“Donald Trump is ending Obamacare subsidies for low-income families” links

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Donald Trump is ending cost-sharing subsidies for Obamacare, meaning that people will be paying jacked insurance rates all on their own. This affects me, this affects my family, this affects millions of people. Donald Trump is a monster. [Jezebel]
Naomi Watts & Liev Schreiber still hang out together. [LaineyGossip]
Alec Baldwin is still screaming bloody murder at people. [Dlisted]
Who will wear Givenchy this awards season? [Go Fug Yourself]
Amazon suspends a sexual harasser executive. [Pajiba]
Sarah Jessica Parker’s alleged staff demands are very detail-oriented. [Wonderwall]
It’s like X-Men, only it’s a straight-up horror film? [OMG Blog]
OMG, this story is horrific. I can’t. [The Blemish]
Wait, wait… what? Siggy Flicker is a person? [Reality Tea]
Lawmakers want to change the nature of NDAs, post-Harvey Weinstein. [Buzzfeed]

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111 Responses to ““Donald Trump is ending Obamacare subsidies for low-income families” links”

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  1. Megan says:

    His cruelty knows no bounds. I am literally sick to my stomach at this news. I know so many people who will be impacted by this.

    • courtney says:

      there is no redemption for deliberate cruelty, that’s what a teacher of mine once said and she was right. its sickening that he works so hard to hurt the most vulnerable among us. he needs to be stopped. where the hell is our safety net? the government is failing us.

      • Radley says:

        Yeah, one of the worst things about this ongoing nightmare is that it makes democracy look disastrous, which is exactly what Putin wants. America is a laughingstock and very diminished in the eyes of the world. It’s gonna take a lot to bounce back from this.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        “he works so hard to hurt the most vulnerable among us.”

        Yes, this is so true.

      • April says:

        Yes, that is what narcissists do. They intentionally hurt the vulnerable because they know they don’t have a voice. They get their kicks out of it to be able to wield their power over the disadvantaged. They are punishers. They feel entitled. They spend other people’s money to their advantage. The rest of this presidency will be predictably disastrous because of his mental health disorder and the poor and disenfranchised will suffer the most. However, if he starts a war we all will suffer. Because of all of the corrupt (mostly GOP) politicians and their hatred, I believe that is why we are experiencing our country’s current disasters. At some point it will have to turn around. Godspeed to all us.

    • Casey _ says:

      He’s literally killing people and/or bankrupting them.

      All in the middle of 3 natural disasters, a mass shooting that killed 60+ and wounded 500+, and a terrible mental health crisis (in part directly attributed to him). All things where health and treatment are imperative.

      Let that marinate.

      I loathe him and everyone that enabled his fake election and coup.

    • Veronica says:

      If they could just end subsides for the people who voted for him, that would be great.

      • Tate says:

        Wouldn’t that be nice? They wanted him. Let them suffer under his cruelty. Leave the rest of alone.

      • Jayna says:

        I support that.

      • flan says:

        Some of the ones affected did. Don’t feel sorry for them (do for their kids). Only good thing is that they will likely not vote for him again.

        I feel sorry for all the others, who are powerless from sinking further into poverty.

      • Beth says:

        They can’t say that nobody warned them. I did so much warning to naive dumbass Trumpsters, but couldn’t get them to wake up. Are they exhausted from all of this winning?

      • Mermaid says:

        @veronica
        That is an absolutely fantastic idea. What does it take for his Cabinet to do the 25th Amendment? Every day I wake up filled with fresh dread at what this madman will do.

      • markweer says:

        Actually, it’s been accurately reported that the majority of his supporters are going to be affected first and most drastically by this so you get your wish. I have washed my hands of them a while back

      • denisemich says:

        If you live in a red area write to your representative and demand they pass a law to pay the subsidies.

      • Raina says:

        Second that

      • Christin says:

        People who blindly vote for that party need to understand that they are being fooled for their vote. I think health care and Medicaid cuts may be what it takes to finally wake them up to reality.

    • Brittney B says:

      I’m honestly worried for my life. I depend on those subsidies to afford insurance, and I depend on insurance to afford antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications. I don’t want to go back. I cannot go back.

      It feels like this sexual predator is directly assaulting me, my body, my mind… and I hold every single person who voted for him accountable, too. My own family members voted for him BECAUSE of Obamacare. They don’t care if I live or die.

      • Bellagio DuPont says:

        @ Brittney:

        Maybe seriously think about moving to Canada. I’ve never been myself, but I’ve heard so many great things about living there.

        Plus, it seems like a far more humane place to be from a health-care perspective and the culture is not that different to yours.

        Whatever your decisions I wish you the very best. (Massive hug) 😘😘😘

      • Nicole (the Cdn One) says:

        actually @Bellagio, our culture is VASTLY different from the US. We actually have much more in common culturally with many of the Scandanavian countries. This gets confused by our proximity to the US. But you are correct that under our system, the social safety net means you don’t have to suffer from untreated depression.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        I can’t imagine how scary that must be. Hugs to you, Brittney.

      • flan says:

        @Brittney B.

        I’m so sorry. And that your family voted for him (did all of them?) is just downright abuse.

        If it’s better for your mental health to break with them, you should.
        You choose your friends, not your family, but you can choose to keep them out of your life if they’re toxic.

      • ArchieGoodwin says:

        I am sorry Brittany, that this is happening, and I hope to god congress gets it’s collective ass together to help you, others like you.
        I am so grateful that I have access to healthcare without worry of bankruptcy.

        Ditto Nicole’s comments. We have many problems in Canada, but our overall approach has never been like the USA. Cons have tried, in the past, to bring Republican views to Canada (harper really really tried) but overall, it was kept well in check. As far as social programs, and the values, we are indeed a lot like Sweden, Norway, Finland- but not nearly as good. But every country has it’s issues.

      • Maisie says:

        And “Obamacare” (real name: the Affordable Care Act) is why they voted for Trump – that GOP-generated name made stupid poor and middle class white racists think that it was passed solely to give African-Americans & other POC “free” healthcare. Morons. Worked like a charm – they were duped into shooting themselves in the foot, as now their own healthcare benefits will be reduced or eliminated. As for Trump, he just wants to eradicate anything with Obama’s name on it, no matter who it hurts. Most Americans hate Trump, so now he’s getting back at us for not loving or respecting him. He didn’t devise this current punishment – he’s not nearly smart enough. But he IS malicious and vindictive enough to let his Nazi handlers do it and he’ll he sign his name to it.

      • heather says:

        Massachusetts and Washington State still have “universal” health care. You don’t have to move all the way to Canada.

      • Bellagio DuPont says:

        Could the Canadians on this site rush to distinguish themselves from America any faster? Lol

        Understandable enough though, considering the current state of affairs.

      • bluhare says:

        I live in Washington State and we dont’ have universal health care. We do have expanded Medicaid, and our own health care exchange, but there is no universal care.

        By the way, Trump is taking away the cost share subsidies that are paid to insurance companies to reduce the burden of care on lower income people. He’s not taking away premium subsidies right now. I also don’t think the insurance companies can charge their clients the higher cost shares even though they aren’t getting reimbursed any more, but don’t quote me on that.

    • Ravensdaughter says:

      Trump is a destroyer, not a creator. He reminds me of a spoof slogan from 2004: “Bush/Cheney-Eat the Poor”.
      Indeed, he is a truly despicable human being, The one thing I find hopeful is that he is overweight, he doesn’t really exercise, and his color underneath that crazy tan is a shade of gray…

      • Kitten says:

        I was thinking a terrible thought this morning that I won’t type out then I reminded myself that aholes like Trump usually live forever…thought of my shitty boss still kicking at 86 years old, still coming into the office every day making everyone miserable…

        Not caring about anyone but yourself usually ensures a long life.

      • Jerusha says:

        @kitten. I typed out what I wish, hope, pray will happen to him, but then erased it, as you never know who’s looking. But he does look unhealthy and probably has high BP the way he’s always raging, so fingers crossed.

      • adastraperaspera says:

        He looks like crap. Good. Playing the role of Cruel Overlord is not agreeing with him. I could not wish enough bad on him and his twisted spawn. I’m sure insurance companies and hospital corporations are going to come for him, as he just shut off a spigot of billions that pours into their pockets.

      • Christin says:

        I have said this several times, based on personal observations. The best people (humble, helpful, etc.) often get the least years, while the worst often get the most. And I agree with Kitten – I think it’s because they don’t give a flip about anyone else (other than aggravating others).

        I’ve seen difficult people who consume all the attention, claim they’re so bad off, etc., outlive too many quieter, unassuming ones.

      • vava says:

        yeah, some of the most obnoxious people on earth live to a ripe old age. My MIL is one of them. Narcissistic, an avid Trump supporter, and she’s almost 95. I just hope I outlive her.

    • Lightpurple says:

      One sixth of our national economy will be adversely affected by this. Millions of jobs and thousands of lives will be lost. Call your state attorneys general and demand they take legal action.

      Also, several of his provisions require regulations. Monitor proposed regulatory changes in the Federal Register at https://www.federalregister.gov/. There will be comment periods and EVERYONE can submit written testimony. There may even be district public hearings that you can attend and speak

    • funfactor says:

      And let’s not leave Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan out of the equation. They have behind this for years, it’s been their vicious life’s work.

    • isabelle says:

      He is an awful fu*king person. People worse then him are so called Christians supporting this hateful godless, scum of the earth man. They should truly be ashamed and doubly ashamed if they say its about “abortion” . They couldn’t care less as long as the right people stay sick, get illnesses, die & suffer.

      • still_sarah says:

        @ Isabelle : I am a Christian and I believe that American evangelicals “sold their souls” to get a conservative judge appointed to the Supreme Court. They didn’t think God was working fast enough for them on issues like abortion (I’m pro-choice), so they decided to cheat the system and elect a monster who would give them what they wanted. Talk about a deal with the devil.

        You’re right. They should be ashamed.

    • still_sarah says:

      I am a Canadian currently working in China but I will be home in a few months. I pay for all my medical in China. From watching Trump and his evil Republican minions try to destroy Obama-care, I have come to appreciate our universal healthcare in a whole new way. Honestly, growing up, it was all I ever knew. I was shocked as a teenager when I saw a news show with the late Senator Ted Kennedy arguing for it in Washington. It was my first realisation that the USA did not have such a system. I feel so sad for poor Americans who can’t afford coverage and middle class Americans who have to decide what else they will go without (higher education for their kids, etc.) if they want to afford it.

    • Raina says:

      I’m beyond disgusted, but I’m not even surprised; at this point, if tomorrow’s headlines read: Trump throws puppy at an elderly woman holding an infant …I would think, ” Yep. That’s about right.”

    • Marley31 says:

      He’s racist and trying to undo everything Obama has done

    • shlockOftheNEw says:

      “Trump is taking away the cost share subsidies that are paid to insurance companies to reduce the burden of care on lower income people. He’s not taking away premium subsidies right now. I also don’t think the insurance companies can charge their clients the higher cost shares even though they aren’t getting reimbursed any more”- this from PBS, not a direct quote but a paraphrase. What happens is the lower income insured won’t pay those subsidies, but the people in middle income insurance will pay the extra. Also, those getting insured next year will see the huge increase next year.

  2. IlsaLund says:

    America’s #1 sexual predator needs to rot in hell for this cruelty. He cares nothing about hurting innocent people. His only mission in life is to destroy Obama’s legacy. People need to stop being sheep and rise up against his tyranny.

  3. Lizzie says:

    SJP has instructions for how eye drops should be administered to her kids. what a psycho bitch (eyerollllll). this comedian sounds hilarious.

    • Veronica says:

      Seriously, what about any of those demands is awful? Pedantic, yes, but not even remotely abusive or controlling. As long as her staff is paid and treated well, I could care less how silly her demands are.

      • Cranberry says:

        +1

      • Missmarirose says:

        Honestly the eye drop instructions sound like the ones I got from my doctor when my son got pink eye.
        The rest of it is detail oriented but not outrageous. She doesn’t want a lot of waste in the house. Sounds normal to me.

    • crazydaisy says:

      In the time it takes to write out those instructions you could do the damn thing yourself. Looks like she finally ate something, at least. Nice smile in the city street pic.

      • jwoolman says:

        Crazydaisy- you only have to write out the detailed instructions once. So if you can actually train someone to do it properly, it lets you have the freedom to go off to work while the instructions are followed by someone else. Having it in writing is really important especially if more than one person may be doing it only occasionally. Saves buckets of time.

        You just have never had to delegate a job to someone else where the details were important. That’s why it seems silly to you.

      • Veronica says:

        Her job involves plenty of travel. It’s unlikely the children accompany her on all of those trips just so they have some semblance of stability in their life, which means there are nannies and caretakers responsible for her children.

  4. Radley says:

    U Bum aka Dotard the Moron really is a bona-fide sociopath. He doesn’t care who ends up collateral damage as long as he feels he’s getting revenge on the “uppity” black man who had the temerity to be President and make fun of him and his birther nonsense.

    I hate this dude. I wish him nothing but the worst. He could be ripped limb from limb by a pack of wolves and I’d adopt the wolves and give them sanctuary the rest of their lives. He’s evil, irredeemable, trash.

  5. Jerusha says:

    I didn’t hate dick cheney this much. Almost, but not quite.
    Are hanging and the firing squad still used for treason? A girl can dream, can’t she?

    • Lightpurple says:

      Federal law uses injection but in some areas, the condemned has a choice of whatever methods the state allows.

    • Wendy says:

      Please let us know of you need some guillotines ( I’m French). Pretty sure we would gladly provide.

  6. Mabs A'Mabbin says:

    I feel like I just can’t handle any more.

    • Kitten says:

      Yes. This is how I feel today. My BF and I have bene texting all morning about this and the Iran Nuclear deal and that’s just two out of hundreds of terrible things he’s done.

      I’m so effin angry I can’t take it anymore.

      • AnneC says:

        I’ve stayed off twitter today because of boycott and am realizing that staying away from it helps one’s constant rage to subside a bit. I’m usually tweeting angry stuff about trump (and Harvey and journalists dragging HRC this week) all day. Maybe I’ll take a break, but I don’t want to miss that breaking story when Trump, Bannon and Weinstein all collapse within hours of each other from their obesity, rage and general malevolence. 🙂

    • Juliaoc says:

      I feel the same way. Every day – EVERY DAY – it’s something worse. This man has no soul.

    • Esmom says:

      I’m with same way, Mabs. Just when I think it can’t get worse, it gets worse. Again and again and again. I’d like to believe we’re at some sort of breaking point regarding Trump but I’m thinking that’s probably just wishful thinking on my part.

    • Beth says:

      I never imagined that I could hate someone as much as I hate Trump. Every single day, there’s more reason to hate him and worry about the foolish things he’s doing to put us all in danger. Trump and his enablers enrage me and scare me to death

    • Tiffany :) says:

      Take care of yourself! Maybe take this weekend off from news? I know it feels irresponsible sometimes to check out, but for self care, sometimes it is necessary. There will be other like minded people who will stay up to speed, and when you are feeling better, you can re-join the fight.

      Hugs to you my friend. You are not alone. We are in this together. We have your back if you need to take a break. We will be here with open arms when you feel stronger.

      • Bellagio DuPont says:

        @ Tiffany:

        What a beautiful message……I’m not american, yet even I feel refreshed by your message. 😘😘😘

    • Christin says:

      Today I took the day off, went for a drive to a beautiful small historic community and enjoyed the day without checking on what tweets or nonsense was being floated.

      On the way home, I was asked, “Wonder what the idiot has said or done today?” We made it seven hours without mentioning it. I can think of no other administration in my lifetime where it was such a constant concern that you couldn’t escape the chaos for just a day.

  7. Wickster says:

    I worked as a nanny for a famous actress and also for some very rich couples. Her instructions are not out of the ordinary for this group. The actress I worked for had a rule about my “rotating” toys every day, and when I left 2 Cheerios in the sink, I got a lesson on how I should remove EVERYTHING from the sink after washing things. I could make fun of it, but if I am honest, she was simply paying me to do things the way I would like them done if I could afford to tell a staff how to do things for me that I now do myself. Also, I have daily caregivers for my mom, and my instructions are just as precise about where things go and how to do things. It took me a long time to determine the way that was best for her, and when you have different people performing the same task over and over, and they all do things differently, you really need to write it down. I am sure anyone could look at my list and make fun of me. But it is my house and my mom and this is the best way to do things. So, no shade here, having worked from both sides.

    • MarionC says:

      Yeah, this is much ado about nothing..My dog gets eye drops and I leave incredibly detailed instructions for the pet sitter on how to administer. I figure I know how to do it and want it to be a smooth process for both the sitter and the pooch.

      • jwoolman says:

        I had to leave detailed instructions for catsitters. Unfortunately, they just ignored the instructions since of course I couldn’t possibly know my own cats that well.

        So I would come back to a flooded house (ignored instructions to keep faucets dripping in winter and then when they froze up, thought it was smart to leave the faucets wide open for a day or two or three just in case it warmed up), ultrastressed-out cats (if you put the hood used as a playhouse on the litterbox and the cat doesn’t like a hooded litterbox, that’s why the cat is never using the litter box; also not cleaning out the other box more than once a week does not calm their nerves when they think their pet human has been eaten by predators), a lifelong feud between sisters that didn’t stop until one of them died, and loss of at least one piece of furniture each time (guess what cats do when get are ultrastressed? They start peeing on the furniture). One of the feuding sisters never got back into the litterbox for #2, so that was fun.

        Once I came back a day before expected and found the cat sitter (who was supposed to visit every day) had left out multiple bowls of canned food that had obviously been there for days and were inedible even for cats who will drink from mud puddles and toilets. And of course the litter box was overflowing (the one he hadn’t helpfully put the hood on that the cats didn’t like). I was just lucky that at the time, I didn’t have a cat who needed regular medical attention or special feeding procedures, or else the list above would have included coming home to a dead or dying cat.

        So I understand the attempt to supervise outsourced childcare quite well. You just can’t assume that people will follow your instructions without supervision. They can be smart and nice but still just won’t follow instructions without someone after them all the time.

    • Esmom says:

      I hear you. We had a nanny for a year or so when my son was a baby and if I didn’t give her detailed instructions she would stay in her same rut every single day. She loved my son ad he loved her, which was most important, but she wasn’t assertive at all and needed heavy handed direction.

      • Wickster says:

        Exactly. And frankly, I learned a lot of good stuff from seeing how other people did things, especially as I was young and didn’t really know how to run a household or stimulate kids properly. And: I still don’t leave food pieces in the sink because of it!

    • Christin says:

      Having been a parent’s caregiver, I understand detailed instructions, too. I left on a business trip and had three pages of written instructions for the entire daily routine. And I tried to edit them down, but those details were very important to my parent’s well-being. We’d already tried things a lot of ways, and had landed on what worked and what could not be skipped.

  8. lucy2 says:

    This is horrible, and going to hurt so many people. WHY? (I know why).
    Is there any chance of lawsuits being used to hold this up from going into effect like some of his other EOs?

  9. Angela82 says:

    This rotten pumpkin keeps going on about “God” as if he gives a crap. Its just an excuse to hate gay people and appease his demented hate filled ignorant base.

  10. Lori says:

    Trumps cruelty and incompetence leaves me speechless.

  11. robyn says:

    The drip, drip of disaster emanating from this so-called president is unnerving and must be so frightening, disheartening and disappointing to all the folks immediately effected by his dreadful thoughtless cacophony of choices. Russia … if you’re listening, please adopt this idiot and take him from our midst. You will be mightily rewarded by Donald Trump enablers such as the Christian Right supporters who will realize they’ll soon be losing their good health care. I’m sure Jesus would agree, guns for all but not health care. :/

  12. minx says:

    I hate him.

  13. MarionC says:

    For Trump it’s more about his petty need to undo anything Obama because he can’t stand that people still praise him at Trump’s expense. And while it’s semantics, I wish media, including NPR, would STOP calling it Obamacare, which perpetuates the negative connotation with some people and call it the correct name, the Affordable Care Act.

    And yeah, loathe this man beyond belief.

  14. Scarlett says:

    Not my country, not my president, but OMG, I feel for you guys…

  15. Abby says:

    You know, i want to hate Trump and well i do hate him but he got where he is because many people among our leaders stayed silent or the populace didn’t vote or whatever. And many people allow hate to lead them to vote for crap. They do not care about women’s rights or the environment or global issues. Just MAGA ,which ironically will backfire, and guns.
    And yeah i am simplifying the Trump voter and i am sure they have legit social and economic challenges but Trump is not their savior. Never was. And they are too blinded by anger and hate to see they got conned.
    Whatever. I could not care less about them. They were warned.

    I’ve learned my lesson that our institutions will not protect us. The money and power in politics has thrown the balance of powers off completely. Republican leaders in House and Senate sold their souls to gain the WH.
    I know the Dems are a mess but they are not deliberately malicious, at least not as policy. Not like this. Not even close.
    The only people i feel for are those losing coverage who didn’t vote for Trump.

    By the way i love this comic
    https://mobile.twitter.com/WiseWmnTogether/status/918515842085806081/photo/1

  16. why? says:

    The Dotard and GOP are ruining this country. Why is our president the dumbest person in the world?

    Today, the Dotard said that he met with the President of the US Virgin Islands. Once again confirming(he had no clue that Puerto Ricans are Americans because Puerto Rico is an “island in the middle of a big big ocean”) that he had no idea that the residents of US Virgin Islands are Americans.

    • jwoolman says:

      Wikipedia has Donald Trump listed as the President of the US Virgin Islands…. So he met with himself? Did they have a good conversation? Did the two of them have tea with the Governor, or was the Governor too busy?

      Doesn’t anybody brief this guy before they turn him loose? Maybe they need to drill him with flash cards on the way over.

  17. Jo says:

    He looks like that bumbling fool from the Police Academy films.

  18. Cranberry says:

    What an A**hole.

  19. Themummy says:

    I depend on insulin every time I eat to stay alive. Without it my dinner can kill me, literally. And without insurance it costs several thousand dollars a month. And my situation isn’t even at all the most dire of situations that are out there.

    I loathe and despise and hate this cruel monster so much more than words could ever express.

    • Ladidah says:

      Hugs. Of all the things that I find cruel in the US healthcare system, Of which there are many, I find it so awful we cannot get it together as a nation to fund free insulin, which is the case in So many countries, big and small.

      • Veronica says:

        What should infuriate you more is that there’s no reason insulin shouldn’t be more affordable. US law just allows companies to make small changes to the product and repatent it to drive up costs.

      • Ladidah says:

        @Veronica I feel as you do about other drugs, but I honestly think insulin is in a special class of its own and all of it should be free, and us state governments need to have contracts for it.

        You can in theory buy cheapo insulin from Walmart, it is not just a cost issue.

        And besides, No matter how cheap insulin becomes in the US, it will still strain a lot of budgets for the most vulnerable – children and elderly, and poorer people, who need insulin to survive.

        And diabetes, whether 1 or 2, MODY, LADA, from hemochromatosis – whatever the cause – is a group of what is known as social illnesses, meaning they get worse because of stress and lack of social support. free insulin is a great way to say we care, as a civilization, about our vulnerable, and it affects and benefits a huge swathe of the population.

        I believe there are papers Rich people tend to suffer less complications of diabetes, in large part because of access to insulin and more frequent doctor’s appointments for management.

      • Veronica says:

        Oh no, I absolutely agree. My point is that none of these drugs should be priced out of the reach of the people who need them. If the government wants to do nothing to stem the tide of diabetes as a result of poverty and limited access to proper nutrition (at least where type 2 is concerned), they should damn well be helping care for those people suffering from it.

  20. jwoolman says:

    Paul Ryan has been trying to trash Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security for many years. Then he focused on the Affordable Care Act, which was the first light in the very long tunnel of the US health noncare system that I had seen in my entire adult life.

    I really don’t understand why they are so deadset against the ACA and anything else that actually helps people. Or why a significant number of Americans likewise hate such programs. Is it just rampant selfishness? Total lack of imagination about what could happen to them if they lost their money?

    What possible harm does such a program do to them personally? Just make and drop a few less bombs, and such programs will be fully funded. They don’t even blink at the yuuuge billions of dollars going to corrupt military contractors and corrupt dictators and foreign politicians, but will deny medical care and other essentials to people who are struggling to navigate the shark-infested waters of the US health insurance system.

    Once you hit your fifties in the pre-ACA days, the insurance companies started working to push you out of the pool with jacked up premiums and increasingly high deductibles. One major illness would cut off any further coverage due to lifetime caps and insane hospital bills (which tried to get all their normal operating expenses out of the sick and injured). And besides being grilled on any pre-existing conditions that would invalidate your policy if you missed any, you had to hope they wouldn’t cancel you after the first claim “just because”. The insurers didn’t even promise to honor claims for pre-authorized procedures. I was paying for 100% coverage past the deductible, but my one and only claim was not paid that way. They cherry picked their way through the bill, claiming that the prices were too high for the area or not medically necessary. I had been dragged into the hospital unwillingly by ambulance and hardly had any say in those expenses or how much they cost.

    Heaven help you if your ability to earn money starts dwindling at the same time due to health issues. I finally gave up when the premiums hit 53% of my income and my deductible had skyrocketed to $5000. The only way I could pay such amounts would be to go into debt many thousands of dollars per year. Is that what they consider a sensible approach? I was able to get insurance again only when the ACA kicked in, but due to the thieving vultures at Anthem it became only catastrophic insurance (they narrowed the network for us on the exchange despite getting guaranteed premiums that were as high as anybody else was paying. At least I wasn’t going into debt for it thanks to the federal subsidies.)

    But now that we’ve had the ACA for a number of years, people affected realize how important it is and how we can actually get away from being totally at the mercy of profit-chasing insurance companies. Not only people with subsidies – others were benefitted by the mandatory coverage provisions, the lack of lifetime caps, and the banishment of pre-existing conditions harassment. Hospitals and their staff benefitted from the support provided to them, which is why the medical people now are fighting to keep and improve the ACA. Without it, small hospitals say they will have to close, meaning local residents will have to travel much further to find emergency and routine care. An extra hour on the road will matter in an emergency.

    But all of this isn’t really about health care, despite all the blathering about “competition” magically providing better health insurance for less (it never did in the past, Donald). It is about tax cuts for the very rich. This is why major donors to Republicans have been even threatening to pull their financial support if the Republicans don’t destroy the ACA and reverse the taxes on the very rich that help pay for the subsidies. Trump and his family will benefit from such tax cuts, and so will rich people in Congress. But the major driving force for them is still the big donors’ determination not to share.

    Likewise for the misnamed “tax reform” next to be pushed. The very rich will benefit big time from the “reforms”. The rest of us – well, unlike Trump, I’ve been doing my own taxes for decades, and I don’t see how his newer tax brackets are going to benefit anybody but himself and his rich friends. And only a few people are affected by the estate tax, so tossing that just helps people who inherit huge estates. Unless you have an estate worth at least $5.5 million, you won’t even notice. (All those cheering truck drivers must be hauling some pretty pricey stuff to be so enthusiastic about it at Trump’s recent speech. Someone figured out that only 30 trucking company owners would be affected, I guess all of them were there.)

    I don’t think the Republicans worry about voters, since those who voted for Trump were a minority (about 1/4 of the registered voters, which means even less of the total possible voters). They seem quite confidant that their voter suppression efforts and selective vote count manipulations plus disinformation campaigns can get them anything they want. Trump is living proof.

    I don’t think we’ve had true vote counts since the 2000 election, when GWBush convinced the US Supreme Court to overturn Florida’s Supreme Court’s decision to let hand recounts continue (an unofficial continued recount showed Gore actually won Florida and thus the White House). By the next election, machines were installed that had no paper backups to recount. And we are still in that same situation today. Vote manipulation can be be very selective because of the electoral college system. Trump lost the popular vote by three million but got the electoral votes needed by a total margin of about 80,000 votes. I think Obama was elected in 2008 and 2012 only because he managed to outrun the hackers. Hillary almost did the same in 2016 despite the disinformation peddlers, but not by a big enough margin.

    Welcome to the Land of the Not So Free Where It Counts and a pseudodemocracy.

    • Ladidah says:

      @Jwoolman, you probably heard of them, but isn’t it safe to blame the Mercer family?

      Poverty, unemployment or disability are signs you are not fit to survive – this is the philosophy of the Mercer family. They donated billions to Breitbart and Trump. They are greedy eugenicists, who corrupted news algorithms to sway people for Trump, see the new yorker for more.

      Also, When the Nazis came to power, the first thing they did was round up people with physical or mental disabilities and imprison or kill them.

      Please folks, don’t stay quiet. I write this to remind myself too. The worst thing we can do is say and do nothing.

      We have to save ourselves.

      • jwoolman says:

        Yes, the Mercers and the Kochs come to mind as ones pushing for these things.

        We really have to start looking very closely at who funds political campaigns in huge amounts. Some companies actually donate to both sides, hoping to get some favors in return or at least some leverage in issues of importance to them. But some are obviously on an ideological mission, like the Mercers. We really need to have more reasonable limits on such donations, as well as the ability for politicians to campaign without huge gobs of money.

        We also need to start looking very carefully at how elected politicians have made their money. They can get rich for legitimate reasons, such as writing books or giving talks or being clever about investments if they’ve been frugal or just started out rich. But it still should be something that routinely has to be verified. We need to especially look for signs of bribery. My old Congressman said one of his colleagues was offered a million dollars for his vote on just one weapons system. That’s the kind of money that is tossed around at them. A few safeguards to minimize temptation wouldn’t hurt.

  21. Tulsi 2020 says:

    Still not as bad as socialism though, eh?

  22. robyn says:

    I’m pretty sure leaders in the House and Senate get their premier health care paid for through their government jobs and that means by you the taxpayer. Perhaps these mean dudes should be forced to pay their own health expenses out of pocket the way they want folks to do who rely on subsidies. These working people who need subsidies are helping to pay for the health care of Trump and his cohorts and that’s just not fair! Too bad citizens can’t withhold their taxes in future until everybody gets health care.

  23. Lisa says:

    Wow, he looks worse than usual in that last pic. Maybe he’s sick.

  24. MFM says:

    Hes havingthe time of his consequence free life.

    grrrrrrr.

  25. Eric says:

    NYAG Schneiderman and 18 other AGs are filing suit against the Dotard for this.

    Lean on your state AG to join this coalition!

  26. virginfangirl says:

    I’m from a poor family. Went to planned parenthood for my healthcare until I was 27 yrs old. Sad part of that was that by then I actually had an awesome job & was in a union with great health insurance. It covered Viagra, but not birth control pills though, so I continued going to planned parenthood because my pills were only $7. Over twenty years later and I thought us women & the working poor & the unfortunate who have health problems had finally made some progress, until this evil crazy man came to power. He has the potential to be another Hitler I think. He’s that evil.

    • Aang says:

      I was poor too. Planned Parenthood helped me get an affordable abortion at 17, then $8 a month pills until I was educated, married, and wanted children. Without them I would have ended up a poor, uneducated, teen mom like my mother. They helped me live the life I do today and I send them $ every month out of thanks.

  27. Tiny Martian says:

    Well this didn’t take long. Let the lawsuits begin! I seriously doubt they will win, but at the very least they can harass this petty tyrant and keep him tied up with legal issues for the rest of his nasty life:

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/obamacare-latest-18-states-sue-donald-trump-lawsuit-insurance-payments-subsidy-healthcare-executive-a8000121.html

  28. EMau says:

    The worst president in a long long time.
    People thought George W Bush was bad? People thought Nixon was bad? Trump takes the cake. He is corrupt, cruel, a liar and a fraud.

  29. dobbs says:

    Only positive is that this may lead the USA down the path to universal health care.

  30. why? says:

    “The Failing @nytimes, in a story by Peter Baker, should have mentioned the rapid terminations by me of TPP & The Paris Accord & the fast…….approvals of The Keystone XL & Dakota Access pipelines. Also, look at the recent EPA cancelations & our great new Supreme Court Justice!”-The Dotard

    Didn’t the Dotard give Peter Baker and 2 other reporters from NYT an exclusive interview in which he trashed talked Sessions, Mueller, Rosenstein, McCabe, and Comey? It’s crazy how The Dotard e is always saying that CNN, NYT, WaPo, and MSNBC are failing when he and his people keep giving exclusive interviews to them. If they were failing, then why is he constantly using them to put out positive things about himself?

    “Very proud of my Executive Order which will allow greatly expanded access and far lower costs for HealthCare. Millions of people benefit!”-The Dotard

    The Dotard whines about fake news, and then he continues to spread it. The EO he signed is not going to expand access or lower costs. The only millions who will benefit are the millionaires sitting in his WH.

    “Health Insurance stocks, which have gone through the roof during the ObamaCare years, plunged yesterday after I ended their Dems windfall!”-The Dotard

    Isn’t this a bad sign for the Dotard? It means that his EO isn’t as great as she claims that it is.

    “Many people talking, with much agreement, on my Iran speech today. Participants in the deal are making lots of money on trade with Iran!”-The Dotard

    Why is The Dotard such a liar. No one, except for the complicit people he surrounds himself with, agreed with his Iran speech.

    “Money pouring into Insurance Companies profits, under the guise of ObamaCare, is over. They have made a fortune.
    Dems must get smart & deal!”

    This is another example of the Dotard trying to change the issue into something that it’s not. The money was going to help people who couldn’t pay for health insurance. The Insurance companies weren’t making money. Why does it come off as if he is begging the Democrats to help him?

    “ObamaCare is causing such grief and tragedy for so many. It is being dismantled but in the meantime, premiums & deductibles are way up!”-The Dotard

    This is another lie. It’s the Dotard who is causing grief and tragedy by purposely sabotaging Obamacare. Premiums & deductibles are way up because of the uncertainty that The Dotard and his administration are creating.

  31. why? says:

    Bannon bragged that the Dotard will get 400 electoral votes in 2020. How does he know this? Bannon and the Russians are already making plans to get the Dotard elected for another 4 years. The time for the GOP to act is now. The Russians were responsible for getting the Dotard elected in 2016 and now they aren’t even being subtle about their plans for him for 2020.

    They have Kris Kobach, the WS leading the Voter Suppression Committee, trying to stop certain people from voting.

    Remember how Richard Burr said that he was confident that the voting machines were hacked, well one Democrat senator stated that we have no idea if the voter machines were hacked or not because no one has ever bothered to examine them. The fact that these committees are unwilling to examine the voter machines to see if votes were changed, just makes it seem like they know that the votes were changed.

  32. why? says:

    “Will other outlets follow? Score one for Kellyanne Conway. The New York Times plans to toughen its Twitter policy…”-Kellyanne

    So Twitter will finally suspend The Dotard for bullying and making threats?

  33. flebel says:

    This disgusting POS has no limits. He really believes that he can shoot someone in the middle of Manhattan and not lose any of his deplorable base, and he is probably right. This move is going to hurt these supporters hard. However, they will probably never learn about it watching Fox news until their insurance premium bill arrives. Then, they’ll blame Obama for passing the ACA that gave them their heath coverage in the first place. Trump’s base, made up of so many low and middle income Evangelicals, are so willing to sell-their-souls for this racist, pussy grabbing, thrice married, draft dodging, adulterer in their obsessive desire to keep their guns (not that they are threatened) and get those conservative Supreme Court appointees.

  34. why? says:

    Instead of focusing on the aftermath of the fires in CA and hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico and USVI, The Dotard spent his day spreading more lies about Obama(this time he claimed that Obama and other Presidents didn’t call the families of fallen soldiers), bullying Hillary and the Democrats, lying about the stock market and unemployment rates, whining about the Trump Russian investigation, misrepresenting take a knee, and trying to convince everyone that things are well between him and McConnell and him and Tillerson. When is enough going to be enough? The Dotard and GOP are ruining this country and the people who have the power to stop them aren’t doing anything to stop them. I wish the GOP would for one put the people before the party.

    The bots are still trolling the Q polls. It was reported that 46% want a war with NK.

    The Dotard and his administration are continuing to cause more damage. They are planning on removing rules on food safety. When no one was paying attention, Congress and the drug industry prevented the DEA from going after drug industries in regards to opioids.