The long-awaited “replacement” to ACA has been revealed, and oh, it’s not good. People have been reacting, to say the least, and rethugs are desperately trying to come up with a defense.
The Republican Party’s proposed Obamacare replacement plan is already facing a storm of criticism, and Republican lawmakers are scrambling to defend it on cable news networks.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) appeared on CNN Tuesday morning to explain why obtaining health care is a matter of personal responsibility for millions of Americans, and not an area that requires government intervention.
In particular, Chaffetz said that, under the new GOP plan, poor Americans would be forced to make wise financial decisions if they really wanted to have access to health care.
“You know what, Americans have choices, and they’ve got to make a choice,” he said. “And so maybe, rather than getting that new iPhone that they just love and want to go spend hundreds of dollars on, maybe they should invest in their own health care.”
Oh, there’s that peculiar notion of rethuglican choice again. “Here you are, you have no choice at all, isn’t that great? Now, make the right choice!” A couple of hundred dollars is not going to get anyone very far when it comes to healthcare. Anyone who has ended up with an out of pocket doctor visit could tell you that. Any money left over is eaten alive by prescription meds. Once again, we see a fine example of the loathsome and utterly disconnected attitude rethugs have towards people, especially those with wallets on the thin side – you uppity poor people really shouldn’t have anything except the very basics, it’s not right you have more! You only get a nifty phone or internet access once you’ve hauled yourself up by your bootstraps and made a fortune. Let’s have a dose of reality here, a subject which republicans consistently fail in:
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average premium for an individual health care plan in the United States is just over $235 per month. Buying an iPhone 7 through a wireless carrier and paying for it in installments over a two-year period costs $27 per month.
In other words, forsaking an iPhone 7 will save Americans enough money to pay for roughly 11% of what it would cost to get health insurance.
I’m not wealthy, and I don’t have a smartphone of any kind, but that’s because I don’t like phones. I still think all people should have healthcare, I don’t give the tiniest of shits what kind of gear they may or may not have, because that’s not in the least bit relevant. It is the same old ugly republican line, though: if you don’t have something, it’s your fault. Oh look, you got something. Well, it’s because of that you can’t have anything else. The basic fuck you, while avoiding any responsibility for it.
The so-called replacement plan is a travesty, and that’s an understatement. I’m sure people expected it to be, but as usual, the news is worse than what we imagined. Think Progress has a break down of 6 very important points to the new “plan”. Click on over for the full details, which are appalling.
House Republicans released on Monday a plan to undo Obamacare that will likely leave millions more Americans uninsured.
After significant internal division about the path forward on Obamacare, lawmakers unveiled two bills that, taken together, would repeal and replace President Obama’s signature health care reform law. House committees are expected to hold votes on the bills as early as this week.
Here’s what you need to know about the legislation, and what it says about the House GOP’s plan for the future of health insurance in America:
It includes massive cuts to Medicaid, the program that provides coverage for millions of low-income Americans.
It defunds Planned Parenthood and eliminates abortion coverage.
It includes a big tax break for insurance companies that pay their CEOs more than $500,000 per year.
A significant portion of the bill is devoted to ensuring lottery winners don’t have access to Medicaid.
It could trigger a “death spiral” in the individual insurance market.
It will result in a lot fewer people having health insurance.
Via Raw Story and Think Progress.
UPDATE: Oh my, looks like the Tiny Tyrant is scrambling for something, anything, in the face of the overwhelming scorn for “Trumpcare”. This hasn’t stopped the appearance of Mr. Tweet, though, who started out with this:
Our wonderful new Healthcare Bill is now out for review and negotiation. ObamaCare is a complete and total disaster – is imploding fast!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 7, 2017
Our wonderful new Healthcare Bill is now out for review and negotiation. ObamaCare is a complete and total disaster – is imploding fast!
Jesus. How can anyone be that fucking disconnected from reality and still be on the planet?
Also see: How would repealing the Affordable Care Act affect health care and jobs in your state?
Across the country, 29.8 million people would lose their health insurance if the Affordable Care Act were repealed—more than doubling the number of people without health insurance. And 1.2 million jobs would be lost—not just in health care but across the board.
I could make an argument that giving iPhones to poor people would be a good thing. They’re pretty useful information-terminals connected to all kinds of information, including how and where to vote, and where the riot is meeting.
After significant internal division about the path forward on Obamacare, lawmakers unveiled two bills that, taken together, would repeal and replace President Obama’s signature health care reform law.
Clearly, the plan is to pass the “repeal” part then deadlock on the “replace” part and blame obstructionism.
I think internet access and something to use it on should be a basic right, too. I don’t think it should be determined by how much money you may or may not have. But, little things first, like healthcare.
Also, if you go over to Think Progress, the sheer amount of paper that is taken up by the “lottery winners can’t have medicaid” business reveals the ugliness of republican thought down to the core. They are so obsessed with the idea of anyone [else] getting away with something, they’ll strip everyone of their rights just on the off chance someone somewhere might get away with something.
Bottom line being: they, being rich, can scam all they like, but not one poor person better try it, especially not someone who lucked out in the lottery! You have to earn the right to be a scum sucking con artist.
Please tell me again how we need to have compassion with all those white people who voted for Trump to “take down the establishment”-
Giliell @ 5, oh that fucking thread! No, not one tear from me, and my heart ran out of blood.
Marcus, #1
I agree. Things like smartphones and access to the internet (at home) should be available at a low cost through financial assistance programs.
It’s like you’re not actually poor if you own things. Therefore you’re irresponsible for spending money on things that make life a bit better or are basically a necessity in this day and age, because what if you get sick. And if you do forego the modern necessities, well, you’re obviously not investing enough in your own well-being and future.
rq:
That’s their exact reasoning, which provides a convenient Catch-22, so they can just keep screwing people over, and blaming them for it.
People simply do not understand how reality works. There is nothing a person can do in their life not to get sick. Healthy food, exercise, no smoking etc. are all good things, but they merely shift probabilities towards “less likely to get sick” and never ever, no matter what you do, can you be “sick-proof”. There is no way an individual can prepare for every possible disaster, or even most of them. However large enough population of individuals can cooperate enough to shield most of the individuals from most possible disasters -- or prevent them.
But our brains did not evolve to cope with statistics of large populations, so many people still think instinctively and vote accordingly as if they were living in groups of a few dozen individuals. Thus we get idiots claiming that progressive taxation is unfair because it punishes hard work, idiots raging against compulsory insurance (whether car insurance or health insurance, the reasoning is the same) etc. etc.
I wonder how much influence in this whole mess has had the new agey claptrap with all that self-improvement nonsense and talk about taking your own life into your own hands, positive thinking and similar idiocy.
People in general just do not know shit about how much of their life is out of their control. That is why they build themselves these little rationales, to get the comforting illusion of control. I guess it is in human nature. Just world fallacy is built in into our reasoning, and only few people are able to unlearn it -- especially privileged people.
Why are cell phones always considered an example of luxury anyway? I remember when cell phones became popular, some people were upset to hear that homeless people had cell phones. The same happened with Syrian refugees a few months ago. Homeless people and refugees with cell phones, that does not fit the stereotypes.
rietpluim #11
Because privileged assholes cannot comprehend a life with no permanent home, land line and constant electricity. They don’t understand that people who have no where to live and that are constantly on the move must have a mobile device.
In some of the poorest countries of the world cellphone penetration is higher than in some wealthy countries because a smartphone is a handy device that can do your banking, work, shopping and much more in a small package without the need for working infrastructure. Even electricity is optional if you have a portable generator.