Category: US Senate
Senate’s Opioid Fund Cannot Substitute for Health Coverage
The following article by Emily Gee and Richard G. Frank was posted on the Center for American Progress website June 20, 2017:
The concerns of some Senate Republicans about making the opioid epidemic worse have spilled out of their secretive negotiations for repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), in the form of a fund to combat opioid addiction. A $45 billion fund in the Senate bill would reportedly be aimed at helping people with dependence on prescription opioids and illicit forms of the drug, but it would provide scant resources to address the epidemic. The fund also would not be able to undo the true costs of the repeal bill, would result in millions of Americans losing health insurance coverage, and could cause those still insured to lose access to substance use disorder treatment.
There were 2.66 million people in the United States with an opioid use disorder (OUD) as of 2015. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 33,091 people died from an opioid overdose in 2015. West Virginia had the highest opioid overdose death rate; about 36 out of every 100,000 people in the state died from an opioid overdose that year. Continue reading “Senate’s Opioid Fund Cannot Substitute for Health Coverage”
AMA on Senate GOP Healthcare Bill
Senate GOP’s Obamacare repeal bill will cost lives, but fatten the wallets of millionaires
The following article by Michael Hiltzik was posted on the Los Angeles Times website June 22, 2017:
Senate Republicans finally revealed on Thursday why they’ve been crafting their Affordable Care Act repeal in secret. As the newly released draft shows, it’s a rollback of health coverage for millions of Americans that could cost the lives of tens of thousands a year.
But make no mistake: This is not a healthcare bill. It’s a tax cut for the wealthiest Americans, paid for by a reduction in government funding for healthcare. The measure would constitute one of the largest single transfers of wealth to the rich from the middle class and poor in American history. Continue reading “Senate GOP’s Obamacare repeal bill will cost lives, but fatten the wallets of millionaires”
Shifting Dollars From Poor to Rich Is a Key Part of the Senate Health Bill
The following article by Margot Sanger-Katz was posted on the New York Times website June 22, 2017:
The Affordable Care Act gave health insurance to millions of Americans by shifting resources from the wealthy to the poor and by moving oversight from states to the federal government. The Senate bill introduced Thursday pushes back forcefully on both dimensions.
The bill is aligned with long-held Republican values, advancing states’ rights and paring back growing entitlement programs, while freeing individuals from requirements that they have insurance and emphasizing personal responsibility. Obamacare raised taxes on high earners and the health care industry, and essentially redistributed that income — in the form of health insurance or insurance subsidies — to many of the groups that have fared poorly over the last few decades. Continue reading “Shifting Dollars From Poor to Rich Is a Key Part of the Senate Health Bill”
Mitch McConnell on the health-care legislative process, 2010 vs. 2017
The following fact check article by Glenn Kessler was posted on the Washington Post website June 19, 2017:
While Obamacare was under consideration, McConnell had strong words for the Democratic majority’s tactics, criticizing them for going ‘the partisan route.’ Now, he seems to be using them. (Video: Meg Kelly/Photo: Oliver Contreras for The Washington Post/The Washington Post)
“Unfortunately, it will have to be a Republicans-only exercise. But we’re working hard to get there.”
— Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), in remarks to reporters June 13
It has become a regular feature of the U.S. political system that the politicians in the minority accuse the politicians in power of cutting deals behind closed doors to advance controversial legislation — only to engage in similar tactics once they regain power. Continue reading “Mitch McConnell on the health-care legislative process, 2010 vs. 2017”
Senate Repeal Bill Would Still Eviscerate Coverage and Protections for People with Pre-Existing Conditions
The following article by Thomas Huelskoetter and Emily Gee was posted on the Center for American Progress website June 9, 2017:
A doctor checks a patient in a primary care clinic located in a low-income neighborhood, March 2017.
Recent reports indicate that the emerging Senate version of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) may not include the House version’s provision permitting states to waive the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) community rating provision, which prevents insurers from charging sick people higher premiums than healthy people.
Even without community rating waivers, the Senate bill would still critically weaken protections for people with pre-existing conditions. By allowing states to waive the ACA’s essential health benefits (EHB) requirements, it would enable insurers to effectively screen out sick people by excluding certain services. Continue reading “Senate Repeal Bill Would Still Eviscerate Coverage and Protections for People with Pre-Existing Conditions”
Al Franken Comes Out and Says What Most Americans Really Think of Trumpcare
The following article by Alexandra Rosenmann was posted on the AlterNet website May 30, 2017:
The Minnesota senator calls on his Republican colleagues to kill an “awful bill.”
While they review the much-maligned American Health Care Act, Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) issued a stern warning to his Republican colleagues in the Senate.
“I don’t think the Republicans can do this themselves, and they shouldn’t,” he said in a “CBS This Morning” interview May 30. “What came out of the House is just dreadful.” Continue reading “Al Franken Comes Out and Says What Most Americans Really Think of Trumpcare”
Klobuchar Joins St. Louis Park’s Peggy Flanagan In ‘Powwow For Hope’
The following article by William Bornhoft was posted on the St. Louis Park Patch website May 12, 2017:
Earlier this week, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar joined Sen. Al Franken, St. Louis Park State Rep. Peggy Flanagan, and tribal leaders for the American Indian Cancer Foundation‘s 6th Annual Powwow for Hope. “Proud to stand with Minnesota’s Native community and stand up for strong investments in cancer research,” Klobuchar said in a statement. “All Americans are counting on us to continue pressing for better prevention, better treatment, and ultimately a cure.”
Joined tribes from around Midwest for #PowwowForHope. Need to keep investing in cancer research for patients & families.
View the post here.
Why Americans Vote ‘Against Their Interest’: Partisanship
The following article by Amanda Taub was posted on the New York Times website April 12, 2017:
Working-class Americans who voted for Donald J. Trump continue to approve of him as president, even though he supported a health care bill that would disproportionately hurt them.
Highly educated professionals tend to lean Democratic, even though Republican tax policies would probably leave more money in their pockets.
Why do people vote against their economic interests?
The answer, experts say, is partisanship. Party affiliation has become an all-encompassing identity that outweighs the details of specific policies.
“Partisan identification is bigger than anything the party does,” said Frances Lee, a professor at the University of Maryland who wrote a book on partisan polarization. Rather, it stems from something much more fundamental: people’s idea of who they are. Continue reading “Why Americans Vote ‘Against Their Interest’: Partisanship”