Trumpcare 2.0: Don’t let it hoodwink you
Promises President Donald Trump made to the American people in his pre-election campaign have failed once again to meet the reality of the health care bill just passed by the U.S. House (“Gov. stays silent on health care overhaul,” May 11). One of those was the promise to protect individuals with pre-existing conditions. Trumpcare 2.0 allows insurance companies to charge people with pre-existing conditions rates with higher premiums than others. Those who have money can afford the insurance or be able to pay out of pocket. But the majority of Americans who live from paycheck to paycheck will be left out in the cold. Perhaps they may not realize this until they go to use the provisions that are no longer there.
Congressman Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., wrote an op-ed (“Trumpcare 2.0 is still shameful,” U.S. News & World Report,” April 27) that explained some of the problems with Trumpcare 2.0. Having done some online research of my own, I couldn’t find a more concise summary anywhere.
The Republicans in the House were so desperate to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, they were willing to sell the health care of this nation down the river to get the conservative Republican votes. The conservative group known as the House Freedom Caucus was holding Congress captive until their demands were met or they would not vote for the bill that the House needed to win. U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan would not bring the bill to the floor until he had all the votes needed to pass.
Trumpcare 2.0 takes away many of the benefits of Obamacare. While imperfect as it was, at least it offered medical protections to those who did not have them before. The pre-existing conditions clause has been seriously rewritten in such a way that I don’t even understand it. The exclusion of the extension of Medicaid will increase the burden already on those poverty stricken and end insurance for many.
The Republicans did everything they could to force this unpalatable document through Congress. The first version did not have the votes to win so they did not present it on the floor. They rewrote the bill to change some of the provisions. Pandering to the right-wing conservative House Freedom Caucus, President Trump, Congressman Ryan and other Republican leaders scurried off to alter the parts that were objectionable.
However, there was one holdout, GOP Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., who was not willing to vote for the current 2.0’s coverage of pre-existing conditions. It appears to me that what happened next is another bit of Trump chicanery. Trump had a little tête-à-tête with Upton and persuaded him to change his vote. Who knows what was “promised” in exchange?
The repeal-and-replace edition of Trumpcare 2.0, while not perfect as it is, takes more away from the average American than it gives them. The nation has been hoodwinked again.