Health bill equals death selection act

Republicans are not very good at governing. Their frenzied passage of H.R 1628 was not done in order to present Americans with a viable alternative to Obamacare. “Repeal and replace” became more important to them than forging a decent bill.

According to their own publicists, not one Republican congressman, including Paul Ryan, actually read the bill. Perhaps the most original contributions the Republicans made was to call the bill “The American Health Care Act.” As usual, Republican euphemisms trumped reality. What they should have called the bill was “The Republican Death Selection Act of 2017.”

This bill will immediately drop 14 million Americans from obtaining health insurance. By 2020, the number will grow to 52 million (CBO). So what does H.R. 1628 provide for these folks if they acquire a deadly disease or receive life-threatening injuries? NOTHING. The Republican Death Selection Act will see to it that these folks are deprived of their lives.

And how about Trump’s promises to maintain coverage of preexisting conditions? As usual, the Republicans opt for taking care of the wealthy. Their concept is to establish “pools” of such Americans and have them pay higher premiums for that coverage. So maybe Jimmy Kimmel, in spite of his heartfelt appeal to Republicans, will be able to afford the coverage, but what about a truck driver who earns only $45,000/year and has a child with the same condition? Tough luck, say the Republicans, “get a better job.” So the truck driver’s child dies, while the millionaire’s child is covered by the higher premiums.

The Republican bill, H.R. 1628 is not a health care law; it is a dictatorial directive to determine which Americans can live, and which Americans will have to die.

This story was originally published May 12, 2017 at 4:14 PM with the headline "Health bill equals death selection act."