Main GOP Argument Against Obamacare Is a Lie
Sarah Kliff at Vox lays waste to the GOP talking point that they have to do something now because “Obamacare marketplaces are collapsing.” They are not. (BTW, the fact that they may have convinced many of their voters of this lie doesn’t make it true, and the GOP office-holders at least know they are lying about this. To the detriment of 20-million-plus health-care-deserving Americans.)
Republicans’ main argument for Obamacare repeal is a lie
Republican lawmakers consistently claim that the Obamacare marketplaces are collapsing, so they need to pass a bill to repeal and replace the health law.
“The marketplace is collapsing, and countless more Americans will get hurt if we don’t act,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on the Senate floor last month.
“We’ll move ahead with deliberate speed,” Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) said in a recent speech. “We’re doing that because exchanges are collapsing.”
The marketplaces, though, have refused to cooperate. They are not working perfectly — but they are far from ruinous demise, experts say. But the Republican replacement plan, introduced Thursday, could change that. It contains several provisions that could accelerate the crumbling of the marketplaces and leave millions of Americans with no health care options.
“Honestly, the marketplaces are in okay shape,” says David Anderson, a research associate at Duke University who studies the individual market. “The amount of competition isn’t where some people would like it to be, but this isn’t collapse.”
Read Sarah’s whole piece on Vox.
More reading on the GOP’s hard work sabotaging Obamacare to finance their tax giveaway to America’s most comfortable:
- Hey, remember this guy? Remember when we had a president with a conscience? Oh, good times…
- Yes, this bill is “mean.”
The Senate Trumpcare Bill Is As Mean As the House Version
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Here is the difference between the Senate and House GOP repeal bills, helpfully summarized in two sentences:https://t.co/5eWQjmXEuM pic.twitter.com/cPuClgWg9W
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) June 22, 2017
- McConnell likely left things out of the bill to create opportunities for some GOP senators to pose as moderating voices, extract small changes as cover for a vote for a marginally less monstrous (but still extremely destructive and cruel) bill.
- Again, the GOP’s secrecy and lack of scrutiny are utterly unlike what happened with Obamacare.
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Obamacare had 100 Senate hearings and 161 amendments from Republicans.
Trumpcare has had 0 Senate hearings and 0 amendments from Democrats. pic.twitter.com/jSyeHhm3TQ
— Matt McDermott (@mattmfm) June 20, 2017
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- Okay, let’s pretend for a minute that facts and reason mattered – I know! But if they did, … Here’s a nice exploration from Charles Gaba of how the pieces of the Obamacare puzzle work together. (Why does there have to be a mandate? Etc.) (UPDATE: I see that I misread it at first in my hurry. The piece from Gaba is a deeper dive into the sub-parts of the “three-legged stool” of health care. You can see more basic explanations of the basic concept here and here. My apologies. Steve)
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