Why This Republican Senator Can't Support Trumpcare

FOUR REPUBLICAN SENATORS ANNOUNCED YESTERDAY THAT AT
LEAST AT PRESENT THEY COULDN'T SUPPORT THE SENATE REPUBLICAN
HEALTH BILL, AND TODAY WE HAVE A FIFTH.
THIS IS DEAN HELLER OF
NEVADA, WHO HAD A PRESS CONFERENCE WITH GOVERNOR
SANDOVAL, HE HAD THIS TO SAY ABOUT THE BILL --
AND FINALLY ALSO ON THE INSURANCE PREMIUMS, HE SAYS --
AS WE BROKE DOWN, THERE IS A LOT IN THERE THAT WILL
INEVITABLY RAISE YOUR PREMIUMS.
SO AT LEAST AS OF RIGHT NOW
HELLER IS NUMBER FIVE, THAT MAKES IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR
THEM TO PASS IT.
AND HE'S 100% RIGHT ABOUT WHAT HE SAYS.
HE PROBABLY SET IT IN A SOFTER WAY THAN CAN BE SAID.
IF YOU MISSED JOHN BREAKING DOWN THE HEALTH CARE BILL, AND
IT WAS JUST SORT OF A SUCCINCT SUMMARY OF WHAT THE BILL
WON'T AND WILL DO, YOU SHOULD GO BACK AND TAKE A LOOK AT IT
BECAUSE I THOUGHT THAT WAS REALLY SOME GREAT WORK.
THAT'S WHERE I DISAGREE WITH YOU, BUT GO ON.
IT WILL INCREASE PREMIUMS, THE CAPS THAT EXIST, YOU KNOW SOME
OF THE BROAD STROKES ABOUT THIS BILL -- WE STILL DON'T HAVE A
CBO REPORT ON IT, BUT THIS BILL OBVIOUSLY IS A MONEY GRAB.
I
WASN'T A FAN OF OBAMACARE INITIALLY BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT
WAS A MONEY GRAB FOR INSURANCE COMPANIES -- THIS IS A MONEY
GRAB FOR RICH PEOPLE UNLIKE ANYTHING I'VE EVER SEEN.
AND IN
ITS AWAKE IT WILL LEAVE A LOT OF SICK AND DYING PEOPLE,
LITERALLY.
IT INTERESTING HOW BLATANTLY THEY ARE GOING AFTER CERTAIN
GROUPS THAT GENERALLY AND POLITICS HAVE MORE PROTECTION.
LIKE ALLOWING INSURANCE COMPANIES TO JACK UP THE RATES
SPECIFICALLY ON OLDER AMERICANS.
OLDER AMERICANS ARE SMART AND
VOTE, SO GENERALLY THE POLITICIANS PAY THEM SO MUCH
DEFERENCE.
IN THIS CASE -- IMAGINE THE ADS THAT WILL BE RUN
WHEN YOUR GRANDMA'S HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUM THEORETICALLY
GOES UP BY TWO OR THREE OR FIVE TIMES.
WE RAN THAT GREAT AD THEY WERE RUNNING, THAT CAMPAIGN AD -- IT
MIGHT HAVE BEEN IN GENERAL AD ABOUT ABOUT THE WOMAN HOCKIKNG
HER WEDDING RING.
AND THE FATHER GAVE AWAY HIS PICKUP TRUCK TO GET MONEY FOR
THE KID WHO WAS IN THE HOSPITAL.
AND THESE THINGS LITERALLY WILL HAPPEN, BUT JOHN IS RIGHT.
THE AARP, THAT IS A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE A SERIOUS
LOBBYING POWER IN WASHINGTON.
THOSE ARE ALL SENIOR CITIZENS --
YOU BECOME AARP WAY BEFORE YOU THINK YOU SHOULD BE, BUT THAT'S
A CONSTITUENCY THAT HAS SOME LOBBYING POWER.
SO FOR THEM TO
BE CARVED OUT SPECIFICALLY AS PEOPLE WHO WILL HAVE PREMIUMS
RAISED, THAT'S AMAZING.
AND OF COURSE IT'S UNSUSTAINABLE.
YOU
ARE TELLING ME YOU WILL RAISE PREMIUMS ON THE OLDEST
AMERICANS, WHO WILL NEED IT, WHO ARE GOING TO BE SICK AND WILL BE
IN DESPERATE SITUATIONS VIS-¿-VIS THEIR HEALTH, YOU WILL
RAISE RATES ON THEM?
YOU WILL LOSE THEM, IN OTHER WORDS.
WE MIGHT UNFORTUNATELY LITERALLY LOSE THEM.
AND WHAT WILL HAPPEN IS YOUNGER PEOPLE WILL OPT OUT OF
THE WHOLE THING.
AND THERE IS NOTHING IN THE SENATE BILL TO REQUIRE THEM
TO HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE.
THAT'S WHY SUSTAINABILITY BECOMES A QUESTION.
THE AARP HAS PUT OUT A PRESS RELEASE, THEY ARE OF COURSE
AGAINST THIS, THAT WILL BE CONSEQUENTIAL AND IT MIGHT BE
ONE OF THE THINGS CAUSING HELLER TO THINK ABOUT THIS.
HELLER BY
THE WAY --
WHAT A COINCIDENCE.
IT COULD BE A POLICY THING, THIS STATE EXPANDED MEDICAID
UNDER THE ACA, A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE GOTTEN HEALTH INSURANCE
THANKS TO THE ACA.
THAT COULD BE LOST.
SO HE'S CONSIDERED A
"MODERATE" REPUBLICAN, WHICH MEANS SOMEDAY HE WILL RUN AS A
DEMOCRAT.
IT COULD BE HE'S JUST BEING HONEST, BUT REGARDLESS OF
THE REASONS HE SAID HE CAN'T SUPPORT A BILL THAT TAKES
MILLIONS OFF OF HEALTH INSURANCE.
WHICH IS DIFFERENT
THAN TED CRUZ'S PROBLEM, CRUZ ONCE MORE LENIENCY FOR INSURANCE
COMPANIES AND MAYBE THEY COULD PROVIDE THAT BY MODIFYING THE
BILL.
BUT THEY WON'T MODIFY THE BILL IN A WAY THAT STOPS IT FROM
TAKING HEALTH INSURANCE AWAY FROM MILLIONS, SO HELLER SEEMS
LIKE A HARDER "NO" TO OVERCOME.
THIS BILL IS GOING TO HAVE SO MUCH THINK ON IT, NO ONE WILL GO
NEAR IT.
BUT HAVE WE BEEN WRONG BEFORE ABOUT THIS PREDICTION?
WE HAVE BEEN.
TAKE EVERYTHING WE SAY WITH A GRAIN OF SALT, NOT TOO MUCH SALT
BECAUSE YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE WILL BE GONE WHEN YOU GET OLDER.
THERE ARE SOME 10 FOOT POLE MARKS SHOWING UP ON THIS BILL,
HELLER IS ONE OF THEM.
THE INTERESTING THING, THIS IS BASED OFF OF OUR MOST NO
UNDERSTANDING ABOUT HOW WASHINGTON REALLY WORKS, BUT THE
MORE IT SEEMS UNLIKELY FOR IT TO PASS, THE MORE REASON THERE IS
FOR THOSE WHO ARE ON THE FENCE TO COME OUT AGAINST IT.
BECAUSE
YOU DON'T WANT TO BE TIED TO THIS THING ANYMORE THAN YOU NEED
TO, EVEN SHORT OF A VOTE, IF YOU WEREN'T COMING OUT VOCALLY
AGAINST IT YOU MIGHT BE THREATENED BY THIS THING.
HELLER
MAKES IT MORE LIKELY, I THINK.
ONE OTHER THING I WANTED TO SAY,
I TWEETED ABOUT THIS BECAUSE IT STRUCK ME -- AS ODD THAT OF ALL
THE THINGS THAT ARE IN THIS BILL, ONE OF THE BIGGEST
PROBLEMS WE HAVE IS THAT IT'S BASICALLY A HUGE TAX CUT
DISGUISED AS A HEALTHCARE BILL, IT HAS ALL THESE TAX CUTS, AND
SO FAR I DON'T KNOW THAT I'VE SEEN TRUMP OR MCCONNELL OR ANY
OTHER REPUBLICAN SENATOR ASKED THE QUESTION, WHY DO THOSE TAX
CUTS NEED TO BE IN THERE?
THEORETICALLY IF YOU WANT TO
MAKE THESE OTHER CHANGES TO HEALTH INSURANCE YOU COULD
EXPLAIN WHY THAT IS NECESSARY TO BLAH BLAH -- WHY ARE THE TAX
CUTS THERE?
MAKE THEM DEFEND THAT, MAKE THEM EXPLAIN WHY.
MAKE THEM SAY IT ON VIDEO.
THE ONE THING THAT HAS BEEN DISCUSSED A LOT IS HOW HIS BILL
WAS CRAFTED UNDER SORT OF COVER OF DARKNESS.
I THINK IT'S A FAIR
POINT THAT NOW WE HAVE GIVEN A PASS ON A LOT OF THE SPECIFICS,
BUT THAT'S ONE OF THEM.
WHY THE HUGE TAX CUT?
OBVIOUSLY WE UNDERSTAND WHY --
THE WHOLE THING IS IN SERVICE OF THE TAX CUT, OBVIOUSLY.
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THEM HAVE TO SAY THAT.
IT LOOKS LIKE THE
ENTIRE DEBATE WILL BE 10 HOURS, THERE WERE DOZENS OF PUBLIC
HEARINGS ON THE ACA, THE DEBATE WENT ON FOR ALMOST A YEAR, ALL
THESE ATTEMPTS TO GET THE REPUBLICANS INVOLVED -- WE WILL
GET 10 HOURS.
THAT
IS INSANITY.

Why This Republican Senator Can't Support Trumpcare

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