Dear Representative Poliquin,
The provisions of the anti-Obama health care bill presently hanging fire in Congress are worrisome. I think that I am not alone when I say that I am puzzled by a plan, ostensibly written to provide health care to those who cannot afford it, which grants tax breaks to the very wealthy. It may be a marvelous example of partisan alchemy but according to the hardnosed calculations of the Congressional Budget Office the bill will leave millions without health care, many of them children. Moreover, it will, by all accounts, also close hospitals, those in rural areas being the most vulnerable.
This bill is both cruel and foolish. Not only will it throw people off health care, it will also throw the providers of care out of work and thus deny them health care as well. Beyond that, what is the value of providing tax breaks to business when it is done at the expense of decreasing the health of the work force? This does not strike me as sound economics.
Your vote to support the bill passed by the House is disappointing in particular. In general I have to say that the Republican support of the White House in all matters whether stupid, corrupt, or patently loony has crossed the line from party loyalty to temple prostitution. In the world we live in this is acutely dangerous.
Jon Oplinger
Farmington
The Congress has not finished its work. It is premature to call an unfinished bill an example of “temple prostitution.”
For a moment I thought Professor Oplinger’s last paragraph, above, was referring to Obamacare.
The definition of thesaurus .
Bill:
I suppose the Senate will create a compromise that’s all sunshine and rainbows from that paper bag on fire that Paul Ryan placed on their doorstep.
Bruce Poliquin voted for a bill that would result in fewer Mainers having access to affordable healthcare.
Sesamus, Remember four things. Nancy Pelosi said no one could read the Obamacare bill the Democrats created until it was passed !!! The Democrats sold us a pig in a poke. Very strange. Second, The Democrats were in lock step to do that. In a way I admired them to keep rigidly disciplined. With all information about the bill unavailable there could be no sniping at it, as you are doing here. Third “hardnosed calculations of the Congressional Budget Office” are often wrong. They were wrong about Obamacare. Some skepticism is needed here. Fourth, there is a lot further to go before there will be any actual approved bill. The Senate has to produce their bill, then the House and Senate must get together to reconcile it. Then there will be a final vote and then if it passes it will or will not be signed into law by the President. Patience Sesamus, Patience. You are guessing how the cake will taste when the batter has just placed in the pan and it is not yet out of the oven.
Obama care does not work the middle class are the ones paying for everything.my premiums more than doubled now my deductible is up to 8000.00 a year I might as well stop working so I can get free health care.The only thing mine is good for is catastrophic care I just pay the premiums
Bill:
There are serious problems with the ACA that should be fixed. The GOP bill is not the solution. Here’s what might be:
1. Raise the subsidy levels to include those with sky-high deductibles.
2. If we’re going to rely on insurers, put teeth in enforcement of the individual mandate to increase the pool and lower premiums. The current GOP bill rewards insurers instead of the government (us) for lapsed coverages.
3. Even if we’re relying on insurance companies now, Medicare for all (the Public Option) should be available to transition out of this ridiculous system. Privatized healthcare charges too much (check your premium and deductible), benefits too few (still millions uninsured) and rewards profits to the wrong people (insurers and pharmaceutical companies).
As to your points
First: The fact that we can read the GOP bill does not automatically make it a good bill.
Second: am criticizing the bill that Poliquin voted for because it guts low income healthcare.
The CBO is not always wrong and if half of what their numbers say is correct this bill is bad news for a lot of people.
•24 million Americans would lose coverage over the next 10 years—14 million in the first year alone
•2 million Americans with employer-sponsored coverage would lose it by 2020; 7 million would lose it over 10 years
•$880 billion in cuts to Medicaid funding while giving rich Americans and corporations a $592 billion tax cut
Third: The GOP had eight years to get something together and now has majorities in both chambers and the white house. The hold up to me would seem to revolve around the fact that they are going to have to run on a bill that benefits few and harms many in 2018, not the rocket science behind the law.
Cheers.
…. the GOP had eight years to get something together……. What was Prez Obama doing all that time other then waiting until he got out of office the the whole darn thing started collapsing? It was his baby and he should have gone to ‘parenting classes’ before it all started..
Repeal without replacement until EVERYONE including D.C. has this garbage they call healthcare. They didnt mind excluding themselves from the list of people REQUIRED to have it. Or better yet offer the working class there benefits !!!! Let them “work” for what most people do. Maybe if they got paid minimum wage for screwing the rest of us over the swamp would drain itself !!!!
Jesse:
Congress is currently required to sign up for the ACA.
Section 1312 of the Affordable Care Act requires that Members of Congress and their official staff obtain coverage by health plans created under the Affordable Care Act or coverage offered via an Affordable Insurance Exchange.
The current GOP healthcare bill gets rid of this requirement that Congress and their staff enroll in the ACA.
They’ll probably go back to the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program, a really good (and inexpensive) program. It was floated by Democrats as an alternative (for everyone) to Clinton’s failed program in 1994.
“……. the GOP had eight years to get something together……. What was Prez Obama doing all that time..?”
Being hamstrung by the GOP CONGRESS…if you can’t recall, just ask Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan.
Why was the bill passed with all the flaws…. My memory sez congress was controlled with the Dems when the dang thing passed…
Glen the bill was passed because they wouldn’t let anyone read it until after it was passed. Yes the dems were in charge at the time. Let us not forget if you like your dr you can keep your dr. It was all smoke and mirrors. Now insurance companies have a monopoly in each state !!!!
“For eight years, Republicans incessantly complained that Democrats rammed Obamacare through on a party-line vote and made no effort to bring Republicans into the process. Like pretty much all of the GOP’s claims about Obamacare, this is a lie. Democrats repeatedly tried to work with Republicans, so much so that some on the left would argue it hamstrung the entire effort.”
https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2017/06/07/why-are-men-behind-closed-doors-writing-health-care-bill/cIqCDEcFo29uxirxbouPbI/story.html
Marie E…. just face it the big picture was that it was meant to fail as they was no way to prevent it the way it was… Why do you think some parts of it were not to become effective until B.H.O would be out of office and sailing off into the sunset…