A Tale Of Two Tweets — And Discussion Of The Senate's 2017 Bill For Healthcare Reform

#Trumpcare is an incredibly mean and thoroughly heartless piece of legislation.

— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) June 22, 2017

So is this a healthcare proposal you actually READ? https://t.co/KaYE93Lvpd

— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) June 22, 2017

And what of the most recent healthcare bill, which some have called ObamaCare Lite? According to the Conservative Tribune:

...Both the House and Senate versions of health care reform would get rid of the individual mandate, phase out Medicaid expansion, eliminate Obamacare’s onerous taxes on the wealthy and defund Planned Parenthood for at least one year.

The bills differ in regard to subsidies for purchasing insurance, as well as the rate at which Medicaid expansion would be stopped. The Senate has proposed a more gradual path than the House put forward....

Business Insider offers this detailed rundown of the Senate version, known as the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 (as well as the full version of the bill):

The U.S. Senate And The 2018 Midterm Election

Since the AHCA was pulled from the House floor, many GOPers have been in mourning.

But perhaps all is not gloom and doom — except, of course, for those who will have to endure health insurance woes in the form of soaring premiums and limited provider options for those insured by ObamaCare.

From It was a good week for the GOP. But it could have been great (March 25, 2017 opinion piece by Hugh Hewitt, not a diehard Trump supporter)

...Democrats face a potential disaster with 25 of their seats up in 2018 and only eight of the GOP incumbents campaigning....

The entire essay is copied and pasted below the fold for those of you who do not have a subscription to the Washington Post.  All emphases mine

FEATURED QUESTION: The Demise of the AHCA (Bumped to the top)

Friday afternoon, because there were not enough votes to pass the House of Representatives, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan pulled the bill for Phase One of the American Health Care Act (AHCA). Ryan stated:

"I don't know what else to say other than Obamacare is the law of the land. It'll remain law of the land until it's replaced," he said. "We're going to be living with Obamacre for the foreseeable future."

Recommended Reading

See Everyone Already Hates the GOP’s Obamacare Alternative.

Excerpt:

...The bill repeals most of the taxes and penalties levied by Obamacare—including the taxes on medical devices and tanning services (lovingly known as the “Snooki tax”). And it drops the cap on how much employers can deduct for providing healthcare plans for their employees.

[...]

There even appears to be a hidden “backdoor” health insurance mandate...

[...]

...[M]issing from the plan were several of Donald Trump’s campaign promises: competition for health insurance across state lines, an expanded health insurance market, and a reconfigured prescription program that lower the price of key drugs.

The measure has already been lovingly labeled “#Trumpcare” by social media. For those that can decipher the bill’s complex language and weird scheme of tax credits and salary caps, none of it seems palatable....

Read the entire article HERE.

Is healthcare reform the Gordian Knot?