Rubio should fix or block Obamacare repeal

The U.S. House of Representatives this week passed a health care bill it said would improve health care. No, it would decimate health care.

With all eyes now shifting to the U.S. Senate, we encourage Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to join other skeptical Republicans in fixing or blocking the bill to repeal and replace Obamacare. The goal should be to address the problems with today’s law — without hurting millions of people.

So far, Rubio has said little about the American Health Care Act, which narrowly passed the House — 217-213 — on Thursday. All Democrats voted no, and all but 20 Republicans voted yes.

The only Florida Republican to vote “no” was Miami Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who’s not running for re-election. In deciding to vote yes, Miami Rep. Carlos Curbelo — considered the most endangered Republican in Congress because of his moderate district — took a dangerous gamble that appears based on politics, not people.

Unlike Rubio, Florida’s Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson quickly made his position clear.

“This Republican health care plan will increase costs for older Americans, cut Medicaid and take us back to the days when it was nearly impossible for anyone with a pre-existing condition to get health insurance,” Nelson said. “This bill takes health care coverage away from tens of millions of people, and I’m not going to support it.”

President Donald Trump promised reform that would “provide better health care.” But the bill he helped push through the House is all about saving government money, not saving lives. Consider: Fourteen million people would lose health insurance coverage by next year and 24 million people by 2026, the Congressional Budget Office estimates. Does that sound like better health care to you?

States could opt out of requiring insurance companies to cover “essential health benefits” like doctor visits, emergency services, hospitalization and prescription drugs. In other words, people could unwittingly buy low-cost plans that cover next to nothing.

States also could waive the requirement that insurance companies cover people with pre-existing conditions and not charge them higher premiums. States that take this step would have to create high-risk insurance pools for people with health problems. But Florida knows high-risk pools don’t work. Does history teach us nothing?

“The last time Florida had a high-risk insurance pool, rates were 200-250 percent higher than comparable plans, deductibles ranged from $1,000-$10,000, co-pays had no maximum annual limits, the lifetime maximum payout was $500,000 and the policy would not cover pre-existing conditions for the first 12 months,” wrote former state Sen. Steve Geller in a Sun Sentinel op-ed Friday. “Even with these limits, the plan required substantial state funding.”

Medicaid funding for poor and disabled people would be cut by $880 million over 10 years. And in Florida, Medicaid funds more nursing home care than any other provider. What will happen to low-income seniors who need nursing home care?

Subsidies that help low-income people buy insurance will be eliminated and replaced with tax credits, which are hardly helpful in buying insurance.

Insurance companies will be allowed to charge seniors five times more for coverage than what’s charged younger people, up from three times under current law.

Rubio, and his fellow senators, face a decision of a lifetime. For access to affordable health insurance determines whether lives are extended or shortened.

Americans understand. A recent tracking poll found they favor Obamacare 48 percent to 41 percent, with 74 percent saying Trump and his administration should aim to make Obamacare work.

Talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel captured public sentiment this week with a story about his newborn son, who underwent open-heart surgery three days after his birth.

“No parent should ever have to decide if they can afford to save their child’s life,” Kimmel said. The show’s segment went viral, with more than 9.5 million views on YouTube.

The Senate should turn away this paymore, get-less bill, no matter that Republicans have pushed to repeal Obamacare for seven years. This is a bad deal for Americans.

The chances of rejection are substantial. Democratic support is unlikely and several Republicans, who have a slim 52-48 majority, have stated concern. Rubio should make his issues clear soon, too.

There is no rush. The CBO says Obamacare is stable. But a sincere approach is vital now as insurance companies prepare plans for the 2018 exchanges.

Senators should make people and their well-being their priority, not small-government dogma and tax cuts for the wealthy.

In this decision of a lifetime, Rubio should help his colleagues reject the House bill and instead fix the bugs in Obamacare.