While most of us are focused on the ongoing Trump-Russia investigation, Senate Republicans, led by Sen. Mitch McConnell, are attempting to ram through their Trumpcare bill without a single hearing. They’ve already sent their secret “health care” bill to the Congressional Budget Office without sharing it with us, or Senate Democrats. But leaks suggest that it is largely similar to the bill that passed the House―the one that would cause 23 million Americans to lose health coverage.
The House-passed version would be devastating to working families, older Americans and people with preexisting conditions. It’s estimated to kick 23 million people off of their health care, sharply increase out-of-pocket expenses for people in their 50s and 60s, gut Medicaid funding for nursing home care, and make health care unaffordable for people with preexisting conditions. It may make Medicaid cuts more slowly than the House version, but a cut today or a cut tomorrow is still a cut.
Why do Republicans want to destroy access to health care? The answer: Tax cuts for the rich and health care corporations. President Obama’s Affordable Care Act increased taxes on the wealthy, prescription drug companies, and health insurance companies in order to expand health care to 20 million additional people. But Trumpcare would roll back that expansion and gut Medicaid and Medicare in order to pad the pockets of wealthy health care corporations and the 1%.
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