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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In Mid-Pandemic, Trump Challenges Obamacare in Court

On Thursday, in a literal 11th-hour brief, an hour before a midnight deadline, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to invalidate the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, and strip healthcare from 23 million Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thursday also marked the largest single-day increase in diagnosed Coronavirus cases in the U.S. to date, the day when the CDC admitted that coronavirus cases may be 10 times higher than reported.

More:

“Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Strike Down Affordable Care Act,” Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times

“Trump administration asks Supreme Court to strike down Obamacare,” Meagan Flynn and Tim Elfrink, Washington Post

“Trump, Intent on Self-Destruction, Asks Supreme Court to Kill Obamacare,” Ed Kilgore, New York Magazine

Update:

“Obamacare Versus the G.O.P. Zombies,” Paul Krugman, New York Times

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Health Care Fraudster Leads Trump Health Care Push

Florida Senator (and former Governor) Rick Scott is leading the charge to develop President Trump’s ObamaCare (ACA) replacement. Mr. Scott certainly has plenty of health care experience. He was President and CEO of the Columbia/HCA hospital system when the corporation committed at least 14 federal felonies for defrauding Medicare and Medicaid. The firm later admitted guilt and paid the government $1.7 billion in criminal fines, civil damages, and penalties.

Senator Scott is, without doubt, the ideal person to spearhead a Trump Administration health care initiative.

More:

“Rick Scott’s Company Committed Historic Medicare Fraud. He Will Now Lead Trump’s Health-Care Push.” Matt Stieb, New York Magazine

“Trump’s Choice of Rick Scott to Build a Republican Healthcare Plan Shows the Henhouse Is Full of Foxes,” Charles P. Pierce, Esquire

“The worst possible choice to craft a Senate health-care plan? Rick Scott.” Editorial, Orlando Sentinel

“Trump putting Rick Scott in charge of his healthcare push is a sick joke,” Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times

Updates:

Even Rick Scott won’t carry this hot potato for him, so President Trump now says he’ll run for re-election on a GOP Healthcare Plan to replace the ACA in 2020.

“Trump’s health care brain trust says no thanks,” Adam Cancryn and Alice Miranda Ollstein, Politico

Related:

“Trump’s Health-Care Policy Goes From Misguided to Reckless,” Max Nisen, Bloomberg

“Trump just realized his mistake on health care. But it’s too late.” Paul Waldman, Washington Post

“Democrats welcome fight as Trump tees up 2020 healthcare battle,” Susan Heavey and Susan Cornwell, Reuters

“Republican Health Care Lying Syndrome,” Paul Krugman, New York Times

“Americans are much more worried about health care than illegal immigration, poll shows,” Tim O’Donnell, The Week

“The GOP’s capitulation to Obamacare,” Aaron Blake, Washington Post

“Trump now promises a Republican health-care bill in [checks notes] 2021,” Philip Bump, Washington Post

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Here Comes TrumpCare

Fresh from being not exonerated, legal titan Donald Trump has decided that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional, probably because the ACA is often called “ObamaCare.” After conferring with Dr. Mick Mulvaney and senior faculty at Trump University Medical School, the President proposes replacing the ACA with … nothing.

While this will leave 20 million Americans without health insurance and put 100 million at risk, people with preexisting conditions will get exactly the same coverage.

More:

“Trump Administration reverses course, supports decision to strike down ACA,” Kevin Truong, MedCityNews

“White House Obamacare reversal made over Cabinet objections,” Eliana Johnson and Burgess Everett, Politico

“Trump’s all-or-nothing ACA gamble,” Sam Baker, Axios

“The Trump approach to healthcare: Break it and figure out the rest later,” Jon Healey, Los Angeles Times

“Trump: GOP will have replacement if Obamacare is struck down, but no plan is in sight,” John T. Bennett, The Hill

“McConnell to Trump: Health care’s all yours,” Burgess Everett, Politico

“Kevin McCarthy tells Trump new health care push makes no sense,” Jonathan Swan, Sam Baker, and Alayna Treene, Axios

“Donald Trump is very committed to taking away your health insurance,” Sarah Kliff, Vox

“Health insurer stocks fall after Trump administration seeks overturn of Affordable Care Act,” Bertha Coombs, CNBC

Updates:

“Trump’s health care agenda is a legal disaster,” Dylan Scott, Vox

“By striking at Obamacare, Trump could unravel his own drug pricing proposal,” Emily Kopp, Roll Call

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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The GOP ‘Obamacare’ Replacement

The Republican Party has long sought to replace the Affordable Care Act, chiefly because most people call it “Obamacare.” The GOP has been struggling to come up with a replacement plan that further benefits insurance and pharmaceutical companies without killing off too many Trump voters. John Oliver explains how that’s going:

GOP Health Plan: ‘Nothing, zero, nada.’

GOP candidate Donald Trump told a Pennsylvania press event/rally that he’ll implement the Republican health care policy and “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act, aka “Obamacare.”

Barack Obama:

“They spend like an hour, ‘we’re going to repeal Obamacare.’ Okay. And then what are you gonna do? Well, then we’re going to repeal it and we’re going to give you something great. Okay. What? Well, something.”

“You watch the press conference and what you realize is they got no plan. They want to repeal because ideologically they’re opposed to the idea of helping these 20 million people get health insurance. It’s not like they don’t even have a pretense of a plan. They don’t even have a semblance of a plan. There’s not even a hint of a plan. Not even a mote. Not even a—there’s no plan. Nothing, zero, nada.”

“Obama: GOP Doesn’t Have ‘A Pretense Of A Plan’ To Replace Obamacare,” Allegra Kirkland, TPM Livewire

More:

“Trump’s Health Plan: Pay Your Own Medical Bills Using Money You Saved,” James Hamblin, The Atlantic

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Paul Ryan’s ObamaCare Replacement Plan

You know the GOP healthcare plan House Speaker Paul Ryan promised would be a better replacement for the Affordable Care Act (“ObamaCare”)? Turns out it’s not a plan, it’s a white paper — you know, kind of like a plan, but without all those nerdy numbers and pesky details. Expect the white paper snow job next week.

More:

“Paul Ryan’s Promised Obamacare Replacement Plan Shockingly Turns Out Not to Exist Again,” Jonathan Chait, New York Magazine

Related:

“Trump’s healthcare plans trouble GOP,”Peter Sullivan, The Hill

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TRUMPcare

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.

GOP Healthcare Plan

Before leaving DC for their usual four-day weekend, the Republican-dominated Congress voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) and replace it with … nothing. Don’t panic, you still have health insurance; the president quickly vetoed the GOP bill.

While this is the first time the Senate passed such a bill, the GOP-dominated House has voted to repeal the ACA sixty-two times.

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