Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Obamacare Repeal -- All Hands On Deck (UPDATE)


The slowing unfolding -- but now rapidly approaching -- disaster of the Republican Obamacare repeal bill (Graham- Cassidy) has caught many asleep at the wheel. In their rush to pass this evil bill without hearings and before it can be scored by the Congressional Budget Office, Republican Senators are being upfront about their sociopathic disregard for the well- being of large segments of the American public. We all know where the estimated $80 billion cut from current subsidies and Medicaid will go -- into the pockets of the 1 percent in the form of huge tax cuts. (We know Republicans have also been promised hundreds of millions of dollars by the Koch poltroons if they pass repeal and a tax cut for the rich.)

Coming as it is in a news cycle dominated by hurricanes, tensions with North Korea, and police violence, the Graham- Cassidy bill isn't receiving the attention it normally might. We searched for editorial opinions from the usual suspects only to come up with a blistering salvo from the New York Times (see below);  where's the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, etc.? Meanwhile, several health industry stakeholders have begun to urge their members to oppose Graham- Cassidy. 

But as much as support from such opinion leaders is important, the most important voices by far are yours.  Your town hall presence, calls, emails, etc., have been instrumental in staving off earlier (and less draconian) Obamacare repeal bills. That same intense effort needs to be ramped up immediately as the September 30 deadline approaches. 

There are several targets for pressure that have been identified (although making your opinion heard by any Republican Senator is worthwhile):  Sens. Collins (ME), Murkowski (AK), and McCain (AZ). They were the Republicans that stopped the passage of the last attempt to strip health care from millions of Americans; the Graham- Cassidy bill is another vicious assault on those especially vulnerable populations. Sen. Alexander (TN) is currently working on an Obamacare fix bill with Democratic Sen. Patty Murray and is another possible vote against Graham- Cassidy.

Please take a moment to call, especially if you're from one of those states, but call nevertheless. The Senate phone directory is here (also has email addresses in some cases). Thank you!

Now for some righteousness.

New York Times:
Republican lawmakers have wasted much of the year trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act, a move that would deprive millions of people of health insurance. They’re back at it. Like a bad sequel to a terrible movie, a proposal whose main architects are Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina would in many ways be worse than bills that came before. It would punish states like California and New York that have done the most to increase access to health care and set in motion cuts to Medicaid, the federal-state program that provides insurance to nearly 70 million people, many of whom are disabled and elderly. [snip] 
It is hard to overstate the cruelty of the Graham-Cassidy bill. It would eliminate the mandate that even healthy people buy health insurance, end the subsidies that help people purchase coverage and stop the expansion of Medicaid. It would offer states block grants they could use to help people get insurance but would leave people at the mercy of individual state legislatures and, over all, would provide $239 billion less than what the federal government would spend under current law between 2020 and 2026, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
American Heart Association/ American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network/ March of Dimes and 13 other groups:
Sixteen patient and provider groups oppose the proposal put forward by Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Dean Heller (R-Nev.), and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) that will negatively impact patients’ access to adequate and affordable health coverage and care. 
This bill would limit funding for the Medicaid program, roll back important essential health benefit protections, and potentially open the door to annual and lifetime caps on coverage, endangering access to critical care for millions of Americans. Our organizations urge senators to oppose this legislation. 
AARP:





America's Essential Hospitals:
Throughout this year’s health care debate, America’s Essential Hospitals stood by its position that policy changes must maintain coverage for those who have it, preserve access, and protect hospitals that care for low-income and other vulnerable people. 
While we do not yet have a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) score for the Graham-Cassidy proposal, the plan appears to violate those core principles. 
It appears to significantly restrict federal health care funding through per-capita caps and block grants, which would shift costs to states, patients, providers, and taxpayers. Further, by taking an approach so close to that of the earlier House and Senate plans, it’s reasonable to conclude it would have a similar result: millions of Americans losing coverage.
American Hospital Association:
We believe that coverage could be at risk for tens of millions of Americans under the Graham-Cassidy proposal. We continue to urge senators to work in a bipartisan manner to address the challenges facing our health care system. 
This proposal would erode key protections for patients and consumers and does nothing to stabilize the insurance market now or in the long term. In addition, the block grant to provide support for the expansion population expires in 2026, thereby eliminating coverage for millions of Americans. 
For these reasons, we oppose the Graham-Cassidy plan. 
Please add your voice.

UPDATE:  A number of key Republican Governors have come out against Graham- Cassidy.
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