“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
American Trauma: How the NRA Sparked a Medical Rebellion, an Atlantic video.
“’I see more gunshot wounds as a trauma surgeon here in the United States per week than I did when I was serving in Kandahar, Afghanistan,’ says Dr. Mallory Williams, chief of the Division of Trauma and Critical Care at Howard University Hospital. ‘There’s no question about it.’”
Related:
“I’m a Trauma Surgeon and a Shooting Victim. I Have Every Right to Speak Out on Gun Violence.” Joseph Sakran, The Atlantic
GOP presidential contender and TV reality star Donald Trump has revealed his healthcare policy. Like other Republicans, Mr. Trump wants to trash the Affordable Care Act for three good reasons: It has enrolled 20 million people who didn’t have insurance coverage before, cost less than projected, and (most importantly) everyone calls it “Obamacare.”
The Donald consulted the finest minds at Trump University Medical School and formulated a healthcare system that would cost a fortune while leaving millions of Americans without medical care. Obamacare covers people even if they have preexisting conditions; TRUMPcare kicks those 60 million losers to the curb. TRUMPcare allows insurance sales across state lines, fostering even greater corporate consolidation. The Donald’s plan also relies on health savings accounts, which won’t work for people who don’t earn enough to save. TRUMPcare would lower costs through tax deductions, which are great for the rich, instead of tax credits, which benefit people of all income levels.
It’s certainly a meaty proposal. In fact, TRUMPcare is the Trump Steaks of health policy.
Last week the Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging held a hearing on “What the US Health Care System Can Learn from Other Countries.” Republican Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina knows all about health care, probably due to his distinguished career selling lawnmowers. Mr. Burr made the usual counter-factual GOP assertions about healthcare delivery, thinly disguised as questions to Dr. Danielle Martin, MD, Vice-President of Medical Affairs & Health System Solutions at Toronto’s Women’s College Hospital. Dr. Martin immediately administered reality therapy (above).
Senator Burr: “On average, how many Canadian patients on a waiting list die each year? Do you know?”
Dr. Martin: “I don’t, sir, but I know that there are 45,000 in America who die waiting because they don’t have insurance at all.”
More:
“Watch an expert teach a smug U.S. senator about Canadian healthcare,” Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times
“Dr. Danielle Martin gives Washington a lesson on Canadian health care,” Meagan Fitzpatrick, CBC News
On a final vote, the District of Columbia Council unanimously passed B18-0622, a bill legalizing medical marijuana. DC doctors will be able to prescribe from 2 to 4 ounces of cannabis per month to registered patients with chronic diseases (acne probably won’t count). The pot will be gown in registered cultivation centers and sold in registered dispensaries.
Similar laws, but without all the safeguards, exist in several states. Under the many compromises of Washington’s limited home rule, though, Congress has 30 days to mess with the legislation, even though it involves no federal funds.
The drive to pass this bill began in 1998. City Paper‘s Jason Cherkis has the back story.
Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
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