health insurance

GOP sabotage of ‘Obamacare’: delay for 90 days during the plan filing period

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I previously gave you a backgrounder on the House GOP lawsuit House v. Price (née House v. Burwell) for which the next status report to the Court is due today.

Politico reports that instead of filing the status report, the White House seeks 90-day delay in Obamacare subsidy suit:

The Trump administration and House of Representatives Monday asked a federal court for another 90-day delay in a lawsuit over Obamacare insurance subsidies, undermining the future of the health care marketplaces as insurers look for certainty from the government before committing to offer coverage next year.

“The parties continue to discuss measures that would obviate the need for judicial determination of this appeal, including potential legislative action,” the House and White House wrote to the court.

If the request is approved, the parties would have to file another update in 90 days.

“We continue to work with the Trump administration on a solution,” said AshLee Strong, spokeswoman for Speaker Paul Ryan.

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Think the Senate will save us from the disastrous House AHCA bill? Think again

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The conventional wisdom is that the U.S. Senate intends to rewrite its own health care bill from the wreckage of the disastrous American Health Care Act (AHCA) passed by the House last week. The implication is that the Senate bill will be much better than the House bill.

The problem with conventional wisdom is that it is frequently wrong. There are Tea-Publicans in the Senate who are just as reckless and irresponsible, if not more so, than their counterparts in the House. Putting your faith in these “12 angry (white) men” and the Septuagenarian Ninja Turtle Mitch McConnell on the Senate AHCA working group is a foolish and risky bet.

AHCA Working Group

The Washington Post reports, Senate hard-liners outline health-care demands with Medicaid in the crosshairs:

Senate conservatives, once seen as an impediment to the Obamacare repeal push, are instead lobbying for changes that would drop millions of adults from Medicaid, limit the value of tax credits over concerns about funding abortion and weaken or cancel consumer protections.

Senators like Mike Lee (R-Utah) believe these changes will help reduce health-care spending, prevent tax-credit dollars from paying for abortions and expand access to health insurance by lowering premiums — all arguments supported by conservative advocacy groups.

And such changes are also looked on favorably by some House Republicans who don’t expect their version of the American Health Care Act to survive the Senate.

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AHCA ‘tattooed to their foreheads’

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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., warned Republicans who voted in support of the American Health Care Act: “What is happening today is a lose-lose situation for the Republicans. It’s a lose-lose for the American people, that’s for sure. But the people who vote for this will have this vote tattooed to their foreheads as … Read more

Rally to Stop Trumpcare on Tuesday – Tucson (Updated)

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Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) said “if it takes a Democrat” to explain House Republicans’ healthcare bill, he’s willing to do it. House Democrat offers to hold town halls for Republicans:

“Maybe a Democrat ought to go into every district where a Republican who supported TrumpCare won’t hold a town hall meeting, and do it for them,” he said during an interview on MSNBC.

“I think every Republican who voted for this thing ought to have to stand in front of their voters and explain it,” Maloney said.

“And if it takes a Democrat to go in and do it for them for a while, I’ll explain what’s in this bill, and if he doesn’t like it, he should stand up and explain it himself.”

Congressman Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) has taken up his challenge and he will hold a town hall in Tucson to explain the vote of Rep. Martha “Let’s get this fucking thing done!” McSally, the “cowardly lion” who is cowering in her chicken bunker too afraid to stand before her constituents to explain her vote to take away your health care. See op-ed by Dr. Matt Heinz, Martha McSally wrong on repeal of health law.

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What: Rally to Stop Trumpcare

When: Tuesday, May 9, 6:30 p.m. (doors open at 6:00 p.m.)

Where: Rincon High School, 421 N. Arcadia Avenue (5th Street and Swan Road), Tucson, AZ

RallytoStopTrumpcare

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Every member of the House who voted for Zombie ‘Trumpcare’ must be held accountable.

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In a pyrrhic victory for the House GOP leadership, the Zombie “Trumpcare” bill passed on a party-line vote with 20 GOP defections, on a bare-minimum vote of 217-213.

Arizona Congressional delegation: Voting yes: Franks, Gosar, McSally, Schweikert; Voting No: Biggs, Gallego, Grijalva, O’Halleran, Sinema. Don’t give Biggs any credit, he wanted a straight up repeal of “Obamacare.”

“This legislation is illogical, immoral and wrong for the country,” said Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.). “The American Health Care Act is a reckless, ideologically-motivated bill that will increase pain and suffering across the country so that political actors can claim a ‘win. ’ ” Dems tear into ‘shameful’ ObamaCare repeal vote.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi warned Tea-Publicans before  the vote Thursday afternoon that “You have every provision of this bill tattooed on your forehead.” “You will glow in the dark on this one. You will glow in the dark.” Nancy Pelosi tells Republicans that Trumpcare is ‘tattooed on your forehead’.

After the vote, Republican lawmakers loaded into Capitol Police buses to drive to the White House for a celebration with President Trump. As they got on board, a group of protestors gathered nearby, chanting “shame!” at them. House passes ObamaCare repeal.

This vote was a cynical act of craven political cowardice. Tea-Publicans are terrified of their GOP crazy base and the conservative media entertainment complex that feeds their insanity. They voted for political cover against a primary challenger who is crazier than they are (if that is possible) funded by these right-wing organizations. Protecting their incumbency in a GOP primary was their only motivation. They made the cynical calculation that this was more important to them than Americans losing their health insurance and potentially losing their life as a result. Dante has a new ring in the Inferno just for them.

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