By SJ Otto
The new Republican plan to repeal and replace (sort of) Obamacare (the Affordable Care Act) mostly includes the same old status quo we had before we had it. It amounts to the same old style of rules that favor wealthy and upper middleclass people, but leave poor people, especially working poor, out in the cold.
The House Republican’s bill keeps rules that would force the insurance companies to maintain coverage for people with pre-existing conditions and allow children to stay on their parents' plans until the age of 26. But it allows insurers to charge higher premiums to those who let their coverage lapse. This gives the insurance companies more power to exclude people from insurance who make mistakes. The Republicans are always trying to help the insurance companies from having to cover people who cost them money.
The measure would offer individuals refundable tax credits to purchase health insurance. They will get rid of all subsidies. That means that most people who get subsidized insurance under Obamacare will eventually be without. Poor people don’t benefit from tax credits.
Those who get medical coverage from Medicaid can forget that. The new plan will restructure the country's Medicaid program so that states receive a set amount of money from the federal government every year –and according to CNNexperts warn could result in millions of people losing access to insurance they received now under Obamacare.
Many of the poorer constituents of Republicans have been making it out to town hall meetings. Many of these constituents have told these Republicans that they fear they will lose badly needed health insurance and die without Obamacare. These Republicans have mostly ignored these people, claiming they are all just “professional protesters for the Democrats.”
According to Heather Higgins, of The Hill, a conservative blog:
“Shortly after Donald Trump won the presidency, an Alinskite training manual in disruption started circulating for activists on the left, put out by President Obama’s Organize For Action partner “Indivisible.”
It instructs activists to infiltrate town halls or any public event as mere constituents, without any evidence that they are protestors, to take seats largely at the front of the room but also to spread out singly and in pairs to create the illusion of mass opposition. They are encouraged to ask deliberately hostile questions, not relinquish the microphone, and to be loud in condemning the GOP congressmen.”
Were ever she got this training Manuel, she is sadly mistaken if she and the other Republicans seriously believe that poor people are so stupid they don’t care if they die from lack of health care and the only people who do care are the “Obama’s Organize For Action” crew. This is delusional thinking.
We can take note that our representatives from Kansas have all avoided any kind of town hall meeting. They all know better. They are cowards and much of their constituents would be surprised if they acted any different. For example Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran are hiding like their life depends on it.
Higgins has a lot of suggestions for those Republicans who believe they should brave their way out and actually do their jobs. He said:
“For example if the topic is health care, go to HealthReformQuestions.com and bring the quiz questions and answers to the meeting to engage the audience with the facts of the issue. Remind them that twice as many Americans report being hurt by Obamacare, rather than helped by it.”
And we need to point at that the people hurt from Obamacare are mostly upper middleclass people and small business people that have had higher premiums and other inconveniences. That as opposed to the poor working people who will now die early from lack of healthcare.
When it comes to poor people’s lives—the Republicans DON’T CARE.
Pix by Education Reform Now.