Trumpcare 2.0: Its Even Worse Than the Original - By the NYT Editorial Board

[DonViejo]

By THE EDITORIAL BOARDAPRIL 28, 2017

House Republicans have revised their proposal to destroy the Affordable Care Act in an effort to win the support of far-right legislators who opposed the first version. In so doing they have made it much worse.

The original Trumpcare bill, whose spectacular failure embarrassed the White House, had a public approval rating of just 17 percent because it would have taken health insurance away from 24 million Americans, many of them poor, sick and elderly. The new version would further tighten the screws on vulnerable Americans by letting insurance companies charge older people and people with pre-existing conditions much higher premiums than they charge younger and healthier people. It would also give insurers the freedom not to cover essential health services like maternity care and cancer treatment.

The lawmaker who proposed these changes is Representative Tom MacArthur of New Jersey, who says he wants to reduce premiums. The nasty new twist in his version is a provision that, in effect, frees states from having to provide many of the protections now guaranteed by the A.C.A, or Obamacare. States will be permitted to ask the federal government to waive these requirements, and there is a real danger that many lawmakers will cave to pressures from insurance companies that see a way to save money by providing fewer protections.

States might also decide that they have to seek waivers to show voters that they’re doing all they can to lower premiums, even if that means putting policies out of reach or making the coverage less comprehensive. Like the original, the bill slashes Obamacare subsidies, making insurance much more expensive for many individuals and families. The premium for a 40-year-old earning $30,000 living in Chattanooga, Tenn., would increase by $3,000 under the bill, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/28/opinion/trumpcare-2-0-its-even-worse-than-the-original.html?emc=edit_th_20170428&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=57435284

[riversedge]

1. Now that they have the Freedom caucus on their side--they will throw the 'moderate'

repugs a few crumbs and it will only be a matter of time before they pass their poison bill.