The GOP health care bill will leave more than 20 million people uninsured

Over the weekend, I tweeted a copy of the email I sent to my Republican douche-congressman. To be fair, he sent me an email extolling the virtues of Trumpcare – aka the American Health Care Act – and how Obamacare was broken and Trumpcare would fix everything for everybody and everybody would get a pony. He asked for people to contact him, so I did (and I called him a p-ssy, no regrets). It was no secret that the Trumpcare/AHCA bill was a disaster. Policy wonks were analyzing the sh-tty bill all of last week, but that didn’t stop the House from passing it already, before the CBO analyzed the numbers. Well, the Congressional Budget Office finally completed their analysis, and guess what? It’s even worse than critics were saying.

The House Republican health plan to repeal much of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and radically restructure Medicaid would cause 24 million people to lose coverage by 2026 and drive $880 billion in federal Medicaid cuts over the next ten years, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated today. This means the plan would eventually reverse all of the nation’s expected historic coverage gains under the ACA.

The plan, which two House committees approved last week, would effectively end the ACA’s Medicaid expansion starting in 2020 and convert all of Medicaid to a per capita cap. It would also repeal the ACA’s marketplace tax credits and subsidies, substituting a highly inadequate tax credit in 2020, and immediately end the ACA’s individual and employer mandates to buy and provide health coverage, respectively.

While the plan would retain most of the ACA’s market reforms and consumer protections, including protections for people with pre-existing conditions, it would newly permit individual-market insurers to charge 30 percent higher premiums to people who haven’t maintained continuous coverage. (That provision is a deeply flawed, ineffective alternative to the individual mandate.) Insurers could also charge premiums as much as five times higher for older people than younger people.

[From CBPP]

You can read the full CBO report here. If passed and signed into law, Trumpcare would leave 18 million Americans uninsured by NEXT YEAR. And 24 million would lose insurance by 2026. Who would have thought? Oh, right. Everybody. Including the Trump White House. The White House’s internal analysis predicts that 26 million would lose coverage in the next decade, but even then… the White House is still yelling about the CBO and trying to discredit their (completely nonpartisan) analysis. TL; DR: the Republican repeal-and-replace bill sh-t the bed. Stay vigilant, contact your congressmen and senators.

PS… Emperor Baby Fists’ hands are so small and white!

Photos courtesy of Getty.

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260 Responses to “The GOP health care bill will leave more than 20 million people uninsured”

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  1. Khaleesi says:

    Like I’ve already said last week – there was a woman on TV who has cancer and voted for Trump, now she regrets it because Trumpcare won’t help her at all. But they won’t get any sympathy from me.

    • It'sJustBlanche says:

      Nope.

    • Becky says:

      IMO this is why a vote is a responsibility. I have no respect for people who don’t even inform themselves before they vote.

      Like the clueless woman after the Brexit vote last year who supposedly said “Oh I just voted as a protest, I didn’t think it would go through”.

      • amy says:

        There were also some young people who said they didn’t vote because they thought Brexit has no chance at all.

      • Tate says:

        A vote is a responsibility and a responsibility that should be taken seriously. People’s lives are literally on the line. #trumpdontcare

      • Becky says:

        Yep Amy, heard that too. The % that didn’t vote was were younger; turnout was 64% of registered 18-24 yr olds, but was 90% in over 65’s.

      • Beth says:

        So many didn’t vote this time in America. Some of my friends said they didn’t because they assumed there was NO WAY Trump would ever win. They were so wrong for being irresponsible about this

      • imqrious2 says:

        I can’t tell you how many people I know who didn’t vote, saying that “Trump will never win, what will it matter…HC will win in a landslide” SMH… and we’re left with this sh*t show.

        I didn’t like Hillary, but I held my nose and voted for her, knowing that the alternative was too horrible to contemplate. I STILL feel like it’s surreal, that I’ll wake up and it’ll be a nightmare, like that scene in “Dallas” when Victoria Principal’s character woke up to find Bobby Ewing alive and showering… sigh…

    • Kitten says:

      I can’t even listen to those people. I want to feel sympathy but I just can’t. They’re almost worse than the ones who are still living in denial about the Trump administration’s evil agenda.
      I just done get it. They KNEW what he was like, we all knew!

      • Angela82 says:

        Or those who voted for Cheeto just b/c their Obamacare went up last year – not realizing it wasn’t Obama it was the greedy insurance companies that keep raising prices. And to actually think that Cheeto would come up with something better as if he cared, especially give who he is surrounded by: Ryan and the Turtle, was ignorance at its finest. Or worse those that literally thought Obamacare and Affordable Care Act were two different things.

      • Annetommy says:

        The trump people are taking their usual approach of shooting the messenger. The CBO, like all the state organisations that don’t stroke trump’s ego, are useless and have got it completely wrong. Phew. That’s a relief. Otherwise it might be really really bad.

      • Kitten says:

        @ AnneTommy- they’re nuts! The CBO is a non-partisan group of nerdy number-crunchers and Trumpets are trying to front like they’re part of some grand liberal conspiracy. Insane.

        @Angela-exactly. The fact that they thought this group of men who have never shown themselves to be anything other than greedy, selfish monsters would save them is laughable to me.

      • Saras says:

        The rich get richer and the poor/ middle class get condemned to more suffering and death.
        Come together and vote as we are on the same boat!

      • Bootsie says:

        Even worse: I’ve read about at least a couple of Trump supporters featured in articles in a few different papers who will now lose coverage under Trumpcare, but still insist on supporting Trump – how?? why???

        Idiots. Bigoted idiots.

      • Angela82 says:

        @Bootsie, they are just flat out racists sadly. There is no other explanation. That or they assume they are getting a million dollars a year job so they don’t have to worry about affordable care b/c they are so delusional they think this Dump gives a shit about them. Either way they are aboard the crazy train and refuse to get off. 🙁

    • Beth says:

      when I read about people who didn’t think about what Trump was saying,chose to forget he is a heartless con man,and didn’t pay attention to the fact that he became president when he really didn’t know what a presidents job was, I get so mad. I always feel bad when I hear about sick people, but I have no sympathy for them when they supported this Healthcare snatching monster.

    • Merritt says:

      I don’t feel sympathy at all. When people tell you who they are, believe them. The GOP and Trump have made clear their intention to get rid of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), if you voted for them anyway, then you did it to yourself. All the younger people who didn’t sign up for the ACA are idiots. People think that they don’t need health insurance and then boom, they are in a major car crash and have serious injuries. Then they are upset that they have no coverage and no money to pay the huge bills. And then hospitals have to pass the cost of non-payment on to everyone else.

      • Angela82 says:

        As a healthy young person a decade ago (I was 24), I had to have random emergency surgery for an ovary that had to be taken out. I asked if there was anything that I could have done differently (because I was so young and I wasn’t aware that things can just happen). Much like an appendix sometimes things just go bad I was told, not my fault. I was in grad school at the time and making no money as I spent most of my days away from class in a lab doing research for no pay. I was lucky my parents paid for my health insurance then (this was before you could be on your parents plan until 26 – thanks Obama!).

        Anyways my point is you never know what will happen. It doesn’t necessarily equate to “I don’t do this and I do that I’m 100% healthy and I don’t need any insurance” – you literally never know. There are also plenty who get cancer for no particular reason. Yes preventative actions help but its not guaranteed, healthcare is a human right as far as I’m concerned. People who don’t get it are in deep denial and uninformed. Some republican supporters love to play Russian roulette with their health and just pray they never get sick.

        What makes it worse is I actually know those who have houses who don’t have insurance. I am waiting for the day they end up in the ER and lose their home over stupidity. In the meantime they have been compromising their health by not going to a doctor for injuries and other viruses because they have no insurance and too much to lose.

      • DetRiotGirl says:

        Those of you implying that young people simply chose not to get healthcare are part of the problem. I was offered healthcare through my last job. $350 a month. I can barely afford to pay my rent! Paying out an extra $350 a month for healthcare would leave me either homeless or starving to death. That is not a choice! I was able to get on Medicaid for a time, but the following year I made slightly too much money and became uninsured again. I have found cheaper insurance, that I could get just to have something… but the deductibles are so high, and the coverage so useless, it doesn’t seem worth it at all. Our system is completely broken, and I don’t appreciate being shamed because I would rather take a gamble on being uninsured than wind up living on the streets. I voted for HRC. I did everything I could to convince people not to vote for this orange monster. Unfortunately, the country did not listen.

      • vaultdweller101 says:

        @ DetRiotGirl: Yes! Preach it. The cheapest insurance plan for me on ACA is $387/month. It covers next to nothing. Even with the insurance, I would still have to pay out of pocket until I hit the insanely high deductibles. It’s such a scam, and I can’t afford to pay $387/month, plus the actual cost of health care. It’s just too much.

    • kNY says:

      I feel like it all boils down to the intense power of racism. The ability to vote against one’s own health to stick it to immigrants and black people is just ridiculous and doesn’t warrant pity.

    • littlemissnaughty says:

      It’s a sad day for humanity when we can’t even feel sympathy for people with cancer because they are such a**holes. I wish her luck but man, I can’t find the energy to put much feeling into it.

      On a side note, as someone who has never known anything but the feeling of security universal health care provides, this entire issue just boggles my mind. I tried hard to understand the idea that health care – in a country that can afford it for everybody – is not considered one of the cornerstones of a civilized society. I can’t wrap my mind around it.

      • Tia Maria says:

        @littlemissnaughty I hear you! I cannot wrap my mind around that either. I’m in the UK and my partner was diagnosed with cancer 2 years ago, without the NHS he wouldn’t be here now. I cannot even contemplate living in a country that doesnot provide the most basic of healthcare for its citizens.

      • littlemissnaughty says:

        Yes. My father has been battling numerous chronic illnesses for about 25 years. As if my sister and I would’ve been able to study without the health insurance! No. I pay a lot every month (in Germany it’s a percentage of your wage) and *knocks on wood* haven’t set foot in a doctor’s office in forever (not counting check-ups). But I don’t complain because I know it’s simply my turn now.

      • Christin says:

        Having health insurance was a huge deal in my home. My mother was diagnosed with RA right after my birth (she was 26). My father worked several years longer than he had to, just to be sure he could keep their insurance (because they might be denied or face outrageous premiums due to pre-existing condition).

        I don’t think some realize what a big deal it is to be lumped into high-risk pools, which is only one of the big ‘gotchas’ in this bill. It is truly a pile of poo that is going to cost the most vulnerable the most, to give the most wealthy a tax benefit.

      • Angela82 says:

        The only thing keeping my personal mind at ease is being a Federal employee with one of the best plans as far as American Healthcare goes. Only about $100 comes out my paycheck a month and at most I usually pay is $35 copay and a $250 deductible if I am out of network (but that’s rare b/c I am BlueCross BlueShield). Of course for now I am relatively young and healthy, not sure whats going to happen if and when I’m not anymore. That being said I much rather just pay more in taxes and have universal healthcare for everyone. I have seen my family members struggle. I have an uncle who only makes about $45,000 a year and when he signed up last year for the ACA they were going to charge him $500 out of pocket a month b/c apparently he makes too much. I have also seen private companies offer their employees some of the worst options, i.e. $300 a month out of paycheck and still paying a $2500 deductible even in network. This sadly discourages folks from going to the doctor when they really should go. 🙁

      • Sixer says:

        Angela – there must be so many hidden costs to the economy too, if people don’t go to the doctor when they should but rather put it off until it’s a crisis. Healthy economies need healthy workers. It all seems so self-defeating.

      • littlemissnaughty says:

        Sixer, I think the U.S. actually spends a lot more per capita on health care (or health services) than most European countries. Precisely because of those costs. And because treating an advanced condition is always more expensive than treating something small in the beginning. But yay tax breaks!

        Angela, that sounds like a terrible system, frankly. I pay about €500 every month but again, it’s a percentage of your wage before taxes. My insurance is actually rather expensive although the differences are only somewhere between 1-2% for the different insurance companies I think. I’m too lazy to switch. So whenever someone says we “get if for free” I laugh in their face. No we don’t. And our system isn’t perfect by any means. But yeah, at least nobody here loses their house because they get cancer.

      • Angela82 says:

        @Sixer: yeah I know quite a few people who will come down with a bacterial infection or flu and instead of going to the doctor and getting antibiotics or some other necessary medication they rely on a lot of over the counter type drugs that don’t always help, especially as the person gets older. This is especially dangerous if the person has a high fever or lung congestion (i.e. pneumonia which is life threatening) and still refuses to go for fear they are stuck with a high deductible or no insurance (even though you’d think the flu or infection would be basic care).

        @littlemissnaughty: Yeah I don’t think any system is perfect. $500 does seem steep but like you said it comes directly out of your paycheck so its based on income and it makes sure, or tries to make sure, that you don’t spend money on unnecessary things instead of healthcare. You would be surprised how many Americans, especially pre-ACA, rather spend their money on other things and then get screwed if something does go wrong. Some people are very instant gratification, they rather have the Mercedes in the now, and assume I feel “fine” I don’t need to pay all that health insurance costs yet. Basically people gamble their health and life. Insurance companies also tend to keep up-ing your charges as you get older – obviously b/c older people have more problems and are more profitable. 🙁 It also makes it difficult to switch insurance companies because of pre-existing conditions, so you are stuck with what you signed on for in your 20s and 30s, which may be crap.

        Plus like you said if you do end up really sick, like cancer or heart disease, you know you are covered and don’t have to panic over having to choose b/w your home and your chemotherapy, etc.

      • Megan says:

        @Angela I own a company in DC and my partners and I have very little choice when it comes to insurance. Only three companies sell insurance in DC and none offer everything we want in a plan. Deductibles and co-pays are not our choice, they are set by the insurance company.

      • Angela82 says:

        @Megan: Wow only 3. I know my dad has had a long-term headache business wise because he tries to offer health insurance to all those who at least work in his office in Virginia and are salary. He wishes he could give it to everyone, but it would be totally un-affordable. He owns a construction company with one other person. The plans always run at least $600-$700 a person and it really puts a big dent in their income. I think they try and pay half the costs per month and even then some of the employees opt out b/c its too expensive when they have a wife and kids, they rather go through the state. That being said they are a little better off in what the insurance covers, such as low co-pays and deductibles but it comes at a cost for both the company and the employee. And he tries to do it as a good person – I think their business is small enough that they could get away without providing it. In fact my brother works for him but gets his insurance through his wife who works for DC Metro b/c her plan is far better and he doesn’t pay nearly as much out of his paycheck and its one less burden on my dad. I think its the small businesses who seem to get the worst of this healthcare system.

        ETA: apparently the ACA is supposed to help small businesses with providing affordable care. Maybe the costs just still seem very high to me. :-/

      • Pandy says:

        I know LMN – it IS mind boggling that people would prefer to gamble that their health will not be affected rather than pay a few more dollars in taxes. It’s just peace of mind to know that you don’t jeopardize your entire financial life if you need care. I don’t understand the mindset but then, I don’t understand the mindset that everyone needs a gun either.

    • SusanneToo says:

      I’m your classic liberal bleeding heart – I adopt strays, I hand money out the window to people on the side of the road, I take bugs outside and let them go – but with trump voters, third party voters, non-voters, part of me thinks, “As ye sow, so shall ye reap.”

      • kNY says:

        AHAHAHHA, OMG, me too. I literally caught a moth last week in my kitchen and took it outside. But with these people, I’m like, “You made your bed.”

      • Cee says:

        I lowered my car windows so a mosquito could fly away instead of killing it LOL
        (but if there’s a roach all bets are off)

      • Angela82 says:

        Yep there are some I don’t have sympathy for anymore (some are in my family). I also have way more empathy for animals these days. On top of trying to destroy ourselves and fellow man, we are destroying these poor creatures’ environment and the sadistic Trump admin is throwing a party.

      • Megan says:

        I have a ton of sympathy for people who voted for Clinton and are going to lose their insurance. It must be so scary.

      • Lady D says:

        LOL @SusanneToo, I do that too. I found a large ugly spider in my sink last week. I ended up putting the stupid thing in one of my plants (shudder) because it would have froze to death outside. I also go out of my way to avoid stepping on worms, and lately the feral cat I’m trying to tame has started bringing me live mice. I take most of them across the street and put them back in the garden centre lot she takes them from. I didn’t know I was a liberal bleeding heart, though.

      • Angela82 says:

        @Megan me too. I feel bad for anyone who voted for HRC knowing that they would be screwed under Trump’s regime. Whether it be healthcare, taxes, immigration, equal pay, minority issues, LGBT. etc. 🙁

      • KiddVicious says:

        Yep, me too. I was wrestling with my cat to save an earthworm she desperately wanted to eat the other day. Luckily I won. This time.

        I have family who voted for Trump all because “Obamacare is killing me”. Well, dude, it looks like Trumpcare will be killing you all the way to the poor house, and I have no sympathy. I have no sympathy for ignorance. Ignorance is easy to cure as long as they’re willing. If they’re not willing they don’t deserve sympathy, nor my time.

    • Nicole says:

      Not one shred of sympathy. Red states use the most federal funds and yet continually vote for people that will gut those funds.
      So yea my sympathy does not extend to you. You get what you pay for

      • kNY says:

        That’s what I find so staggering. These red states are the poorest states, and the vast majority of their citizens are white and vote republican. It’s bizarre to me. A few years ago, a lady in her early 50’s who is on Medicaid – and whose son is paid by the government to be here caregiver – complain about Obama and Obamacare. I just kept blinking at her.

      • Tate says:

        @kNY There is definitely a portion of people who voted against their own self interests because they hated that there was a black guy in the White House and they definitely didn’t want that followed that up with a woman in the White House. So here we are with trump.

    • Cee says:

      I sincerely pity her stupidity. But I have no sympathy because her stupidity and selfishness will probably cause pain and chaos to others who voted with their BRAINS.

      But hey, I’m sure expelling “bad hombres” is still better than having health care, right?

    • Megan says:

      I signed up for the White House email list (opposition research) and I got an email yesterday asking me to share any Obamacare disaster stories I may have. Seriously, from the official fracking email address.

      • Angela82 says:

        I signed up for the White House email list when Obama was president. Since then I have tried to block the emails and can’t figure out how to do it. 🙁 So yes got that email and even the title just screams idiocy. I want to send them success stories though. 🙂

    • Bread and Circuses says:

      They *do* get sympathy from me, because no one should have to choose between dying and bankrupting their family. I don’t wish that on anyone; it’s barbaric.

      But oh, how I wish people would finally get it through their heads that a poor person who votes Republican is a fool.

      • Lady D says:

        Ya, me too. I don’t want to, but I can’t help it. There’s going to be a lot of people facing a terrifying future because of illness and because they helped elect him. Unfortunately, many who didn’t vote for him will suffer too.

      • BTownGirl says:

        +1000000000. No one deserves to pay for their ignorance, misguided selfishness (because they still don’t get the the GOP is talking about THEM when they talk about entitlements) or stupidity with their lives. Based on some of the comments I saw on the NYTimes coverage, some of them STILL don’t get it. It’s really hard to feel bad for the people who are like “Why should I pay for anyone else? I have my insurance!”, not comprehending that more than likely they will wind up racking up ER bills that the rest of us will wind up paying for…but still, we’re supposed to be better as a country than putting a dollar value on a life.

    • addie says:

      I wonder how Americans would react if voting was compulsory: legally mandated as part of your citizenship. And if elections were administered by a non-partisan entity aka not corrupt.

      I’m guessing many ‘patriots’ would object as being forced to contribute to the country they allegedly love. I’m guessing the Republicans who have gerrymandered the vote through various mechanisms would shit themselves. Last thing they want is for all people to vote.

    • kri says:

      isn’t this ^^ like saying” Oh, those people who couldn’t afford a baby but went ahead and had kids they couldn’t afford aren’t getting any of my tax money”? Just saying.

    • Whatever says:

      Ya’ll, I own a health care business (physical therapy), and BOTH Obamacare and Trumpcare are profoundly bad…for our clients who now have outrageous deductibles after paying outrageous premiums…and for our business because it’s much more difficult to get paid now…few can afford their bills. Get rid of them both!!!

  2. Lightpurple says:

    Evil Paul Ryan issued a “report” that he claimed was the CBO report but was actually his own fantasy analysis of the CBO report in which he lies about what the CBO actually says. His new spin, which Rep Diane Black is helping him push, is that those 24 million will be uninsured because they CHOOSE to be uninsured. Because we all have so much freedom and choice.

    And nothing has touched on the underinsured. That’s how they will screw those with pre-existing conditions. Without mandated benefits, the insurance companies get to define terms like “physician services,” “hospital services,” and “emergency services” as they see fit and carve out treatments for various injuries and ailments. So, sure, they won’t deny you insurance because you’re diabetic, they just won’t cover any of the treatments you need because they carved them out of the scope of services.

    Trump’s a moron. Ryan is evil to the core.

    • Sixer says:

      This is horrific.

    • Tate says:

      Ryan is a vile piece of shit but ya know…. abortion, so lots and lots of god fearing christians support him and trump.

      • Lightpurple says:

        When I see or hear that vile man describe himself as “pro-life,” which he does constantly, my non-violent self gets shoved aside and I just want to smack him. He is NOT pro-life. He makes no secret of the fact that he despises humans and loves the idea of making people suffer.

      • Megan says:

        So-called pro-lifers believe life begins at conception and ends at birth.

      • Tate says:

        It is depressing and infuriating at the same time. They stand on their high moral perch when it comes to abortion all while voting for people to lose their insurance and putting actual lives at risk. Disgusting.

      • jennifer says:

        Megan, that is not true.

      • Tate says:

        @jennifer from the outside looking in, it sure seems true to me. They want to make decisions for women and their bodies while the woman is pregnant but once that baby is born their policies show that they don’t care about individuals and their lives. If they did, why would they take such pleasure in a bill that adversely affects the poor and the elderly while at the same time throwing big tax cuts to the ultra wealthy?

        As for the people that vote these guys in, a large portion of them are the Christian Right who stand in judgement of all when it comes to abortion but ignore all the other issues that are not very “Jesus-like”. Seriously, people are going to die because of this bill. No joke.

        It is hypocrisy at its worst.

    • bleu_moon says:

      The conservative spin I hear from my FB feed is that the 24 million included people who didn’t really want insurance but were forced to pay for it by the Obama administration. So they don’t really count in the number of people losing insurance if they repeal the ACA. Somehow the working poor NOT having insurance is a “right” and a way to stick it to the Obama administration? I just can’t even.

      • Lightpurple says:

        Yes, that’s Ryan & Black’s current spin and they are pushing it hard. And it is not just the working poor who won’t have insurance. These turds will allow insurance companies to deny cover to preexisting conditions if there is a “disruption in coverage.” Disruptions in coverage occur when you change a job, get laid off or if your employer changes the offered group plan or if your employer for whatever reason fails to pass on the premiums the employees paid to the insurance company one month. And by stripping mandated benefits and allowing insurers the right to define the terms, many middle class people are going to discover that their teen’s eating disorder is no longer covered and the physical therapy you need for that rotator cuff injury is no longer covered and, wait, you think you have lyme disease? Well, that will all be out of pocket for you!

    • Nicole says:

      Yep I saw that too. 24 million people will choose NOT to have insurance. Yea right.
      But according to Ryan they get ACCESS to healthcare! Never mind that people paying under $2000 per year for healthcare could see costs balloon to over $10000 in a few years. It will collapse the system entirely.
      But you know as long as the rich and insurance companies are happy

    • Christin says:

      The evil glee is palpable as he tries to sell this pile of gunk to the masses.

      Oh, don’t worry about pre-existing conditions, because there will be (high-risk, higher cost) pools! There will be choice and no mandate (cannot afford to be covered). It’s so transparent that I hope he and those pushing this bill are out of work next election cycle.

  3. RussianBlueCat says:

    Something is very wrong with a society when so many people can be without health insurance and yet there is money to be found to increase funding to the military. Just sad

    • Peeking in says:

      Their priority is war preparedness, making money for the manufacturers of weapons, making money for the insurance companies and filling the pockets of the top 1%. It’s sickening. They don’t seem to realize that a healthy nation is a productive nation.

      Man, I’m happy that I don’t live in the US.

    • Miss Jupitero says:

      And give yet more tax cuts to the wealthiest.

      Back when Reagan was elected, the logic behind this was that the benefits would supposedly “trickle down” to the rest of us– well, now we have 35 years of data that proves that doesn’t work and causes immense harm, but hey, let’s give them more tax cuts anyways because money, money, money. More money for people who give to Republicans.

      • Belle Epoch says:

        AND pay eleventy gazillion dollars to maintain two extra White Houses. This makes me acutely stab by. Melania is over a million dollars PER DAY, and his golfing trips are something like $10 million – going to HIS golf course. How can he let people die and spent half a billion dollars on travel for his family?

      • bleu_moon says:

        Most Republicans still believe in trickle down and pretty much worship rich people. A teacher “friend” on my FB feed actually posted that no poor person ever gave her a job so what’s wrong with tax breaks for the wealthy? She teaches public school and seems oblivious to what DeVos might do- other than allow her to talk about Jesus in the classroom.

      • SusanneToo says:

        I always interpreted trickle down as the rich taking a pi$$ on the rest of us. I think I’ve been proven correct.

      • Bootsie says:

        Yeah, it seems like this ‘liberal elite’ certain people hate so much is actually a reference to intellectuals – within universities etc. – who, because they are smarter than the average voter are a Very Bad Thing. Whereas the actual elite – the 1% – are rich and are therefore to be admired and rewarded.

        I guess the idea is that smart people are out-of-touch, while rich people aren’t. I guess for Americans, with their focus on rugged individualism and capitalism, anyone can be rich, you just have to have one good idea, one piece of good luck, be in the right place at the right time etc. However, not everyone can be smart, nor can you learn to be smart – it takes natural talent. So wealth seems actually more achievable than brains, and so more laudatory. And of course wealth buys you a huge amount of influence, especially in Trumpmerica.

      • Safflower says:

        I remember the “Trickle Down” theory of Reagan. He basically ruined the middle class in America. The rich didn’t trickle anything down; they sent their money overseas to tax havens. The tax cuts that Reagan gave the top 2 % are still in place today. The kicker @ the the new Trumpcare plan is that the Medicaid program will be slashed by billions & the savings to the government will be handed over to the top 2% once again. We have got to TAKE our country back!

    • Kitten says:

      Yes. The GOP is so thrilled that they slashed govt funding by eradicating the insurance subsidies given to the American people through the ACA, yet they have no problem increasing our already-bloated military budget! Gah. It makes me so sick, you guys.

      A sergeant on one of my FB threads was saying that one year they were told to get rid of thousands of extra dollars they had left for their platoon (IIRC) so he just went out and got everyone these crazy-expensive military watches. The watches were badass (he posted a pic in his comment) but the point was that they were burning through money for no reason other than the fact that they were given it by our govt.

      (Apologies in advance for all typos I’m on my stupid iPad working from home because of blizzard)

      • swak says:

        Stay safe!

      • Lightpurple says:

        Meanwhile, my cousin was sent to Iraq without kevlar and with a weapon that didn’t work. My aunt had to buy him kevlar and contact their congressional representative about the faulty weapon.

      • OhDear says:

        Was this near the end of the fiscal year? What happens is that agencies don’t want to lose the money that they were appropriated – if you don’t spend it all, it’s assumed that you don’t need it all. So near the end of the fiscal year the agencies make sure that nearly every penny they were given is spent.

        (Used to work for the feds doing budget work)
        (To note: This isn’t a government-only thing. My corporate overlords do this, too.)

      • Kitten says:

        @ OhDear-thanks for explaining that! And yes, this sounds very similar to budgets in corporate America or even a Flex spending account as part of company-sponsored healthcare: use it or lose it.

        Thanks, Swak! Got my 6m run in before it started to get unbearable.

        @LP- so how and why is that happening? Is it due to how they allocate the budget?

      • Lightpurple says:

        @Kitten, I am spending our snow day arguing with the administrator of my flex spending account who has deemed Mass Eye & Ear to be something other than a hospital – I’m not sure what – and a recent visit to my foot specialist as “not medically necessary.” Bear in mind, Harvard Pilgrim paid all but $100 of the ME&E visit because I hadn’t met my deductible yet and paid all but the $40 co-pay on the doctor visit. The flex administrator is fighting me over $140 of MY OWN money.

        As for the Iraq thing, the Bush-Cheney folks sent our troops to war without tending to their basic needs because the troops themselves don’t matter when they talk about building up “the military.”

      • Erinn says:

        Hey Kitten – They were saying our Pennsylvania office is basically shut down today, and I see Mass. is getting smacked with a lot more winter BS as well. Take care! Hopefully you can enjoy the snow a little bit. We were expecting a lot more – but we’re miraculously getting between 5 and 10 cms this afternoon/overnight and it’s changing to a rainfall warning.

    • Merritt says:

      And we are going to waste a crap ton of money on a stupid wall.

      • Beth says:

        The stupid wall that won’t even stop immigrants from coming into the country.

      • Tate says:

        The stupid wall that he wants to fund by taking money away from the coast guard and the TSA. I am sure those that wish to harm us won’t use that information to their advantage.

      • Lightpurple says:

        @Tate, exactly. Don’t bother climbing the wall, just get a boat and beach it anywhere along our three coastlines (Gulf, Atlantic, Pacific). The Coast Guard won’t be there to stop you.

        And these are people who see no need for TSA because if we just let everyone bring a gun on a plane that will stop all hijackings. Of course, it will result in planes crashing out of the sky every time people have an argument over a seatback but that’s the ‘murican way!

      • Tate says:

        @LP What scares me further is that his irresponsible actions will most likely lead to an attack on the U.S. that will cost lives. Now also remeber that he wants to increase military spending by a significant amount. What all of this spells out to me is that as soon as that attack takes place (again because of his stupidity) he will use that as an excuse to start another war.

        I don’t want it to happen but I have a really bad feeling….

  4. Becky says:

    An old work colleague of my dad’s is a Repub, and they were saying that small businesses were struggling with the payouts with the ACA, I think this is one of the major criticisms (I don’t know if they have 1st hand knowledge or are getting this from Fox News).

    Surely the more people insured on a public programme particularly, the more likely the premiums will go down.

    I wouldn’t be surprised with this new bill, that not only will millions be uninsured, but the insurance cos will screw people and the costs will still be high.

    • Lightpurple says:

      But a great deal of that is party rhetoric. Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees did not have to offer health insurance at all under the ACA. Those employers that do offer a group plan don’t have to contribute to the cost, they can pass that fully or in percentages onto employees, as Hobby Lobby did. And the ACA provided subsidies and credits to businesses to help them cover costs if they chose to do so. Many never sought the help that was available and just listened to GOP lies.

      • Becky says:

        Thanks for the clarification LP. As I said I think they were getting their info from Fox, not from any hard statistics.

    • Who ARE These People? says:

      Small businesses of all sizes would benefit from single-payer plans provided at the state or federal level, independent of employment status. They wouldn’t have to offer anything then.

  5. Indira says:

    I always thought it’s impossible to hate people (that much) you don’t know personally but these people proved me wrong. I wish them nothing but the worst.

  6. Realitycheck says:

    I have never understood, in a first world country how it can be so difficult to provide health care and insurance to everyone. The US has severe fundamental problems.

    • Josefina says:

      IKR? I’m finding out American healthcare is a lot like ours – that of a corrupt South American country that has only done some tweaks to a system established in a dictatorship. Not what you’d expect from a global superpower.

    • Becky says:

      There’s a view that public healthcare is socialist and therefore evil. Never mind that other costs, e.g. roads and military, are funded by taxes.

      • Who ARE These People? says:

        There’s also a self-serving religious streak assigning “individual responsibility” for health care as if we all decide whether to be hit by a car, develop cancer (non-preventable) or catch a virulent contagious disease.

        By now it’s a code phrase for “poor people bring it on themselves.”

      • bleu_moon says:

        Obviously, if bad things happen to you, you must not have prayed hard enough. /s

      • Tate says:

        @bleu I kid you not, I just saw a meme on FB that said:

        When life gets hard
        P.U.S.H.

        Pray
        Until
        Something
        Happens

        That is the mentality that we are dealing with. So when their loved ones are dying or they are going bankrupt due to lack of coverage, some of these people will never understand that trump, ryan and the GOP caused this to happen. They will just keep praying that things will work out and of course keep voting for the vile jerks that put them at risk in the first place.

      • LA Elle says:

        Socialist except for Medicare …

        That’s what always cracks me up. I know more than one senior citizen who voted for Trump and yet no one better touch their Medicare. It boggles my mind.

  7. Farah says:

    It’s sure takes some balls to uninsure millions of people in a midterm year. Let’s hope they suffer for it

    • Belle Epoch says:

      I saw a liar on Twitter of all the conditions that will NOT be insured. It was literally everything! Even cancer. It’s not insurance.

    • LA Elle says:

      If they could find a way to make voting democrat a condition that won’t be covered, they would do it.

  8. QQ says:

    OK but was that not the intent like when to stop acting like that wasn’t the goal because a lot of Republican rhetoric hinges on we are moochers on “You people are moochers and we are not going to let you have ____ ” the “you people” is whomever they as a whole are otherizing the given week, be it poor mothers, black folk, muslims, immigrant .. you know, someone else’s Baby… such as myself

    • Nicole says:

      It’s because poor white people expect to be spared from that because “white is right”‘ and all that QQ

  9. nemera77 says:

    The think that is just WOW is that the states that will be hit the hardest are the ones that voted for Trump. I guess when they are all screaming to end the ACA (ObamaCare) they thought it would affect the “THEM”.. not “US”. If the ACA had not been labeled ObamaCare I don’t think there would have been this kind of craziness to Repeal it. NO ObamaCare is not perfect. But it should not be Repealed. They should have taken those years of screaming and come up with a comprehensive way to repair what needed to be worked on. That is what should have been done. Now they want people to wait 2-3 years before they see some change. And that change will be millions upon millions of poor or low income people people without health Insurance. It is going to hit his supporters and their rapid need to erase Obama and anything he put into law. Because ultimately that is what Trump and his Crazies want. To ERASE OBAMA. But look at the devastation that will be left in that need.

    • SusanneToo says:

      Yes, it’s a conundrum that the biggest hogs at the trough of federal money are the states that most hate “the Feds.” South Carolina, for instance, gets nearly $8.00 from Washington for every dollar paid in. My Alabama gets about $3.00, while California, Massachusetts, and New York each get less than $1.00.
      http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/05/which-states-are-givers-and-which-are-takers/361668/
      However, they never seem to learn. It’s all fake news.

      • Lightpurple says:

        As a resident of Massachusetts, that has long infuriated me. I also think it is the key to restructuring the electoral college. Those of us who PAY the most should have more say. Massachusetts is a tiny state geographically and we only have 11 electoral votes but we pay way more than most larger states and get back very little.

      • Tig says:

        This to infinity and beyond. In some southern states, 50% of all births are paid by Medicaid. Anecdotally, heard of WIC weddings- woman would marry baby daddy after her WIC eligibility expired. And SNAP (formerly food stamps) is the financial engine that keeps many grocery stores open in rural and underserved areas. And don’t get me started on what dire straits most rural hospitals are in- tho that’s not unique to any one section of the country.
        Sooo- when the party that YOU voted for guts those programs, and YOU don’t have a grocery store/hospital for miles (even Walmart will leave)- well, mission accomplished. (“YOU” is not directed at you. It’s that voter in said states that cannot connect the dots-even when you hand said idiot a Sharpie).

  10. PunkyMomma says:

    The republicans want to create an all white rich-male society, and this is just another step in ridding “their country” of the poor, the elderly, the disabled and people of color.

    (OT: I did not need to see those pasty white paws – God only knows where those pudgy fingers have been. Ewwww.)

    • Ophelia says:

      And keep them uneducated, more consumptive, and sugarhigh all the time. The way the education and science “reform” is going, the way corporates are going…
      They are truly sinister.

  11. Josefina says:

    And to think it’s only been two months.

  12. greenmonster says:

    I feel sorry for those who will be affected but didn’t vote for Trump. If people voted for Trump and will be affected – nope. Not feeling sorry at all.

    • LA Elle says:

      Yep. That’s how I feel too. If you voted for Trump or a Republican Congressmember or Senator: enjoy your stupidity, and frankly, I wish you could suffer without dragging the rest of us down with you.

  13. ncboudicca says:

    I don’t think it’s correct to say that 20 million people will be left uninsured – we already have millions who are uninsured. I think that we already have 24 million uninsured, and now we’ll be doubling that figure.

    Ridiculous.

  14. Eric says:

    Emperor Zero called it the Greatest Health Care Act.

    Down is the New Up.

  15. Sixer says:

    Kaiser – rocking email!

  16. MunichGirl says:

    I saw new photos of him, he’s gained so much weight. Gross.

  17. Nancy says:

    During the election I commented on how my office represents a senior health care facility. As I walked and talked with some of these residents, they were all about how “Mr. Trump” would take care of them. These older Americans were and are some of his most loyal (and misinformed) supporters and now they get a big smack of reality in their faces. My heart aches for every person losing coverage and by doing so, shortening or ending their lives. If this was his mother would he give an eff. I don’t think so. He knows nothing of poverty or choosing to eat or buy your meds. There are no words left I can say to express the shame and hatred I feel towards him and his cohorts.

    • Who ARE These People? says:

      We feel so thankful that our own elderly relatives are not dazzled by him. They think he’s full of s–t.

    • Christin says:

      Wait until the gutting of Medicare and Medicaid happens. The latter helps pay for a lot of long-term care where I live (which is a heavily red area). Families may have to do what I did for my middle-class parents — juggle elder care with working full time, instead of depending on Medicaid to foot the bill for 24/7 care at a facility.

      It’s going to be one heck of a reality check.

      • Who ARE These People? says:

        People don’t realize that Medicaid is such a big payer of nursing-home bills.

        Thinking of it only as health care for the poor keeps middle class people from fighting to keep it.

      • Lightpurple says:

        And good nursing homes mean jobs. Lose Medicaid funding for patients, the patients don’t have the money for their care, the homes don’t have the money to pay their bills or their staff, they close, people lose jobs. A vicious cycle.

  18. Monsi says:

    Trump supporters don’t care about his bigotry his racism, or the fact he’s incredibly unprepared for the job of President on every level, but if they lose their Healthcare…
    I think the repeal of ACA will be Trump’s downfall, and the GOP will only then leave him on his own, if they want to avoid political suicide..
    I saw a guy on Fox news saying to Ryan something like this: im not a leftist, but this is taking money from the poor and giving it to the rich, right? Ryan didn’t contradict him apparently
    Ryan, what an evil bastard ( John Oliver’s comments about him were hilarious and accurate)

    • Who ARE These People? says:

      Let’s hope it is true. Obama staked his re-election on health care, got it through, and still won and won well. All we can hope is the reverse will be true in the midterm election. If the Democrats can get enough people out.

  19. Beth says:

    I’m in deep trouble when my Medicaid is taken away. Was NOT my choice to be unable to work because I’m disabled. So many say Medicare and Medicaid need to be take away for lazy people who just don’t want to work to pay. Jerks. Trump supporters pretend they’re fine with their insurance taken away is fine because the ACA was awful. Trump voters (including my parents on Medicare ) might finally realize when they can’t afford to get sick,what a YUGE mistake they made.

    • Belle Epoch says:

      @Beth I’ll join you on the street. Maybe we can share a piece of cardboard.

      • Beth says:

        We probably won’t be the only ones on the street. We’ll have to keep Trump supporters away from our piece of cardboard . They can get their own

    • Nancy says:

      Beth, I’m wondering if you’re on SSI or SSD as opposed to Medicaid for your disability. Any one at any age can become disabled through an illness or accident. Nobody thinks it will be them until it is. Talk to your case worker, who is probably going nuts about now, but perhaps they can advise you. Good luck Beth. As an aside, if your parents are over 65 and have Medicare through Social Security, for now they should be okay. It’s the people under 65 that are on the hot seat. HANG IN THERE……nothing is in cement yet.

      • Beth says:

        I’m on SSI and Wellcare covers ridiculously expensive prescriptions. My 61 year old mom who has had 2 heart attacks and just finished cancer treatments also is on SSI and Medicare. She either doesn’t give a damn or is feeling too embarrassed to admit what a problem this will be. Good luck to you too with any problems caused byTrumps mess

      • Lightpurple says:

        @Nancy, actually, nobody is safe. The ACA had provisions that boost Medicare reimbursement for primary care doctors, to encourage more to enter that field where we have an extreme shortage, and provided additional reimbursement to acute care hospitals to keep them solvent. Ryan’s Turd not only eliminates all that but his phase II and III plans will slash Medicare reimbursement for all Medicare services and redefines those services to slash out many treatments. So, yes, elders and those disabled who receive Medicare because they’ve received SSDI for more than 24 months will still have coverage but that coverage will be less comprehensive and they will have to pay out of pocket to make up the difference.

  20. Tate says:

    On a superficial note, 45 should not lean his hand against his orange head. It really highlights his bad self tanner.

  21. grabbyhands says:

    One of the sick things is, is that if 45 could bring up a slide that showed a clause that said only white men would would get to keep everything they had regardless of income level and the cuts would only apply to minorities and women, people would be lining up to tell you why his version is a great idea.

    The only reason any of supporters is even remotely disgruntled by this, is because it affects THEM. And it still is a small number. They could be gasping their last due to his sick, evil plan and they would still say “Well, at least the plan wasn’t created by a black guy or that Hilary bitch”.

    The media needs to stop posting stories about 45 voters who are now going to get screwed by the guy they voted for because I DO NOT CARE. I don’t feel bad for them. At all. They are getting exactly what they voted for, and the bottom line is, they wouldn’t care if it wasn’t touching them.

    • greenmonster says:

      Exactly. “At least the plan wasn’t created by a black guy or that Hillary bitch”. It was created by a couple of good ol’ white boys. And as we all know they can’t do wrong.

      • Beth says:

        Many don’t realize the ACA was started in Massachusetts white Mitt Romney. Maybe their options would be different if they knew that fact.

    • Giddy says:

      Or their plan would always cover Viagra or penile implants, but not birth control or maternity care. If they could get away with it they would have beer, cigars, and bourbon covered. *not available for females on the east or west coast, or any states between

    • kNY says:

      I think it’s important to see/hear the stories of trump voters getting screwed over and suffering because of trump. I think it needs to be exposed that trump voters have actually benefited from Obama’s policies.

  22. Eric says:

    Deplorables. Keep buying Ivanka’s crap online though. You’ll look great in Chinese-made garb in your coffin. Maybe the undertaker can spritz a little Complicit by Ivanka on you to remind your loved ones just what the hell happened.

    • Beth says:

      They have to show how much they support the complicit Trump family! Many don’t have common sense to think about how bad wasting money is and planning for the future

    • Christin says:

      The complicits probably own a share or will start a casket company, to make a buck off others until the end. (Imagine the tacky gold and huge family logo on a coffin. I’d rather be tossed in the ground.)

    • Macscore says:

      Great comment as usual, @Eric! It would be funny if it weren’t so goddamned tragic. I am disgusted beyond words at Trump, Ryan, and this fiasco of a “health plan”.

  23. Ophelia says:

    The skin of his hand is so smooth and white, like one of those slabs of Silken tofu, unlike the pockmark like pitting on his face. If this is not an advertisement against self tanner, I don’t know what is.

    In addition, I was told that they would not even consider a Single Payer system, like why? Or Universal Healthcare seems so abhorrent to them they seem to break out in hives hearing it. I don’t understand.

    Sure there are better healthcare systems in Utopia or maybe Trappist-1, but single payer or UHC should be better than the death trap currently being hurried through senate, surely.

    This one seems to be an invitation for people to be healthy and stay healthy, never forget to wrap self in cottonwool, don’t drive or out of the house because accident, use fire to cook, or breathe just in case germs.

    • original kay says:

      One reason: under Universal Health Care, we are all equal. We all wait the same times if we go to emerg, we all get the same doctors, same tests, etc.

      They cannot stand to be on par with people they consider beneath them.

      Also, money. Big money to be made.

      • jwoolman says:

        The rich could still pay for private insurance if we had a public option. It’s like sending their kids to private schools. They still need to support public schools because it’s a public good like the police and fire departments. But they can use other options for themselves, just as they can hire private security while paying taxes to fund local police.

  24. Giddy says:

    I just saw this statistic on MSNBC: by 2026 there will be 52 million uninsured Americans under Cheetocare. Under the ACA by 2026 there would be 28 million uninsured. Either number in unacceptable, but obviously Cheetocare (CC) is much worse. Under CC, next year the premiums would be 15 to 20 per cent higher. As the Orange Doophius would say…it’s a disaster!

    Also, I’m almost looking forward to Ryan’s spin. What an evil man.

  25. SusanneToo says:

    Seth Meyers was on fire last night in his A Closer Look segment.
    http://splitsider.com/2017/03/seth-meyers-takes-a-closer-look-at-trumps-latest-lies-on-healthcare/

  26. SusanneToo says:

    Be sure and call it by its proper name – TRUMPCARE, TRUMPCARE, TRUMPCARE, TRUMPCARE!!!! He owns it now.
    http://www.vocativ.com/410333/trumpcare-nickname/

  27. Beth says:

    I’ve watched Trump supporters on you tube being asked if they like Obamacare or the ACA better. So many nitwits didn’t even know they were the same thing. Most said they like the ACA and want to keep it instead because they hate Obama and everything he does. I actually laughed when Jimmy Kimmel showed this. When these people are left uninsured, they’ll wish they weren’t so dumb.

  28. Who says says:

    IMO The Republicans are making Trump the scapegoat. During their re election cycle, they will say that Trump made Obamacare worse ,after he promised to repeal it. The won’t take ownership of presenting a lousy bill and supporting an idiot.

  29. Karen says:

    Bannon and Breibart trying to throw Ryan under the bus by releasing tapes. Trying to take heat off of Trump for healthcare. Maybe Ryan will be taken down for,this atrocious plan even if it is done by the evil one-Bannon.

    “The right-wing website, which has panned the House GOP’s proposed replacement for Obamacare, published audio Monday of Ryan saying in October that he is “not going to defend Donald Trump — not now, not in the future.”

    Ryan apparently made the remarks in a private conference call with House Republican members following the release of an audio clip in which President Donald Trump could be heard bragging about groping women.

    • Kitten says:

      Silver lining? I have no doubt that most of these aholes actually hate each other and provide a united front to publicly save face. How delicious would it be to see Ryan taken out by 45’s right hand man? Lol

      They’re all soulless sh*tbags but the in-fighting never stops amusing me.

      • Lightpurple says:

        If they take down Ryan, he’ll pull Price with him. Which is fine by me. I think Price is a corrupt quack but Trump and Bannon will have a hard time finding someone for H&HS.

    • Christin says:

      One of the AM shows’ talking heads surmised this could be sending a signal to Ryan, or even a start of the fracture between camps.

      I agree with Kitten — my guess is that they are all self-absorbed and not exactly best buddies. The throwing each other under the bus will be wonderful, as the public figures out what is really happening (rewarding uber-rich at cost of the elderly, poor and middle class).

      • Lightpurple says:

        But if so, it is a signal that Bannon and Trump are stupider than anyone ever realized. Trump cannot remove Ryan from power but Ryan can impeach Trump.

    • Deeanna says:

      So. wait! Does this mean that some Republican was illegally “tapping”?

  30. adastraperaspera says:

    I guess the GOP elites expect that a nice cozy hubris wrap will stave off the pandemics that will surely be caused by their deadly combination of aggravated climate change and zero public health protections.

    • robyn says:

      Yes … strange how the biggest polluters and deregulaters causing the most health damage to individuals and the planet don’t believe health care for all should be a right.

  31. robyn says:

    That line “access to health care” leaves me cold. Yes … anyone with enough money can access anything but few people can afford the best of what they really need in life. I think health care should be viewed as a right. And single payer (rejected by most) is the best way to insure there’s enough money in the pot when needed. The second best option would have been voting for Hillary to improve ACA. She knows the issues inside and out and (unbelievable as this was to me) was actually hated for her efforts … probably mostly by the ignorant and the greedy insurance companies.

    In case people haven’t noticed, one uncared for sick person left with their diseases can spread to the entire neighborhood. It’s like leaving a hole in a boat. There needs to be health care for all … pre-existing, young people who also get sick and never know what’s around the corner health-wise as well as the middle-aged and old.

    • Christin says:

      That ‘access’ line is ridiculous. Sure, I have ‘access’ to high-end vehicle car dealerships and million-dollar homes for sale. But it doesn’t mean I can purchase either.

      And despite what Jason C thinks, not purchasing one iPhone doesn’t help purchase and maintain health care.

      • Lightpurple says:

        It won’t even pay for the x-rays for a broken leg.

      • jwoolman says:

        Only the congenitally rich would think people struggling to pay medical insurance are paying hundreds of dollars for an iPhone. Mine would pay for itself even at full price because I need 24/7 access to e-mail and the web to get work and also it substitutes for an “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” service. Not to mention the option to dump cable tv… Many people drop landlines and replace with a cell phone.

        But like many people, I chose the cheapest and oldest model available, not the latest and greatest. I paid $0.00 (zero) for my iPhone SE 64GB a couple of months ago with a two-year contract. It looks like an iPhone 5s but has the innards of an iPhone 6. I did spend about $25 on a Defender case because I drop things a lot and the Defender protects the phone from me. Yes, I’ve even dropped a phone down the stairs without harm, the Defender is like a little tank. I could drop it off the roof onto the concrete and it would still be fine. (I’ve dropped it on concrete, but not from the roof yet.)

        Anyway, the Republicans are just as crazy as Trump if they think not getting an iPhone will pay for insurance. A full-price iphone wouldn’t have even covered one month of insurance premiums by the time I had to drop insurance entirely before the ACA was enacted. Besides, the iPhone actually works as advertised. Can’t say the same for insurance. When I was dragged to the hospital in an ambulance thanks to some naïf calling 911 when I just had a temporary fever spike (undiagnosed UTI), my “100% above the deductible” plan didn’t cover many items on the bill, labeling them as “priced too high for the region” and “medically unnecessary”. But the hospital charged me anyway, which made no sense since it should have been their job to convince the insurance company to pay. I had already done my bit by paying higher premiums all those years for 100% coverage, rightly figuring that if I were sick or injured then I would not be able to work for an uncertain length of time. No work, no income.

    • lyla says:

      yes, we all have access to private jets as well.

  32. Angela82 says:

    Paul Ryan is such a successful and in comparison to Trump “normal” sociopath that hides in plain sight. Its truly sickening. These Christian “family values” hypocrites piss me off even more than the Dump because they get away with appearing normal and virtuous when they are anything but.

    • Lightpurple says:

      Ryan finally stop claiming that his plan was full of “mercy” after Joe Kennedy called him out on it.

      • PunkyMomma says:

        That tape of Joe Kennedy calling out the congress on the loss of coverage for the mentally ill in Trumpacre should be on an infinite loop across social media.

      • Angela82 says:

        @ Lightpurple: Good. lying POS. 🙂

      • Lightpurple says:

        And I cannot think of two white Catholic males, both of whom have lived their professional lives in the public sector, who are more different than Paul Ryan and Joe Kennedy. Ryan lost his father as a teen and got Social Security Survivor benefits until he reached adulthood but now wants to obliterate that program and he wants to destroy all programs that help people, particularly health care programs. He loudly proclaims himself Catholic but the only message that seems to have gotten through to him concerns abortion; he completely ignores all other Catholic teachings. He is arrogant and nasty and barely disguises his bigotry and the only person Paul Ryan cares about is Paul Ryan. While Kennedy, a child of undeniable privilege and political power, is a sweetheart of a man (and I rarely use the word “sweet” to describe anyone but he truly is) who did a Peace Corps stint, worked in a District Attorney’s office as a criminal prosecutor at what is an extremely low rate of pay for a lawyer, and, in Congress, fights for justice and equality and that definition of “mercy” he described for everyone. So very different.

      • Christin says:

        @Lightpurple — The other day someone was name-checking Ryan and others who they thought had probably grown up in such wealth and privilege that they have no idea what these programs (and having limited resources) really mean. Thanks to your previously pointing out Ryan’s background, I was able to point out the irony in how he wants to strip what he himself relied upon.

        And Joe is indeed the right stuff we need. I was so heartened by his words, which were spot on. I am surrounded by the ‘but abortion!’ mentality, when the some of those same die-hard people won’t blink an eye at stripping children and elderly of programs. Mercy, really?

  33. Mew says:

    Yup. That’s how Trump takes care and unites America. Oh the love he has for all Americans! To be great again! What a load.

  34. suze says:

    I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how single payer could be worse than this nonsense.

    • Dee says:

      Me neither.

    • robyn says:

      Single payer IS the solution if you’re willing to accept health care as a right. Everyone pays into it minimally in good times and in bad but everyone must pay into it consistently so there is enough money in the pot at all times. There can still be subsidies, employers can opt in or opt out and people can still go to private insurers if they can afford NOT to wait in line for that hip surgery. No one plan is perfect. Good health care is not just one dramatic incident that needs attention at the emergency room (a big strain on hospitals when people use this instead of a plan) but a lifelong effort.

    • LA Elle says:

      It’s worse for insurance companies and the politicians who get cozy kickbacks from them.

  35. Dee says:

    The problem is obamacare is a disaster and so is this fix. In Obamacare, If you aren’t eligible for govt subsidies now, the prices are outrageous and increasing. Insurers claim they can’t sustain the plans, and are pulling out of markets. In my part of our state, I had one choice of insurer on healthcare.gov in 2017 whose cheapest plan was 35% more than I paid in 2016. I found there is only ONE private plan offered off the marketplace that meets minimum coverage requirements, It cost me slightly less than my healthcare.gov option for slightly better coverage.

    Is the republican replacement helpful? NO. I’ll likely still pay more.

    This whole system is screwed up beyond belief. Neither republicans or democrats have the solution and I’ve come to the conclusion that the system as it exists is irreparable. At this point, as much as it goes against my libertarian leanings, I believe a single payer system is the only workable solution.

    Not that the repubs will let that happen either. The dems are airheaded to think Obamacare works and the repubs are brickheaded to think their replacement is better.

    Remember when the 2 biggest lies were “the check is in the mail” and “I promise not to c0me in your mouth?”

    That’s been replaced with “if you like your healthcare plan now you can keep it ” and “everyone will have coverage.”

    • Angela82 says:

      I think the problem is Obamacare only helps those who are extremely poor and without any income. If you make more than say $20,000 you are paying up to $500-$600 without any subsidies or other government assistance like you said. However, people making $40,000 who don’t get basic coverage through an employer are also screwed because most likely they can’t afford it. The system is just a mess and this is why I can’t understand why it isn’t a basic right. And don’t even get me started on Medicaid and Republicans. Profiting off peoples’ health or lack there of is sickening to me. 🙁

      • Lightpurple says:

        Actually, the ACA helps employees of small businesses and the self-employed by allowing them to buy through the exchanges at group insurance rates.

      • Angela82 says:

        @Lightpurple thats good to know! I know my dad’s business is doing some of that, it just still seems very expensive to me.

      • Luca76 says:

        Obamacare was actually the Republican’s plan way back when. In Massachusetts they called it Romneycare. So sickening that they refuse to acknowledge it. They refuse to shore up Obamacare and fix it so that people in the gap can afford it. That’s all most people complaining about ACA want. I’m speaking as someone who can’t afford ACA as a freelancer living in an expensive city the subsidies aren’t really that helpful (luckily I do get healthcare on a sliding scale through community services). And I know quite a few people who ended up getting a letter in the mail that they were going to have to pay back some of their subsidy because they ‘made too much’. The solution is single payer. Of course the insurance companies and the Republican party refuse to accept that and the Dems are too chickensh** to admit it but it is the only reasonable solution and its what even many Trump supporters want.

      • jwoolman says:

        The average income in my state is about $25,000. In my town, even people with advanced degrees find it hard to find a job paying more than $30,000 to $35,000.

      • Andrea says:

        I actually have a friend who works contracts (since they stopped making it full time) for the US government through the national parks service, who makes $18,000 a year and has Obamacare. He works 10-11 months per year. The jobs that don’t allow for a decent living wage are even within the government itself.

    • BearcatLawyer says:

      Everyone keeps talking about health insurers pulling out of markets because they cannot make money. Ummm…no. Just no. The health insurance companies are making money. They just are not making as much money in some markets thanks to the ACA and state insurance regulations.

      I live in Texas. BlueCross BlueShield of Texas is one of the largest statewide insurers, and since Texas is a low regulation state, it charges whatever premiums it can legally get away with for its plans. BCBSTX’s parent company had a $10.5 BILLION cash surplus in 2015. Yet last year it dropped ALL of its individual PPO plans in Texas and basically forced those participants into crappier HMO plans for roughly the same monthly premium. BCBSTX was NOT losing money; it was simply making less in profit. Also keep in mind that the BlueCross BlueShield companies were originally founded as mutual risk-bearing associations, NOT for-profit companies. Yet in 2017 it is FAR more important to have huge cash reserves and make a crap ton of money for the shareholders rather than actually insure people.

      • Lightpurple says:

        Exactly!

      • Christin says:

        Same issue here — the big insurance companies are just concerned that covering more people, pre-existing, etc., *might* drive up costs. They want to bulk up reserves, when the actual costs have not risen.

      • Elysium1973 says:

        Bearcat Lawyer, I live and practice medicine in Texas and agree 100% with what you said. I’m terrified for my patients who are insured through the ACA or don’t currently have health insurance. The reality is that patients who don’t have insurance suffer as a result – I can’t order the same lab tests, imaging, or referral to specialists because I don’t want them to bear that cost burden. Most specialists have enormous rates for cash patients and the only option is to send them to the public hospitals (UTMB, UTH) to defray their costs somewhat. They wait longer to seek care and are generally sicker than my patients who do have insurance. BCBS of Texas are a bunch of assholes. I’ve seen them change the plans offered through the exchange and the deductibles go through the roof. It’s a nightmare. In no way do I want to go back to the way it was when I first started practice in 2008.
        The other thing I tell people in our conservative state is that I’ve gotten insurance through the ACA when I was between jobs and my sister was on it while she was in nursing school. I was on COBRA before the ACA was passed and I was paying $650/month for crap health care. On the exchange I paid $400 for a BCBS PPO and was able to keep all my doctors. It was a lifesaver.
        There’s a reason why the AMA and most other professions affiliated with health care (nurses, hospitals) do not endorse this wretched plan. It’s bad medicine and bad for patients. There’s literally nothing of value about it at all.

    • LA Elle says:

      I’m with you Dee. I’m liberal, and I don’t like the ACA. Did it make a few improvements? Yes. But overall, it wasn’t the massive victory Democrats made it out to be. They compromised too much, and the result is the democrats passed a plan the Republicans liked, that became the new “liberal” position, and the Republicans decamped to Insaneville.

    • Snowflake says:

      Hahaha! Promise not to come in your mouth? Lmao. Or how about just the tip? I won’t go all the way in. I promise. Lol.

    • jwoolman says:

      The problem is unregulated insurers, the ACA just needed to anticipate and prevent insurers from doing their usual thing of outrageous premium and deductible hikes. Long before the ACA, I was seeing 30% to 35% yearly increases.

      If you rely on private insurance in a national health insurance program, you have to tightly regulate the insurers, the healthcare industry in general, and the pharmaceutical industry. Congress fights that tooth and nail, or at least the current crop of Republicans does. A related problem is the narrowing of the networks we saw for exchange policies compared with policies offered off the exchange by the same companies. They are a bunch of thieves and gangsters, running a protection racket that doesn’t even protect very well.

      Also the ACA didn’t go far enough in providing subsidies. Too many people were not eligible for the subsidies when they really needed to be. But that could be fixed also. And that problem is also related to the unregulated insurance racketeers. The subsidies are needed for people at higher income levels because the premiums are obscenely high to begin with.

      The Republicans never wanted to fix problems with the ACA, which is actually a good basic starting point. They do not want government involved in ensuring real access to health care at an affordable price because they don’t see healthcare as a basic public good that needs to be available to everybody and funded by taxes. They imagine we are still the wild frontier, where you could hand a chicken to the only doctor around as payment for the very limited services he could provide and many people just died prematurely from lack of even primitive medical attention.

  36. Radley says:

    I hate that some people think they’re the exception to every rule. Like I need healthcare and I need it cheap (or free) but I have my very good and solid reasons. But the rest of you lazy, entitled, iPhone loving mofos…

    It’s unkind and unrealistic. We all need healthcare. Healthy people are needed. It’s easier for healthy people to work, to raise families, to devote time to community service or to endeavors that lead to innovations and progress. It’s not a d@mn luxury. It’s a necessity. Capitalist pigs need to get that through their skulls once and for all instead of painting swaths of the American public as unworthy of being healthy. How evil is that?

    • Dee says:

      I agree with you in theory. But one frustrating fact is the percentage of healthcare costs that are driven from adverse personal choices. 1/3rd of our population is classified as obese and sedentary. Plenty of other reasons too — defensive medicine due to malpractice, no emphasis on wellness, drug costs that are unexplainable really, physician owned hospitals, etc.

      But if we put down the fried chicken and the remote control and ate our veggies and went on a daily walk, it sure would help,too.

      • Lightpurple says:

        The ACA mandates wellness visits and exempts them from cost-sharing. Ryan’s turd eliminates those mandates.

        Our drug costs are so high because the US allows drug manufacturers to charge whatever they want; other countries, which have single payer coverage, do not and negotiate contracts in which the nation determines how much it will pay the pharma company. The corporations agree to these contracts, some of which are mindboggingly low, and then passes the difference onto the American consumer. A few years back, I needed to refill an antibiotic for an ear infection, I was paying $75 as my share of the drug, but I was going to Paris on vacation and was at my doctor’s office the day before the trip when she determined I need the refill. She gave me a few sample pills to tide me over and a script and told me to take the script with me to Paris and fill it there. It cost me $3 to fill it in Paris for the same pills I was paying $75 for in Boston. And it was a US pharmaceutical company. Because the French government cared about its people while the US government cared about its corporations.

      • Lady D says:

        @Dee, ditching the alcohol and tobacco would probably help another 1/3 of the population.

      • Lightpurple says:

        @Lady D and the ACA mandates included insurance coverage for smoking cessation programs.

      • Lady D says:

        Unbelievable. I feel for you guys, I really do. I wish I knew what to say, life is going to be hell for the next couple of years. I’m hoping and praying for a democratic majority in 2018. Hopefully Trumps actions will galvanize enough people to make a difference come voting time. Of course, I’m assuming he won’t have vaporized all of us by then.

      • Christin says:

        Why does the US allow pharma ads, but not tobacco (which was banned from TV and radio beginning in 1971)? Pharma TV ads are routine on prime time (which is expensive). Regulate ads and the steak dinners to coax doctors to sell certain meds to patients.

      • Veronica says:

        A lot of those “adverse” personal choices come from impoverished populations, and much of their obesity and health issues stem from a far more complicated picture of limited finances, lack of access to healthy food, poor living conditions, lack of education, and persistent stress. Part of the problem with advancing healthcare would be having to acknowledge that poverty is a driving force behind serious illness, which is why neither party really wants to delve too deeply into the reality.

      • Radley says:

        @ Dee

        1/3 of the population are probably lousy human beings that contribute to the stress and mental health challenges faced by the other 2/3rds. LOL

        You can’t mandate behavior. You can incentivize doing better and then make the moral choice to consider providing healthcare in the best interests of all of us as a whole. The benefits exceed the drawbacks.

        We just straight up need socialized medicine. And we need to learn from the challenges faced by the UK and Canada, etc and do our best to avoid those issues.

      • Radley says:

        @ Veronica

        Amen to that!

      • Luca76 says:

        This whole idea of punishing a person for their choices is just so limited. It’s the whole entire reason there are so many who think that Trump/Ryan care is a feasible option. If you choose to punish people for their choices instead of educating them and providing reasonably priced preventive care all you are going to do is ensure they will have worse health, and need even more expensive healthcare and increase the gap between rich and poor and make our health system even worse. Instead of this idea of retribution for ‘bad’ choices. Now we have a government in place to punish people that need things from their government. It’s truly deplorable.

      • Lightpurple says:

        I gained 20 pounds in one month due to a medication I was put on after going through cancer treatment. I continued to gain weight as long as I was on that medication despite a careful diet and daily exercise. Some problems are NOT due to adverse personal choices. Unless, I should have chosen not to take medication to keep the cancer from recurring?

      • Dee says:

        While ACA does mandate coverage for annual physicals , beyond that…..doctors are paid only when you are sick. They are paid to treat, to run tests, to do visits etc, They receive zero reimbursement to keep you healthy, Therefore if I get paid to treat…guess what? I treat. Sometimes I overtreat. Sometimes I practice defensive medicine. (There are some Medicare experiments that are underway to change this……but it isn’t the norm at all.).

        People are flawed. But it’s bs that I work at staying healthy but pay high rates and the same rates as the chain smoking, sedentary obese person of similar age. Sorry but I’m libertarian enough to not accept BS excuses for bad choices of others that impact me,

        And,yes….some medications change metabolism and can cause weight gain, I gained 15 pounds when on anti depressants. But medication weight gain doesn’t explain 33% of this country being obese. It’s the exception to that.

      • jwoolman says:

        You practically have to take out a bank loan to buy fruits and veggies in our stores here in the Midwest. I can see why lower income families head for the cheap pasta and white bread and potatoes. Your money goes so much further that way and your main goal is to keep the family feeling full. Plus your kids are exposed to so many commercials for junk, food and otherwise, that it’s much harder to be poorer today than when I was a kid.

        Many poorer people live in areas lacking normal grocery stores or easy access to get to them. Plus poverty is very time-consuming. People are scrambling to pick up some money with part-time work. People are pretty exhausted from it all and even that affects the way the body naturally manages our weight.

        Basically, most people need a certain level of financial security before they can focus enough on their own health. It’s hard enough to find time when you have enough money but are juggling kids, a household, and an outside paying job. It may not be impossible to eat better on a tight budget, but many people do find it overwhelming.

        There also isn’t a culture supporting such choices in many cases. A good portion of American men think veggies are for women. Meat and potatoes are manly. My brother is a good example, when he fed himself there was no non-starchy non-white veggie in sight other than what was in the Hot Sauce. He would get some lettuce and tomato only when eating a fast food hamburger or eating a meal prepared by a woman. I remember seeing a menu for a Salvation Army soup kitchen here. People with jobs were served meat, people who were unemployed were served beans (actually the healthier option)…

  37. Beth says:

    The Republicans have had 6 years to come up with a plan to replace Obamacare. Their new plan is awful and proved they weren’t thinking about it until Trump was voted in and had been lying about a great plan that would give everyone healthcare

    • Lightpurple says:

      And all their ideas were proposed in the Senate back in 2009 and rejected as not viable in various Senate committees that were cobbling together the ACA.

    • Veronica says:

      I’ve said to my colleagues that the only silver lining we’ll see out of all of this is that the hard right will actually have to follow through on all of their empty promises and deal with the consequences.

  38. Irene says:

    I got an email from the White House yesterday asking me to ‘share my Obamacare disaster story’. I responded with the details about how it saved my life. Betchya that’s not gonna be in any press releases or tweets.

    • Lady D says:

      Why on earth would they even care about your Obama horror story? Move on already. Is he going to spend his entire 4 years whining about what Obama said or did?
      Or better yet, start responding with Trump horror stories.

      • Irene says:

        “Why on earth would they even care about your Obama horror story?”

        Because they’re desperate for proof that Obamacare is a big failure. This administration has no problem using anecdotal stories as fact, so any hysterical stories people make up about it will be touted as the absolute truth because it will suit their purpose.

        Fun fact: I started getting these unprofessional, petty emails from this administration after I signed a WhiteHouse. org petition to try and force Trump to release his tax records. Know your audience, man.

      • Christin says:

        Oh, Irene, that is funny. Supposedly Jared and some others close to the throne are all about artificial intelligence. Apparently simple ‘pro’ and ‘con’ data mining of their own contacts isn’t a strong suit, though.

      • Beth says:

        @Irene, he won’t move on about the size of crowds, illegal voting being the reason he didn’t win the popular vote, or anything to do with Hillary or Obama. He’ll use any excuse to blame someone else or stroke his ego.
        I also started getting tons of unprofessional emails everyday since I signed a petition to support impeaching Trump.

  39. adastraperaspera says:

    Reminder to anyone in the Nashville, TN area that Tr*mp is coming here to do a fascist rally tomorrow, Wednesday 3/15. He will supposedly be pushing the ACA destruction plan. Join the protest if you can.

    https://www.risestronger.org/events/trump-protest

  40. LisaT says:

    What Republicans are continuously failing to ignore is that so much of their base is using ACA. States like Kentucky and Arkansas have seen significant drops in the uninsured.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/west-virginia-tug-river-obamacare/?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_tugriver826pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

    http://abcnews.go.com/Health/kentucky-trump-stronghold-fear-losing-obamacare/story?id=45784424

  41. LA Elle says:

    I just have to share my Mom’s suggestion: As a way to save the federal government money, all members of congress (current and former) and their family members are no longer eligible for the top-notch insurance program they currently receive. Instead, as of today, they will be under Paul Ryan’s new rules. Also, they will not be entitled to any raises in salary to pay for their health care.

  42. Izzy says:

    I can’t decide which is worse – the sheer numbers of uninsured, or the threat to our most sacred privacy when this law allows employers to financially penalize employees that REFUSE GENETIC TESTING before getting coverage. That kind of thing will put a freeze, not just a chill, on the kind of precision medicine research we so desperately need and have been moving towards. I put my draft of my letter to elected officials on a listserv yesterday for patient advocates – I put it up with a disclaimer that it may be too strongly worded for some. Not only did everyone like it, they’ve passed it along to other patient advocacy umbrella organizations to use. It basically says “if you’re going to bring this research to a screeching halt with this law, then these great new treatments won’t be available for me. But they won’t be available for you either, and you’ll finally get the healthcare you deserve – the same that the rest of us get.” I am SO ANGRY about all of this.

    • Trashaddict says:

      I see patients whose family history suggests they need genetic testing for BRCA or other conditions, but I now hesitate to recommend it because I don’t know if they’ll get screwed over by having a pre-existing condition.

  43. Beth says:

    Maybe if doctors weren’t so expensive, medical insurance wouldn’t cost so much. The dentist will tell you that you need a million things done when you really don’t have any problems to be fixed. Anything to get paid

    • Lightpurple says:

      There is a lot that goes into a doctor’s bill. First, most of them carry very large debts for their education, then add in licensing fees and the costs of keeping up-to-date in their field, then the costs of office space, medical equipment in that space, office furniture, utilities for that space, laundry for those johnnys, professional staff like nurse practitioners and nurses which includes not just paying them a salary but covering their health insurance, comp & unemployment insurance for them and keeping their skills up-to-date, a scheduler, a medical records keeper, medical billers, and receptionist and other office staff, who all get salaries and benefits too and yes, before one of the tort reformers screams about it, malpractice insurance, which, while steep doesn’t tend to see much inflation.

      • Trashaddict says:

        I work at an academic medical center, “half-time” at over 40 hours /week, take care of medically complex and economically disadvantaged patients, teach students and residents, and get paid less than full-time nurses and possibly the janitors, who are unionized (just to make it really humiliating our salaries are published).
        Although some are, not all doctors are money-grubbing jerks.

    • B n A fn says:

      Please stop making excuses for the lying republicans, especially DT and Ryan. Trump was yelling and screaming that under his administration everyone would be covered and cheaper than Obama Care. Now he’s caught with his pants down at his ankle and he can’t run away from this. The think I don’t understand with the republicans is they are willing to spend tens of billions on dollars to build a f..king fence and refuses to help out the poor my making sure everyone has health insurance. Why don’t they look out for the poor, elderly and less fortunate by helping with insurance, they are willing to give the rich a tax break while sc@&@$ the poor.

      Every time I look at a picture of DT he appears sickly and about to kick the bucket. If 60 days is taking this big a toll on his health, I shutter to look at him in six months. I’m praying that he gets impeach by then. This is the worse president in my lifetime and I’m including Nixon.

      Btw, I’ll never refer to him as president, just DT.

      • Beth says:

        Who’s making excuses? Definitely not me! Not in a billion years!

      • Lightpurple says:

        I’m not making excuses either, just explaining what goes into a doctor’s bill. If you read the thread, it is abundantly clear that Beth and I do not support Trump or Ryan.

    • Jaded says:

      Do you know how much it costs to run a medical clinic? Equipment, staff, rent, insurance to start with? Around $100,000 a year on top of what it cost for said doctor to go to get his medical education. And any dentist I have been to has not insisted that I have unnecessary and costly procedures done. What planet are you living on?

      • Beth says:

        @Jaded, I’m at the doctors office quite a lot unfortunately. 3 years ago I went to the dentist for a cleaning. They did x-rays and sat me down in the office. They gave me an electric toothbrush, and told me I needed a long list of things done and it would ONLY cost $10,000 if I made all my payments on time. I was put on a payment plan where I would pay $200 a month. After a year of paying over $2500,I decided to go somewhere else to double check if this was just a ripoff. My new dentist saw not one of the problems on the list. A toothbrush I didn’t ask for (I assumed it was free since they just handed me the box but they ended up charging me $100 for it) 1 cleaning, and a filling cost me a whole lot of money. I live on planet Earth. It was Aspen Dental. Go online and read about all the other people ripped off. There’s a lot.

    • jwoolman says:

      Lightpurple – which is precisely why we need to think of other ways to support doctors and hospitals, since the current model of getting operating expenses from the sick and injured just doesn’t work very well. Medical people need a better way to get the funding they need to just be there when needed, regardless of whether they have a lot of patients today.

  44. poursomesaltonme says:

    It doesn’t matter how much the GOP lies about this new healthcare plan. Lie all you want. What actually HAPPENS from it will be the visible proof it’s horrific. When people can’t go to the doctor because they can’t afford it and don’t have insurance, and their infections spiral or they can’t get the meds they need, the light bulb will go off. YOU’D THINK. Sure they’ll still blame Obama. I mean, for f*ck’s sake Trumpers think Obama was in office when 9-11 happened and is his fault. This is who we’re talking about…

  45. Alba says:

    those poor stupid people who voted for him because he was gonna make obamacare better.

  46. JenB says:

    So Breitbart released an exclusive audio of Ryan vowing not to support Trump after pu$$ygate. I’m trying to figure out what their goal is in trying to make Ryan look worse to those on the far right. I’m not sure?
    It’s painful to listen to his analysis of Clinton’s campaign as well.

    • SusanneToo says:

      Maybe so when impeachment proceedings start it’ll look personal on Ryan’s part? That could be the motive.

    • B n A fn says:

      Imo, the goal to threw Ryan under the bus is to let his people turn against Ryan and hold him for the disaster that the buffoon created with health care. I just heard on tv that the SoS was in some underhanded healing while at Exxon. The swamp is getting bigger and bigger and smelling to high heavens.

  47. Cookiejar says:

    *slow clap* Well done, Trump fans.

    /facepalm

  48. Sunshine says:

    All I can say after reading all these comments is I am glad I live in a country that believes free healthcare for all is a basic human right.

  49. Jaded says:

    Meanwhile back in Canada, a group of church volunteers heading to New Jersey to help clean up after Hurricane Sandy were turned back at the US border so the wouldn’t “steal American jobs”….it’s not even 1:00PM and I feel like I need a drink.

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/hamilton-church-volunteers-denied-entry-to-u-s-so-they-wouldn-t-steal-american-jobs-1.4022969

    • Trashaddict says:

      Dear Canada,
      I apologize for my country.
      Dear Mexico,
      I apologize for my country.
      Dear Immigrants,
      I apologize for my country.
      Etc, Etc, Etc.
      And we haven’t even gotten through “the first 100 days”.
      F^%$.

  50. antipodean says:

    @Kaiser, you are so right as always! Emperor 45’s hands are so small. white, and soft…… they have never done an honest day’s work in his whole entitled white man’s life. The end for him and his cohorts cannot come soon enough.

  51. Tough Cookie says:

    Thank you Kaiser. I can barely stand to watch the news and read the paper because of that horrible man …your coverage and the comments from my fellow CBers are keeping me sane. A million XXXOOO to all of you!!

  52. JJ says:

    I’d like to start this by saying I didn’t vote for Trump.

    Are the numbers of people they are stating will lose coverage the sum of all the people currently enrolled through their State coverage or expanded Medicare? If so, I don’t see how 100% of those people won’t get coverage elsewhere- or were they all uninsured before? The people I know who are currently on the state plans are either self employed (and previously purchased their insurance on their own) or work for very small companies that stopped offering insurance and gave stipends for using the state coverage( stipends for purchasing their own plans). The rest of the people I know who aren’t insured through their employer or through the state are enrolled in a Christian plan that I don’t know much about other than it’s more affordable than Obamacare and meets the minimum coverage guidelines. I’m just happy they aren’t touching the pre-existing condition piece- that was a huge win for Obama and would be heartless to take away.

    • Lightpurple says:

      They’re removing scope of services mandates so they are allowing insurers to define benefits so they can carve out the ailments that constitute pre-existing conditions. For example: an insurer could carve out insulin and related supplies out of its prescription plan or define “hospital services” in such a way that chemotherapy isn’t covered.

    • Tiffany :) says:

      This isn’t just people who will lose coverage because of the cuts to Medicaid. Some of the numbers for later years include people they expect to lose coverage because employers will stop offering it.

  53. Agnes's Mom says:

    Trump will be in Nashville Tommy Erie to push his healthcare and lay a wreath on the grave of Andrew Jackson. As millions get ready to lose health coverage, here is a press release from the administration…

    http://www.nashvillescene.com/news/pith-in-the-wind/article/20854915/are-you-hot-enough-to-hawk-merch-at-the-trump-rally

    • Christin says:

      Sad! Paying people is pitiful enough, but to submit multiple body photos? Bigly sad.

      I’d forgotten about his Jackson fixation. Now Nashville makes sense (the Hermitage).

      • Agnes's Mom says:

        His arrival coincides with rush hour and schools dismissing. Some kids may be kept at school until streets are cleared and reopened. State government is shutting down at noon so that local, downtown state employees can try to get the hell out of dodge (and they want to use the state parking lots). The event is being held next to the main bus terminals, which are being shut down and moved to a few blocks away. Students, workers, the disabled…basically anyone who uses public transportation is screwed tomorrow. It’s going to be a mess.

  54. Deeanna says:

    Aspen Dental ?!?? Yikes!! No. Just no.

    May I ask what – and I am not being sarcastic, I really want to know – what leads a person to choose to go to an Aspen Dental as opposed to choosing a local, established dentist?

    Telling people they need dental work when they don’t is highly unethical. I don’t know your exact circumstances, but you may have a case for reimbursement of at least a portion of what you paid if actual necessary dental work for that amount was not performed. I was able to obtain a goodly sized partial refund for a family member who had gotten themselves into a situation similar to yours. It took me a lot of phone calls over a period of about three months at the end of which I threatened them with both legal action and going to the local media about them. In retrospect I should have just threatened them from the beginning.

    When looking for a dentist, ask PEOPLE who they use, even if you have to ask the cashier at the grocery store.

    Ask far as the health care issue, I think the story being missed here is that the Republicans were in no way prepared for this. Despite all their yammering over the years. This is too important an issue for them to just “ram this through” as desired by Mitch McConnell. The Trump people obviously don’t know anything at all about the issue and thought Paul Ryan had a viable plan. He doesn’t.

    This bill needs to be tabled and the ACA left in place until the Republicans can work out a viable plan.

    • Beth says:

      Not having insurance and them promise a free checkup and x-rays is why I went. Wish I read the thousands of one star reviews before I ended up conned out of so much money. Peopĺe will be going there when everybody has their insurance taken away.

  55. Original T.C. says:

    Yeah Republicans show everyone how much you really don’t care about the American public. Only the 1% and the religious right who you give lip service to.

    I was so happy to see a female Texas politician fighting back against the religious right who try to force everyone to follow their religious anti-Science and anti-abortion craziness. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/03/13/satirical-texas-bill-turns-language-of-antiabortion-laws-on-men/?utm_term=.83d2dc37489d&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1

    Now we have a (satirical) Men’s rights proposal where men get charged for aborting children by masturbation (the only anti-abortion passage in the Bible and it applied to men not women), they have to wait 24hours for certain procedures and read non-scientific studies like women who have to do the same for an abortion (abortions cause cancer anyone?) And Doctors can use a religious excuse to avoid writing prescriptions for Viagra!

  56. jwoolman says:

    The whole idea behind the Republican plan is wrong-headed. They think of healthcare as a luxury item rather than as a public necessity like police and fire departments and public schools and roads. It’s one of those things that we have to all pitch in and pay for even if we personally don’t use them. This is why trying to work with private insurers makes it all too complicated, but since insurance is a very profitable racket and the industry will destroy anybody who tries to regulate it (ask Hillary Clinton), that was a necessary intermediate step. And premiums absolutely have to be tied to income. It’s crazy to think people can pay increasing premiums when out of work or working fewer hours (which can be cut any time) or when making less money per hour. Only rich people would think otherwise.

    We really need a public option like Medicare extended to younger and younger people, and we need a Medicare option that does not rely on private insurers to cover the full 100% of the bill (Medicare itself only covers 80%). People need to be able to avoid the private companies entirely. They routinely raise their premiums and deductibles way beyond any sane assessment of medical costs (30% to 35% hikes per year were typical starting in my fifties) and then cherry pick what costs they will actually pay, even if you get the procedures pre-authorized.

    And the Republicans don’t seem to know how insurance works. You have to have a lot of healthy people in the pool to pay for the services needed by people who are sick or injured (which any of those healthy people could become in an instant). The individual mandate may not be popular, but it makes the whole thing work (and actually was Romney’s idea in the precursor to the ACA in Massachusetts) – so Trump stopped enforcement of fines for not having insurance specifically to destroy the ACA. The IRS will no longer refuse to accept returns that do not fill out the section about medical insurance.

    The real reason for the fanatical dedication to repealing the ACA (which is most definitely not a disaster as Republicans claim) is tax cuts for the very rich, the top 0.1%. But those taxes are needed to fund the program. The ultra-rich benefit from not only everybody’s labor but also all the institutions and infrastructure that we all pay for. The tax to fund the ACA is pocket change for them but literally a life or death issue for many. It’s also how the ultra-rich pay their own way. They already have more money than they can spend in a lifetime.

    Also the Republicans are idiots for saying Obama lied when he said you could keep your doctor. There is nothing in the ACA which says you can’t keep your doctor. But they’ve obviously been covered by an excellent taxpayer-funded insurance plan (still theirs even after they lose their job) too long to realize that you can always keep your doctor only if your insurance company includes your doctor in their network. People routinely have to switch doctors when they change insurance, usually because they change jobs or their employer changes insurance companies. The problem was acute with the ACA because the greedy insurance companies decidedly to severely narrow networks for exchange policies, simply because they figured people on the exchange were a captive audience – we needed the subsidies so didn’t have other options.

    Anthem was our only option and did not reveal anything about its network when I signed up for it. I looked at all their other comparable policies and my doctor and local hospital were in their network. But then I discovered that the splendid highly subsidized plan was useless except in an emergency because Anthem narrowed the network just for the exchange, so our hospital (serving 7 counties and 250,000 people) and virtually all our doctors were not in network. We don’t even have intercity buses anymore, so I would have to pay someone for a day to drive me to and from the nearest in-network hospital for anything non-emergency (a trip taking probably 1.5 hours each way). I don’t think the Feds anticipated this. They were paying Anthem $760 per month for a catastrophic plan, not something that would allow me to get medical care routinely as intended by the policy as described on the exchange.

    Other state governors tried to fight the insurance companies on this network narrowing, but we were stuck with Mike Pence, who refused to set up a state exchange (so we had to use the federal one) and also refused the federal money to extend Medicaid. Now as Vice-President he runs away saying “Obamacare is a disaster” every chance he gets. But actually, like Christianity, it’s just a program he never really tried to follow in its original form.

  57. WatchingATrainwreak says:

    Off-topic, but Trump’s tax returns are about to drop….per Rachel Maddow of MSNBC…she’s got them & they will be the main topic on her show tonight.

    • Christin says:

      I saw those tweets, too. Supposedly a guest (who will also appear on Lawrence O’s show tonight) has some type of scoop. Hopefully it’s the real deal.

    • robyn says:

      I think Trump might have covertly had the 2005 tax return released himself. There is very little information other than he made many millions and paid several millions, which I guess was a fair share of taxes. Nothing to humiliate him here and it does change the subject of Russia.

      • Christin says:

        It was overhyped and a letdown, IMO. I agree that his camp could have released those two pages to suggest he did pay taxes. Distraction attempt???

  58. Eric says:

    Rachel Maddow got absolutely duped tonight by none other than Emperor Zero himself.

    Paying 24% tax is not a scoop.

    Stick with what has been working Rachel… the Russia story!

  59. Minxx says:

    I was just saying to my husband that loss of healthcare is similar to enslavement – no freedom of movement and choice, insecurity over future, loss of life savings in case of medical emergency, bankruptcy. As someone living in a country with universal health care coverage, I can’t wrap my head around the fact that Americans are still arguing over this. Health care is a human right, period. Trump is deplorable but someone voted him into office. Scary and sad.

  60. Hi everybody. I’m writing this sitting on my couch, at 8 in the morning, from my hometown in southern Sweden. I always feel I need to weigh in on the American problems with health-care, because I cannot believe that all of you only pay a tiny bit of income-tax, but get fucking ROBBED when you need medical assistance. I am 33 years old, and I work as a nurse. The rent for my apartment costs about 1/3 of the money I get paid every month. And I, like all of us over here, also pay a 33% income-tax.

    33% sound insanely high, I’m aware of that. But who cares?? I spend that money now, so all of it can pay for necessary things, that I might need, throughout my entire life. Like healthcare. I had surgery a couple of weeks ago, unplanned abdominal surgery. Ambulance, several hours in the ER, three nights in hospital, plus the actual surgery. You know what it cost me? About 15 dollars US/night. And 50 dollars US for the ambulance/ER. IN TOTAL.

    I love to pay those 33%! I get 25 days paid vacation every year, fully covered medical costs, and if I loose my job, the gouvernment pays me 80% of my previous salary for 6 to 12 months, or until I find a new one.

    We pay our insanely high taxes to help each other and to get help from each other. We pay up-front BEFORE stuff happens. And if I would go through life never needing extencive medical care, congratulations to me! But other people might need YEARS of it. And I will have helped them, automatically.

    You guys need all of your insanely rich businessmen/moviestars/politicians etc. to pay a shitload of taxes! And you need to know where the money goes. I would never let the gouvernment take 46% of my income-tax and spend it on military expences! Not if I had absolutely no say in what those expences were.

    Okay, end of rant. I’m backing off. But the point is: A higher income-tax may feel like a crazy idea, but it stoppes you from having to pay for ANYTHING ELSE. Medical, police, fire, roads and railways, military, schools (it’s all free! Even college!), childcare… It’s already covered. And that’s a great thing.