Tag: ACA

GOP’s Plan B for Obamacare — repeal first, replace later — began with quiet push from Koch network

The following article by Lisa Mascaro was posted on the Los Angeles Times website June 30, 2017:

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) talks on his phone outside the Senate office buildings on Capitol Hill. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

President Trump’s surprise suggestion Friday that deadlocked Senate Republicans shift their focus to simply repealing Obamacare — and worry about replacing it later — has its roots in a Koch network proposal that has been shopped around Congress for months.

The influential Koch network, backed by the billionaire industrialists, floated the idea most recently at a retreat last weekend in Colorado Springs, Colo., where key conservative lawmakers heard an earful from frustrated GOP donors about the party’s failure to deliver on their signature campaign promise.

Among those attending the gathering at the luxurious Broadmoor Hotel was Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, who has been working with the White House behind the scenes on the idea. Continue reading “GOP’s Plan B for Obamacare — repeal first, replace later — began with quiet push from Koch network”

Opponents of Health Law Repeal Vow to Keep Pressure On Over Recess

NOTE:  The evening of June 29, there is a rally to let Rep. Paulsen know we want to keep our healthcare.  More info here.

The following article by Avantika Chilkoti and Emily Cochrane was posted on the New York Times website June 27, 2017:

Supporters of Planned Parenthood rallied on Tuesday in Washington. Credit Saul Loeb/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Under a blistering sun, protesters let out a cheer on Tuesday across Capitol lawns as word spread that the Senate Republican leader had delayed a vote on repealing the Affordable Care Act. But amid the celebration, Democrats urged the crowds to keep the heat on lawmakers whose opposition to the health care overhaul could grow cold over the coming Fourth of July recess.

“If there is one thing that everybody knows in politics, it’s this: When you have the votes, you take the vote,” Senator Brian Schatz, Democrat of Hawaii, roared to the amassed activists, some clad in pink Planned Parenthood shirts, others in red AIDS awareness shirts.

By midafternoon, Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, had announced that he did not have enough support to repeal President Barack Obama’s signature domestic achievement, and would take lawmakers’ temperatures when they returned to Washington the week of July 10.

Continue reading “Opponents of Health Law Repeal Vow to Keep Pressure On Over Recess”

Trump’s claim about the ‘catastrophe’ of Obamacare premiums increasing 204 percent in Alaska

The following article by Michelle Ye Hee Lee was posted on the Washington Post website June 23, 2017:

“In Alaska, they’ve gone up 207 percent on Obamacare. You know, I used to mention only Arizona because they were up 116 percent in Arizona. Now Arizona is like good by comparison to some of the numbers. But they’re way up in Arizona, also.”
— President Trump, remarks at lunch with members of Congress, June 13

“Okay, so I have been saying all hundred and 116 percent for so long. That was Arizona. That was — so yesterday I have a new number — 204 percent in Alaska increase. It is a catastrophe.”
— Trump, remarks at Faith and Freedom Coalition’s conference, June 8

President Trump likes to talk about premium increases under the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. As Trump says, he used to point out Arizona as the extreme example of premium increases. But he is now using Alaska as a new example, where premiums soared more than 200 percent. Is that really the case?

Continue reading “Trump’s claim about the ‘catastrophe’ of Obamacare premiums increasing 204 percent in Alaska”

President Trump’s mangled ‘facts’ about Obamacare

The following article by Glenn Kessler was posted on the Washington Post website June 15, 2017:

“Americans were told that premiums would go down by $2,500 per year. And instead, their premiums went up to levels that nobody thought even possible.”

“It was just announced yesterday that 2 million people have dropped out of Obamacare — 2 million additional. They are leaving fast.”

“Insurers are fleeing the market. Last week it was announced that one of the largest insurers is pulling out of Ohio — the great state of Ohio.”
–President Trump, remarks to Republican senators, June 13, 2017

Not a day goes by without President Trump bashing the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare, as he tries to urge the Senate to pass its own version of a repeal-and-replace bill. He’s become a torrent of statistics as he has tried to make the case that the law is “dead,” as he puts it. Continue reading “President Trump’s mangled ‘facts’ about Obamacare”

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:

AP/David Zalubowski
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”

Fact-checking a rosy portrait of the American Health Care Act

Note:  A similar commercial has been airing in the Twin Cities supporting Rep. Erik Paulsen.

The following article by Glenn Kessler was posted on the Washington Post website May 24, 2017:

“As a mom, rising health-care costs are a big concern. My family lost our insurance and doctor because of the Affordable Care Act. But now, we have hope.”
— California resident Elizabeth Jacinto, in an ad sponsored by the American Action Network

In a $2 million ad campaign to support the House GOP health plan, the right-leaning American Action Network (AAN) features a California woman named Elizabeth Jacinto who says she suffered under Obamacare and expresses enthusiasm for the American Health Care Act. The ACHA only narrowly passed the House and was greeted lukewarmly by the Senate, so a key part of the effort appears to assist 21 GOP lawmakers who cast a tough vote to support the proposal. Continue reading “Fact-checking a rosy portrait of the American Health Care Act”

Paulsen follows President Trump

To the Editor:

Congressman Erik Paulsen has made it clear to his constituents in the Minnesota 3rd District that he is little more than a follower of President Donald Trump and the Republican Party.

His recent votes, especially on the American Health Care Act, have shown that he is willing to put party over the good of the Minnesotan 3rd. While he attempted to explain his vote in his May Star Tribune op-ed, Paulsen fails to convincingly address the issues. Continue reading “Paulsen follows President Trump”

Yes, Americans Die Earlier Without Health Insurance

The following article by Lesley Clark with the McClatchy Washington Bureau was posted on the National Memo website May 11, 2017:

Photo: Reuters

WASHINGTON — Do people die because they lack health insurance?

Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, found himself in a pickle (and in a cameo in a Jimmy Kimmel monologue) when he suggested they don’t. He later elaborated that he was making the point that no one would “die in the streets” under the Republican health care plan, because hospitals are required by law to treat any patient in need of emergency care.

But health care advocates say his explanation falls short of reality, pointing to a host of studies that show access to health care does prevent premature death, in the case of Americans with conditions such as cancer, diabetes, coronary heart disease, respiratory failure and asthma. Continue reading “Yes, Americans Die Earlier Without Health Insurance”

States In Shock As Republicans Unleash Health Care Chaos

The following article by Froma Harrop was posted on the National Memo website May 10, 2017:

The final total on the vote on the Republicans health care bill was displayed at the Capitol in Washington on Thursday, May 4, 2017. Relieved Republicans muscled their health care bill through the House, taking their biggest step toward dismantling the Obama health care overhaul since Donald Trump took office. HOUSE TELEVISION VIA AP

Social desperation tends to land on the doorsteps of the governments closest to the people. Happily for states and cities, the Affordable Care Act turned their challenging populations of sick, low-income residents into customers for local health care businesses. Unhappily, President Trump and congressional Republicans are in full sabotage mode and threatening to bus these unfortunates back to their doorsteps.

Obamacare has created an estimated 240,000 jobs in health services. These are high-paying jobs and a godsend for cities reeling from factory layoffs. Continue reading “States In Shock As Republicans Unleash Health Care Chaos”

This is not the health-care bill that Trump promised

The following article by Phillip Bump was posted on the Washington Post website May 4, 2017:

It was one thing for Donald Trump to pledge on the campaign trail that his plan for health care would assure that every American had coverage. He did so repeatedly, including during a town hall event in February 2016 at which he said his promise to “take care” of everyone might sound as if he was talking about a single-payer system, but he wasn’t. “That’s not single-payer,” he said. “That’s not anything. That’s just human decency.”

It was another thing, though, for Trump to make similar claims after the election. Before the election, it was anything goes in a way that most politicians would avoid. Afterward, one might expect Trump to zero in on his preferences a bit more narrowly, to scrape away the rhetoric and describe, instead, what it was that he wanted to see. Continue reading “This is not the health-care bill that Trump promised”