The Hypocrisy of Healthcare

"Congress is moving fast to rush through a health care overhaul that lacks a key ingredient: the full participation of you, the American people." — Paul Ryan, July 18, 2009

"We shouldn't rush this thing through just to rush it through for some artificial deadline. Lets get this thing done right." — Paul Ryan, July 2009

So if the reporting is reasonably true, the Republicans are trying to pass the AHCA (Obamacare repeal/replacement bill) through the Senate by July 4th. Presumably so our chief elected narcissist can make July 4th a "day of independence" from healthcare, or something.

So we're talking about two weeks. Within 2 weeks, they expect to bring a version of the bill to the Senate floor, where it will receive less than 20 hours of floor time before being voted on. The house version of the bill was shot through and reads as a disaster, with CBO's projections noting for instance, how much money would be saved because 23 million more people would be ejected from health insurance and the reduced mortality rate would lead to lower healthcare costs.

If this sounds remotely familiar, it's because you've entered a parallel universe, where the GOP is trying to ram healthcare down America's throat by fast-tracking it in a manner which does not amount to representation of the people, by the people, or for the people. The same GOP who blasted then -speaker of the house Pelosi for saying "we need to pass the bill to find out whats in it", were comfortable with passing a bill they hadn't read. Which is especially funny given that they lauded how much smaller the bill was compared to the ACA.

In closed doors, the GOP is wheeling and dealing amongst its members to get the 50 votes it needs to pass a Senate version of the bill without any say-so from Americans or the other side of the aisle. The tiebreaker of course, will be VP Pence, unless they find a vote elsewhere. It is puerile hypocrisy of the highest order, that is taking advantage of a media brownout caused by Trump's constant foot-in-mouth syndrome. The same kind of blinding hypocrisy that caused them to block Merrick Garland from the SCOTUS.



When interviewed, Republicans make it clear they have no idea what they're doing aside from trying to get to 51 votes internally: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/6/16/15810524/senate-ahca-explain-please

Jeff Stein, Vox
I want to ask a very broad question: What do you think this health care bill will accomplish that will improve America? What's the positive case for this bill?

Chuck Grassley
Well, I can tell you what it's going to do for Iowa. We are one of those states that in a couple of weeks if [the insurer] Medica pulls out, we'll have 94 of our 95 counties won't have any insurance ,even for people who have the subsidies. That's what we have to concentrate on now.

Jeff Stein
How do you think the bill will fix that problem?

Chuck Grassley
Well, by bringing certainty to the insurance market. They don't have that certainty now.

Jeff Stein
By bringing certainty to the insurance market. What certainty?

Chuck Grassley
What?

Jeff Stein
What do you mean by certainty?

Chuck Grassley
Well, they can't even file. They have to check the rates real high if they don't know what the government policy is. And so the certainty is that passing a bill gives the health insurance companies certainty.

Jeff Stein
Wouldn't not passing a bill also do that?

Chuck Grassley
No, it ... well, yeah — it gives them certainty that you'll have a lot higher rates than if you pass the bill.

Jeff Stein
So you're saying [the bill] will lower the rates?

Chuck Grassley
Um, if you're talking about lowering the rates from now down, no. The rates could be way up here. [Points to sky] And if they — if we get a bill passed, it maybe wouldn't go up or would go up a heck of a lot less than they would without a bill.

Jeff Stein
By "rates," are you talking about premiums?

Chuck Grassley
Yeah, premiums. … I'm sorry I have to go.

Tara Golshan, Vox
Generally, what are the big problems this bill is trying to solve?

John McCain
Almost all of them. They’re trying to get to 51 votes.

Tara Golshan
Policy-wise. What are the problems [in the American health care system] this is trying to solve — and is the bill doing that right now?

John McCain
Well, it's whether you have full repeal, whether you have partial repeal, whether you have the basis of it. It's spread all over.

Tara Golshan
But based on the specifics of the bill you have heard so far, is it solving the problems [in the health care system]?

John McCain
What I hear is that we have not reached consensus. That’s what everybody knows.

Tara Golshan
Right, but outside of getting the votes. From what you hear of the actual legislation being written, is it solving the problems you see —

John McCain
It's not being written. Because there's no consensus.

Tara Golshan
But generally speaking, what are the big problems it is trying to solve?

John McCain
You name it. Everything from the repeal caucus, which as you know, they have made their views very clear — Rand Paul, etc. And then there are the others on the other side of the spectrum that just want to make minor changes to the present system. There’s not consensus.

Whatever they pass is going to be a chaotic, compromising pile of pulp, presumably now all just to satisfy a now 7-year promise of repealing Obamacare, without haven't any clear replacement plan in mind, just to satisfy an artificial deadline to satisfy low-information voters.