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Health See other Health Articles Title: Trumpcare Down But Not Out? Trumpcare Down But Not Out? by Stephen Lendman On Friday, one of Trump’s signature domestic programs was defeated, at least for now. Acknowledging defeat, House Speaker Paul Ryan said “Obamacare is the law of the land.” It’ll remain so “for the foreseeable future…until it’s replaced,” suggesting AHCA’s Friday defeat isn’t the end of the story, what’s next yet to be decided. A scheduled Friday House vote was cancelled because of too much GOP opposition to overcome. Democrats unanimously rejected it. Ahead of what happened, Trump tweeted “(a)fter seven horrible years of ObamaCare (skyrocketing premiums & deductibles, bad healthcare), this is finally your chance for a great plan!” Enactment of Trumpcare would have been nightmarish for most US households. In mid-March, the Economic Policy Institute said “99% of Americans…win if the GOP health plan fails.” Its original and revised versions offered bare bones coverage at higher cost for most Americans, including onerous deductibles and co-pays - low income households, the poor and elderly harmed most. Instead of providing healthcare on the basis of need, Obamacare made it dependent on the ability to pay, Trumpcare more nightmarish if enacted into law. The president blamed Democrats for not “giv(ing) us a single vote,” adding the “best thing we can do, politically speaking, is let Obamacare explode. It’s exploding right now…Almost all states have big problems.” They’d be far bigger under his plan, a deplorable scheme to deny millions of Americans vital healthcare because predatory costs are more than they can afford. Trump saying in the wake of his legislative defeat “(w)e have big, ambitious plans to improve people’s lives” is utter rubbish. They include tax cuts for business and the rich, increased defense spending when major cuts are needed, endless wars of aggression in multiple theaters, deregulation stripping away consumer protections, wasting billions on border wall construction, and other policies benefitting America’s privileged class at the expense of most others. Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) called the American Health Care Act (AHCA - Trumpcare) “slash and burn” coverage. PNHP president Dr. Carol Paris said his plan if enacted “would have pushed millions more Americans off their health insurance, sending the rates of medical bankruptcy and preventable deaths skyrocketing.” AHCA’s failure presents an opportunity for Congress to replace Obamacare with sustainable and equitable universal single-payer coverage, PHNP stressed. Along with others for healthcare coverage the way it should be, PNHP intends a National Day of Action on Saturday, April 8 in Washington. Similar actions are planned in a dozen or more US cities nationwide to enlist public support for single-payer coverage serving everyone equitably - unrelated to the ability to pay. Trump’s promise to provide affordable healthcare for everyone was a Big Lie. Calling nightmarish AHCP “wonderful” alone proved it. Poorly regulated US marketplace medicine caused today’s healthcare crisis - putting profits above vital care, especially when most needed. As long as Republicans and Democrats continue defending the indefensible, Americans will continue being oppressed by pay or die healthcare. Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III." http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
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