New ACA Repeal Attempt

regdog

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The Graham-Cassidy plan is even worse than the last GOP replacement plans. It will all but eliminate coverage for pre-existing conditions and allow employers to raise insurance premiums whenever they want, especially if an employee or one of their family members falls ill. CBO estimates up to 32 million could lose their insurance.

Once again it is time to call our Reps and Senators.


Link 1 Huffington Post

Link 2 Business Insider

Link 3 Forbes

Link 4 Politico
 

Brightdreamer

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Gee what a surprise - not.

Once there was a party of greed
Tried to pass a "health reform" deed.
Couldn't care less what we need;
They got profits to feed.

'Cause they got high hopes,
They've got high hopes,
They've got drive prices high so everyone dies hopes!
So every time we think they've quit,
Stay on top of it,
'Cause they'll turn right around -
And, oops, there goes Obama's legacy down...
 

frimble3

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Let's see - they've designed a 'health-care plan' that only provides coverage for the healthy. No-one with medical issues, or an accidental injury, etc. need bother asking about benefits. Well played, over-insured politicos!
No wonder the Americans are saying they won't defend Canada in case of North Korean missile attack - they're trying to keep their people from moving here.
 
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Lyv

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Cassidy/Graham would be devastating for even someone like me with great group insurance (through my husband's job, which has a lifetime cap I am now over) and bunches of money in the bank. Millions of adults and children will suffer and die.

But, please, even if you're really, really excited about the Medicare-for-All bills put forth by Conyers and Sanders, call your legislators and ask them to whatever they can to fight Cassidy/Graham. If you think millions of us suffering and dying will help Democrats pass MfA, remember that the majority of those who will be hurt by ACA repeal vote for Democrats, which we can't do if we're dead. And if you're a Republican and you thought for even a split second that is a point for Cassidy/Graham (and some of those in power do seem to feel that way), I would be happy to talk that through with you.
 

Elaine Margarett

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I can't believe that it would be successful considering the previous failed attempts (the caveat being I also can't believe Trump is president). I'm bumping this from yesterday to echo the importance of contacting your senators if you feel this third attempt to end ACA must be blocked.

Fortunately we have strong senators from MD who are on the right side of this issue.

Obamacare has literally saved my son's life. Diagnosed in July 2016 with metastatic testicular cancer, he would have died had he been unable to have the latest treatments. In total he had four rounds of chemotherapy that required intensive inpatient hospital care. He had the opportunity to seek out multiple opinions from the very best in the field including surgeries at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He lost a kidney, part of his liver and a section of his aorta. He is currently cancer free with a promising prognosis. None of which would have been possible without the ACA.
 
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cbenoi1

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Let's see - they've designed a 'health-care plan' that only provides coverage for the healthy those with good health habits.
Fixed. As if cancer or Lou Gherig’s are the result of bad health habits.

-cb
 

blacbird

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Two Republican Senators (Collins and Paul) have already announced that they won't vote for this bill. Paul did vote for the previous one, but you'll remember that John McCain played guerilla theater at the last moment and voted against it. God only knows what McCain will do on this one, but Murkowski voted against the last one, and hasn't said what she'll do on this one. I have trouble imagining that she would vote for it, as it is even worse than the previous one, and Alaska has a huge health care problem that his bill would make far worse. If she does vote against it, along with Collins and Paul, it gets shot down just like the last one.

I am assuming here that all the Dems and independents King and Sanders vote against it, like they did before.

caw
 

Myrealana

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I call, but God himself could come down from on high, stand in front of Cory Gardner and say "DO NOT VOTE FOR THIS BILL" and Gardner would STILL vote for it.

He will never, ever even APPEAR to oppose Trump. He is a Trump man, hook, line and sinker.
 

efreysson

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There is a point where refusing to accept defeat just becomes pathetic.
 

Brightdreamer

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Only if it's actually defeated.

+1

There's a huge amount of money and Special Interest in this - plus it's a major brick in Obama's legacy, and destroying it would go a very, very long way with their base. It's not going away. It's never going away as long as the TeaOP has any voice at all in DC. It will always be back.

And, yes, I fully expect they intend to fatigue us into defeat. Consider how much has been "normalized" since January... They have time, money, and power on their side, and they know full well that if everyone who shouted at them really did remember in November, none of them would've had jobs after they literally shut the government down during Obama's reign. So they'll just keep trying and wait us out, outspending and outmanipulating us, figuring out the words to say and not say and the backs to scratch and sounds to make, counting on the fact that it's easy to spark a bonfire of outrage and protest, but much harder to keep it burning for months, even years.
 

frimble3

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Fixed. As if cancer or Lou Gherig’s are the result of bad health habits.

-cb
They don't care if people have good health habits or bad health habits, as long as it doesn't cause the rest of them a nickel. 'They' being either politicians or those who voted for them.
 

MaeZe

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This is all about millionaire and billionaire donors putting the squeeze on GOP legislators, repeal the ACA and give us our tax cut or no more donations for you.

The Nation, current: The GOP’s Latest Obamacare Repeal Push Isn’t Really About Health Care - It’s about how to finance tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy.
Why are Republicans pushing a health-care bill the entire health-care industry hates? Politicians repealing a program or regulation in order to enrich industry is a common Washington tale, but that’s not what’s happening here: The health-insurance lobby hates the Graham-Cassidy bill and is trying to kill it, and so are hospitals, doctors, and pretty much the rest of the American health-care system.

This mystery is easily solved when you realize the Graham-Cassidy bill isn’t really about health care. It is not meant to help the health-insurance industry, and certainly not designed to help patients, who will lose access to affordable coverage, particularly if they have a preexisting condition. Rather, Graham-Cassidy is an ideological crusade to reshape the federal budget and change who really benefits from federal spending. The health-care cuts are mainly a means to finance future massive tax cuts, and the wealthy donors who will benefit are the real constituency for this legislation.

This is not a new revelation or development.
Salon June: GOP donors threaten to withhold funds unless their agenda is passed
If Republican politicians aren't soon able to pass sufficiently conservative versions of healthcare and tax reform, more than a few right-leaning donors say they're going to stop cutting fundraising checks, according to the Associated Press.
"Get Obamacare repealed and replaced, get tax reform passed," Texas-based donor Doug Deason said, calling his donations a "Dallas piggy bank."

The Hill, last month: Republican donor sues GOP for fraud over ObamaCare repeal failure
A Republican donor in Virginia has filed a lawsuit against the national and Virginia Republican parties, accusing them of fraud and racketeering for raising millions of dollars in donations knowing they wouldn’t be able to repeal ObamaCare.

The Virginian-Pilot reports that Bob Heghmann, a retired attorney in Virginia Beach, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court on Thursday. The suit blasts the Republican Party, saying it “has been engaged in a pattern of Racketeering which involves massive fraud perpetrated on Republican voters and contributors as well as some Independents and Democrats.”

The lawsuit’s defendants include the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Republican Party of Virginia, as well as Virginia’s two members of the RNC and the chairman of the state Republican Party, John Whitbeck.

As part of his suit, Heghmann argues that the Republican Party does not hold the same protection that members of Congress have against being sued for failing to fulfill campaign promises. He wants the GOP to either threaten to withhold money from members of Congress if they don’t repeal ObamaCare, or return contributions to donors.
Should be interesting if it gets to the SCOTUS.

NY Mag, Aug: Top Trump Donor Wants to Take Out GOP’s Second-Most Vulnerable Senator
Apparently, one of the president’s billionaire backers feels the same way. Robert Mercer, a patron of right-wing “populism” who believes that cats’ lives are worth more than those of the poor, is contributing $300,000 to a super-PAC aligned with former state senator Kelli Ward, who hopes to knock off Flake in next year’s GOP primary on the strength of her devotion to Donald Trump.
Flake was toeing the GOP line on repeal and replace last night on Colbert.

NYT, March: Wealthy Would Get Billions in Tax Cuts Under Obamacare Repeal Plan
Two of the biggest tax cuts in Republican proposals to repeal the Affordable Care Act would deliver roughly $144 billion over the coming decade to those with incomes of $1 million or more, according to a congressional analysis.


That the right wing middle and lower classes are so easily sold on tax cuts to billionaires is unfortunate. You'd think they might figure out the 1% is controlling the government the right wing claims to be against.
 

rugcat

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John McCain states he will vote no on the Graham Cassidy bill.

His full statement here

I'm not a big fan of McCain's in general, but this statement is quite well reasoned out and sensible, even for one who basically supports the ideas behind the bill if not the bill itself.
 

Roxxsmom

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What have we come to, as a society, when comedians (Stewart, Colbert, Kimmel, Noah, Lewis Black, etc.) have become the voices of straightforward reason in political discussions?

caw

Seriously. Especially Kimmel, who used to be Ben Stein's sidekick (Bein Stein being an old Nixon man and Trump apologist) who was known for his sexism and [URL="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/26/movies/jimmy-kimmel-mahershala-ali-tour-bus-tourists.html?mcubz=1"]casual racism[/URL].

John McCain states he will vote no on the Graham Cassidy bill.

His full statement here

I'm not a big fan of McCain's in general, but this statement is quite well reasoned out and sensible, even for one who basically supports the ideas behind the bill if not the bill itself.

I hope he sticks with this. I was scared he might vote yes, because the AZ governor supports the thing.
 
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rugcat

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I hope he sticks with this. I was scared he might vote yes, because the AZ gogivernor supports the thing.
I'm pretty sure he will. On the other hand, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Rand Paul change his mind and vote in favor. His opposition is based on his wish to see the ACA repealed in its entirety, in accordance with his libertarian philosophy. He might well decide that this bill is at least better than no bill at all – ironically, the very reason many Democrats voted for the original ACA.
 

Roxxsmom

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I'm pretty sure he will. On the other hand, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Rand Paul change his mind and vote in favor. His opposition is based on his wish to see the ACA repealed in its entirety, in accordance with his libertarian philosophy. He might well decide that this bill is at least better than no bill at all – ironically, the very reason many Democrats voted for the original ACA.

It's possible. His rationale for voting against these bills has been that they're "Obamacare lite." Of course he wants absolutely no health care plan, no social safety net at all, but he might rationalize that if the new bill is a spectacular failure, people will have fewer objections to a complete repeal later.

Did he vote for the complete repeal last time?
 

nighttimer

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I call, but God himself could come down from on high, stand in front of Cory Gardner and say "DO NOT VOTE FOR THIS BILL" and Gardner would STILL vote for it.

He will never, ever even APPEAR to oppose Trump. He is a Trump man, hook, line and sinker.

Gardner is up for reelection in 2018. Beat his ass and he can still be Trumps man, hook, line and sinker. And without a vote in the U.S. Senate.

Here in my neck of the woods, my Democratic senator is Sherrod Brown and solidly not a Trump man, hook, line or sinker. My task is to make sure he remains voting in the U.S. Senate against Trump.

John McCain is off Trump's Xmas card list forever. :Shrug:
 

MRFAndover

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What have we come to, as a society, when comedians (Stewart, Colbert, Kimmel, Noah, Lewis Black, etc.) have become the voices of straightforward reason in political discussions?

caw

I thought that happened several administrations ago?
 

MaeZe

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John McCain states he will vote no on the Graham Cassidy bill.

His full statement here

I'm not a big fan of McCain's in general, but this statement is quite well reasoned out and sensible, even for one who basically supports the ideas behind the bill if not the bill itself.

Perhaps shows what these guys would vote for/against when they don't need to worry about campaign donors.
 

SWest

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I thought that happened several administrations ago?

Reference the casts of All In The Family and its spinoffs, including Bea Arthur, Isabel Sanford, Marla Gibbs, and Sherman Hemsley, The Smothers Brothers, Rowan & Martin's Laugh In gang...

Artists who trade in absurdity are especially qualified to address political mess. We will always need this art.