Senators are unable to pass what they are working on now, they should immediately REPEAL, and then REPLACE at a later date!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 30, 2017

“Trump has now called for total repeal of the Affordable Care Act, with no guarantee of any specific replacement later, or even a guarantee that any replacement would ever materialize at all.”

“We can estimate the impact of repealing those things. Indeed, the Congressional Budget Office has already done so, when it analyzed a previous version of a GOP repeal bill over a year ago. And that analysis found that repealing those things would result in 32 million people losing coverage by 2026, 19 million of them people who would lose Medicaid coverage.”

— “Don’t sugarcoat this. Trump just called for 32 million people to lose health coverage.” Greg Sargent, Washington Post

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House Health Care Bill Leaves 23 Million Americans Uninsured

The “American Health Care Act” was passed by the Republican-dominated House of Representatives before the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office could determine how much it would cost and who would be covered. The CBO has finished the analysis, and the AHCA score is, basically GOP +1, Americans less than zero. 14 million Americans would be without health insurance next year, 23 million within a decade. In states that seek waivers from providing essential health coverage mandates, a feature of the bill, insurance would be priced out of reach for many people with preexisting conditions. There would be a new tier of plans at lower cost that don’t actually cover major medical risks, so the CBO doesn’t count the projected buyers as insured.

The cynical, life-threatening measure might reduce the federal budget by $119 billion over a decade, less than the $150 billion in savings projected by Paul Ryan, who wants to use any health care savings to give the wealthy a tax break. For the GOP, there’s no problem that can’t be solved by tax cuts for the rich.

GOP Congress Passes Health Care Plan, Now Must Read It

Before leaving DC for yet another recess, Republicans in the House of Representatives voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) and replace it with something they haven’t read, something the Congressional Budget Office hasn’t scored. That means no one in Congress knows how much this so-called “American Health Care Act” will cost taxpayers, how much insurance will cost, and who won’t be covered. In other words, the GOP just bought a pig in a poke.

More:

American Medical Association condemns House healthcare bill passage,” Max Greenwood, The Hill

“House GOP Just Voted to Slash Medicaid — Which Pays for 60 Percent of People in Nursing Homes,” Jon Schwarz, The Intercept

“House Sends Health Care Hot Potato to Senate,” Lindsey McPherson and Erin Mershon, Roll Call

“Analysis: 5 issues that could derail the GOP health care bill in the Senate,” Julie Rovner, Kaiser Health News via PBS Newshour

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GOP Healthcare Bill: DOA

Republicans in the House refused to line up behind Paul Ryan‘s misbegotten American Health Care Act, so the speaker pulled the plug Friday afternoon. After Donald Trump said he was “100 percent behind” the AHCA bill, many in the media had branded the draconian legislation TrumpCare, so naturally the president was quick to blame everyone else for the defeat, from the democrats to Ivanka and Jared.

You like your ObamaCare? You get to keep your ObamaCare.

More:

“Why Obamacare Defeated Trumpcare,” Jonathan Chait, New York Magazine

“Health-care stocks are celebrating the death of Donald Trump’s health-care bill,” Alison Griswold, Quartz

Trump Health Care Promises

The Associated Press compared the health policy promises Donald Trump made during his campaign, transition and early weeks of his presidency with the GOP health care bill introduced this month. As scored by Congress’s own nonpartisan CBO, the bill keeps none of those promises. It would deny medical care to millions, especially poor and low income Americans.

But, hey, the CBO got the numbers wrong about Obamacare, right?

Wrong.

More:

“AP fact check: Trump’s promises on health care,” Calvin Woodward and Jim Drinkard, Associated Press via PBS NewsHour.

“Trump’s ‘insurance for everybody’ plan has turned deadly,” Matt O’Brien, Washington Post

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Under the GOP Plan, 24 Million People Will Lose Health Coverage

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has scored Paul Ryan’s 53-page American Health Care Act, and found it would save $337 billion over 10 years by denying health insurance to 24 million Americans. 14 million would lose coverage in the first year and insurance rates would rise 15-20% in 2018-2019. The AHCA celebrates all this by giving billions in tax breaks to the rich.

The biggest losers with the GOP health care bill? Americans who voted for Trump.

More:

“Health Bill Would Add 24 Million Uninsured but Save $337 Billion, Report Says,” Thomas Kaplan and Robert Pear, New York Times.

“The CBO’s nonpartisan report on the Republican ACA replacement plan, explained in 6 charts: It’s an attack on the poor.” Alvin Chang, Vox

Update:

Turns out that White House analysts are even more pessimistic than the CBO, and think 26 million people would lose coverage.

“White House analysis of Obamacare repeal sees even deeper insurance losses than CBO,” Paul Demko, Politico

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