A new version of Trumpcare is gaining momentum inside the Senate Republican caucus. But, the new Trumpcare proposal known as "Graham-Cassidy" is just as bad as previous versions.
Why now? Robert Reich says it’s “mainly because it is assumed the Affordable Care Act (ACA)was in the clear so we put our attention elsewhere.”
Senate Republicans are planning to take action on it before September 30.
The new proposal would leave millions of Americans struggling to pay their medical bills and to get coverage.
The Congressional Budget Office won’t have time to calculate the cost of "Graham-Cassidy" but it is anticipated that 32 million will lose coverage.
The big difference between the new Trumpcare and previous versions is that under the new repeal legislation, sponsored by Senators Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy, the individual states would be given block grants. The block grants would be used to fund all of each state’s health care needs (what was Obamacare, and medicare and medicaid).
It would undermine requirements that people with pre-existing conditions be covered, leading millions to either lose health care or have to pay a lot more for it.
It would lead to massive cuts to Medicaid, forcing states to deny health care to millions of children and families.
It would defund Planned Parenthood and be a major step backward for women's health care and particularly for reproductive health care.
Right now, Republicans are very close to getting the 50 votes they need to pass it. Only a few Republicans are against it or undecided -- including Alaska's Lisa Murkowski and Maine's Susan Collins. John McCain has said he's willing to vote for it, but as details of the bill leaked and revealed how badly Arizona would be hit, he's become less certain.
We've been very close to losing on this several times in 2017 -- but because Americans mobilized to fight it, we were able to stop Trumpcare. If we can stop them again by September 30, then it will take 60 votes (instead of 50) to pass Trumpcare. That makes it a lot harder for Trump and the Republicans to take away health care from millions.
President Trump and Vice President Pence have been making calls to senators and governors in a furious effort to gain support for a last-ditch ObamaCare repeal bill.
The Trump administration is making clear it's all in on the repeal push, with Pence warning that the White House will not support efforts to "fix" or "prop up" ObamaCare.
That would appear to rule out a bipartisan effort in the Senate Health Committee to craft a bill stabilizing AFC insurance markets.
Pence will attend a Senate GOP lunch Tuesday and tell senators "this is the moment" to repeal ObamaCare, the vice president told reporters Tuesday.
He'll say ObamaCare is "collapsing" and make clear that Trump would sign the bill.
By Jessie Hellmann
