House bill on health care fatally flawed

The health care bill narrowly approved by Republicans Thursday in the House is a disaster — for all 50 states. It has more fatal flaws than Donald Trump has hotels.

The Senate should resist it out of hand and insist the House start over from scratch.

The Senate should reject it out of hand and insist the House start over on a plan that could actually improve on our health care system.

Nobody disputes that improvement is needed.

But this legislation breaks every promise Trump made to Americans about his reforms.

Far from “insurance for everybody,” it will drive tens of thousands of Americans off the health care rolls.

Far from a “lot less expensive” for everyone — “the government, consumers, providers” — it will cost older Americans far more as well as lower income Americans. (If you’re rich, no prob.)

It will de-fund disease prevention programs that now save public hospitals billions of dollars.

Republicans used to whine that Obamacare was passed without any Republican votes, but Obama and Democrats worked for a year trying to win GOP support before going it alone with a plan — based on one Republican Mitt Romney had devised for Massachusetts.

This time, a GOP majority didn’t even pretend to reach out to Democrats.

Nor did they bring in insurers, health care economists or medical organizations to identify and resolve any problems.

The process was so secretive that conservative Sen. Rand Paul had this to say Thursday: “We’re here asking for written copy of this because this should be an open and transparent process.

This is being presented as if it’s a national secret.

As if it’s a plot to invade another country.”

That’s right. Even Republicans couldn’t see the bill in writing.

Worst of all, the House didn’t even wait for the scrupulously objective Congressional Budget Office, run by a Republican conservative, to score the bill.

There has been no independent analysis of how much the proposed system will cost or how many people will gain or lose coverage — although it’s clear just from the basic premises that it will hurt more Americans than the last one.

Health care premiums for seniors are sure to skyrocket.

And that provision to deal with those pesky pre-existing conditions? It’s a sham.

The $8 billion a year allocated to reimburse insurers for taking on high-risk patients is nowhere close to what would be needed to cover the costs. Patients will pay the price.

Meanwhile, cases of beer were rolled into the Capitol just before the vote, past the protesters outside, and President Trump rolled out the welcome mat at “the beautiful” White House Rose Garden for a celebration with House Republicans of this “victory for the American people.”

While they party, people over 50, parents of kids with lifelong medical challenges and others who have benefited from Obama’s Affordable Care Act — however deeply flawed — better look up their senators’ contact information.

The Senate is their only hope.

Far from a “lot less expensive” for everyone — “the government, consumers, providers” — it will cost older Americans far more as well as lower income Americans. (If you’re rich, no prob.)