https://socialistaction.org/2017/07/03/gop-health-care-revamp-threatens-medicaid/
GOP health-care revamp threatens Medicaid
/ 2 days ago
July 2017 Health ElizabethtownBy JOHN LESLIE
As Socialist Action goes to press, the health-care debate in Washington
is on hold. The GOP plan, which was hatched in secret in a Senate back
room, is wildly unpopular. Yet the Republicans seem intent on passing
something that will give the appearance that Trump kept his campaign
promise to “repeal and replace Obamacare”—no matter the consequences for
working people.
Democrats posture as advocates for the people, but their rhetoric won’t
pass the test. The “alternative” they put forward is the continuation of
Obama’s neoliberal health-care reform, the Affordable Care Act.
Regardless, the health and well-being of working people is in the
crosshairs.
The new GOP health plan has stalled in the face of massive opposition,
including skepticism among some Republican lawmakers. The stalemate on
Trumpcare culminated in the Senate’s going on recess for the July 4
holiday without any forward motion. Frustrated with Senate inaction,
Trump tweeted, “If Republican Senators are unable to pass what they are
working on now, they should immediately REPEAL, and then REPLACE at a
later date!” This contradicts his earlier promises that there would be
“insurance for everybody.”
A couple of weeks before the inauguration, on Jan. 3, Trump spokesperson
Kellyanne Conway promised that there would be a replacement plan,
saying, “We don’t want anyone who currently has insurance to not have
insurance.” This “repeal now, fix later” notion has gained some support
among Republicans.
The differences among GOP lawmakers are split between those on the hard
right, who argue that the bill is too much like the Affordable Care Act,
and more moderate forces, who worry that the bill will place too great
of a burden on states, as well as cutting coverage for at least 22
million people currently covered under the ACA.
The proposed law also includes a massive tax cut for the rich, meaning
that the cost of Trumpcare will be balanced on the backs of workers and
the most vulnerable. Federal subsidies for coverage would be reduced by
$424 billion.
Under the new law, premiums would increase significantly, especially for
older people. Insurers could charge older people five times as much as
younger people for coverage. The bill also eliminates the individual
mandate included in the ACA and also the mandate that companies with
more than 50 employees provide insurance.
The measure under consideration includes deep cuts to Medicaid and will
leave millions without coverage. Medicaid expansion would be ended and
funding slashed. Funding for Planned Parenthood also faces elimination.
Some 80 million people depend on Medicaid for their health care. Of
these, 31 million are children, 19 million are adults, (mostly
low-income wage earners), 9 million are people with disabilities, and 5
million are senior citizens. Medicaid is the largest single health
insurer in the United States.
Defending Obamacare?
The ACA is only marginally better than Trumpcare. The ACA keeps
for-profit insurance companies at the center of the medical care system.
The ACA system is based on a sliding scale of cost tiers referred to as
the metal plans—bronze, silver, gold and platinum—in which the costs are
managed through differing plans based on varying premiums and
out-of-pocket expenses.
For example, the “bronze” plan has lower premiums and higher co-pays
while the “gold” plan has higher premiums but offers more coverage
options and lower out-of-pocket expenses. Lower-income workers are more
likely to choose a plan with a lower premium, but their out-of-pocket
expenses can be prohibitive if a health crisis occurs.
Premiums continue to rise, with a projected 24% increase in 2017 and
health care costs continuing to rise across the board. The massive
overhead due to administrative costs of private, for-profit, insurance
companies continues to contribute to the high cost of health care.
Obamacare amounts to neoliberal health care designed to cut across any
movement towards single-payer health care. Candidate Obama had been in
favor of single payer, but changed his perspective after receiving
millions of dollars in contributions from the insurance industry.
The aspects of the ACA that are progressive, such as extending coverage
for children until the age of 26, coverage for pre-existing conditions,
and those provisions protecting women’s reproductive health, should be
defended. As we build a movement for universal health care, we should
make it clear that the price for cutting Medicaid and Medicare will be
high for politicians of both capitalist parties.
As the health-care debate rages, socialists should try to redefine the
terms of that debate. First, we believe that quality, affordable, health
care is a basic human right. We also believe that the profit motive must
be removed from the health-care system. The political influence of
health-care corporations, private insurance companies, and
pharmaceutical giants is an obstacle to basic human needs.
Republicans excoriate Democrats for saying that the new bill, especially
cuts to Medicaid, will result in people dying, but this is undoubtedly
true. People will die, but the GOP doesn’t care as long as their rich
paymasters get tax breaks. However, the Democrats have proven that they
are not allies in the struggle for a just health-care system. Recently,
in California, the Democrats scuttled an attempt to pass a statewide
single-payer bill in the state. Democratic leaders, including Speaker
Nancy Pelosi, have made it clear that single payer is not going to be
part of the discussion.
Winning a real alternative to both the ACA and Trumpcare will require
building an independent mass movement based in the unions and
organizations of youth, oppressed nationalities, and women. Healthcare
workers, including doctors, who are increasingly wage earners and not
single practitioners, are natural allies in this struggle.
We must fight uncompromisingly against cuts to current programs as we
struggle for a single-payer health plan. Single payer should be seen as
transitional towards a national health system that places the
health-care infrastructure under public ownership. A socialist
contribution to the health-care debate must include the clear demand
that health care in the U.S. include full prescription, vision, mental
health, and dental coverage.
Cuba’s health system shows what is possible
Capitalist politicians, both liberal and conservative, argue that taking
the profit out of health care stifles innovation. The staggering number
of vaccines, cancer treatments, and other medical breakthroughs made by
the Cuban health-care system stands as a sharp repudiation of the
assertion that a profit-driven system is best for patients and providers.
Working under conditions of scarcity, and under siege by U.S.
imperialism, the Cubans have managed to build a system of medical care
unlike any other. The Cuban people don’t have to worry if they will be
able to afford a doctor or vital medicines. Medical school is free,
unlike the U.S., where doctors often graduate with a huge student debt.
In Cuba, the emphasis is on preventative care, with doctors and nurses
working in neighborhoods and workplaces. Cuba’s infant mortality rate is
lower than in the U.S. and ranks as one of the lowest worldwide. Life
expectancy is 78, among the highest in the Americas.
The Cuban government has famously sent medical aid, including doctors,
to war-torn regions and to the care for the victims of natural
disasters. Thousands of Cuban doctors and other medical personnel are
currently in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Caribbean.
Imagine what benefits there would be to the world if this model of
internationalism and concern for human need over greed were applied in
the U.S.
Photo : Protesters in Elizabethtown, Ky., on June 30 greet arrival of
Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, a proponent of the new health-care
bill. Timothy D. Easley / AP
Share this:
Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
29Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)29
Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)
July 3, 2017 in Health care, Trump / U.S. Government.
Related posts
Republican health care: Dead on arrival
Republican snake oil: Bad medicine in the making
Trump promises more perks for big business
Post navigation
← Trump’s ‘no fly zone’ escalates U.S. war against Syria
Get Involved!
Donate to help support our work
Get email updates
Join Socialist Action
Newspaper Archives
Newspaper Archives Select Month July 2017 (3) June 2017 (16) May 2017
(17) April 2017 (14) March 2017 (13) February 2017 (19) January 2017
(13) December 2016 (12) November 2016 (19) October 2016 (12)
September 2016 (10) August 2016 (10) July 2016 (14) June 2016 (14)
May 2016 (9) April 2016 (12) March 2016 (14) February 2016 (8)
January 2016 (11) December 2015 (11) November 2015 (9) October 2015
(8) September 2015 (10) August 2015 (7) July 2015 (13) June 2015 (9)
May 2015 (10) April 2015 (12) March 2015 (9) February 2015 (11)
January 2015 (10) December 2014 (12) November 2014 (11) October 2014
(9) September 2014 (6) August 2014 (10) July 2014 (11) June 2014 (10)
May 2014 (11) April 2014 (10) March 2014 (9) February 2014 (11)
January 2014 (11) December 2013 (10) November 2013 (11) October 2013
(17) September 2013 (13) August 2013 (10) July 2013 (11) June 2013
(15) May 2013 (14) April 2013 (14) March 2013 (12) February 2013
(10) January 2013 (17) December 2012 (7) November 2012 (8) October
2012 (19) September 2012 (2) August 2012 (27) July 2012 (18) June
2012 (3) May 2012 (19) April 2012 (14) March 2012 (17) February
2012 (19) January 2012 (17) December 2011 (3) November 2011 (33)
October 2011 (14) September 2011 (13) August 2011 (34) July 2011 (24)
June 2011 (19) May 2011 (19) April 2011 (15) March 2011 (15) February
2011 (16) January 2011 (15) December 2010 (17) November 2010 (1)
October 2010 (6) September 2010 (3) August 2010 (8) July 2010 (7)
June 2010 (2) May 2010 (9) April 2010 (3) March 2010 (8) February
2010 (3) January 2010 (9) December 2009 (6) November 2009 (5) October
2009 (16) September 2009 (3) August 2009 (2) July 2009 (5) June 2009
(2) May 2009 (7) April 2009 (6) March 2009 (16) February 2009 (9)
January 2009 (10) December 2008 (11) November 2008 (8) October 2008
(16) September 2008 (14) August 2008 (18) July 2008 (12) June 2008
(3) May 2008 (2) April 2008 (3) March 2008 (14) February 2008 (11)
January 2008 (11) December 2007 (8) November 2007 (1) July 2007 (1)
June 2007 (1) April 2007 (1) March 2007 (1) February 2007 (3)
December 2006 (11) November 2006 (11) October 2006 (13) September
2006 (15) August 2006 (11) July 2006 (18) June 2006 (7) May 2006
(14) April 2006 (6) March 2006 (14) February 2006 (5) January 2006
(2) December 2005 (9) November 2005 (8) October 2005 (13) September
2005 (12) August 2005 (9) July 2005 (16) June 2005 (16) May 2005
(16) April 2005 (12) March 2005 (14) February 2005 (19) January 2005
(15) December 2004 (14) November 2002 (17) October 2002 (19)
September 2002 (22) August 2002 (21) July 2002 (15) May 2002 (21)
April 2002 (21) February 2002 (15) January 2002 (15) December 2001
(17) October 2001 (24) September 2001 (18) July 2001 (19) June 2001
(18) October 2000 (17) September 2000 (21) August 2000 (19) July 2000
(16) June 2000 (26) May 2000 (21) April 2000 (22) March 2000 (28)
February 2000 (18) January 2000 (20) December 1999 (20) November
1999 (26) October 1999 (25) September 1999 (18) August 1999 (40) July
1999 (38) June 1999 (24) May 1999 (27) April 1999 (25) March 1999
(26) February 1999 (29) January 1999 (24) July 1998 (12)
Search
View socialistactionusa’s profile on Facebook
View SocialistActUS’s profile on Twitter
View SocialistActionCT’s profile on YouTube
Subscribe to Our Newspaper
Upcoming Events
No upcoming events
Category Cloud
Actions & Protest Africa Anti-War Arts & Culture Black Liberation Canada
Caribbean Civil Liberties Cuba East Asia Economy Education & Schools
Elections Environment Europe Immigration Indigenous Rights International
Labor Latin America Latino Civil Liberties Marxist Theory & History
Middle East Palestine Police & FBI Prisons South Asia Uncategorized Vote
Socialist Action Women's Liberation
View Calendar
Blog at WordPress.com.
Follow