LET THE DEATH PANELS BEGIN?

OBAMACARE took the first of two steps become OBAMACARE VERY LIGHT. Keep in mind, however, that this House passed mess may not make it past the republican run Senate.

The House republicans were mostly interested in making it look like they are keeping Trump's campaign promises -- no matter what's in the actual bill.


One of the first things you should know is that republican congressman are trying to protect the best parts of Obamacare 1.0 for themselves 

"With hours to go before the latest vote on repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, it appears members of Congress and their staff would be exempt from losing some popular provisions of the health coverage available under Obamacare, as it is popularly known."

http://www.newsweek.com/american-care-act-congress-staff...

Last week this provision was taken out, now I'm hearing it's back in. I'll know whether it's in or out later this afternoon. BUT the thing I'm pretty certain of is this: The republicans will likley try to sneak it back in using a separate piece of legislation.
The only things the affluent white republicans really hate about Obamacare is:

 1) That a black man is associated with getting nationwide healthcare passed AND 

2)  It takes care of the poor people they despise as lazy and worthless.

3) The huge chunk of one-percenter tax dollars it was sucking up.  

 But I'm not sure how congressman would be affected at all ever since congressmen have that federal "cadillac" healthcare they were flapping their gums about. Congressmen's healthcare was protected in the past, is protected now, and will be protected in future (maybe) from health insurance companies predatory shenanigans, especially when it comes to critical things like pre-existing conditions.

In this new republican plan, the Marshall Amendment has states in charge of covering pre-existing conditions-- when having states taking care of high risk pools hasn't worked in 30 plus different states, including California.

But I'm not sure how congressman would be affected at all ever since congressmen have that federal "cadillac" healthcare they were flapping their gums about. Congressmen's healthcare was protected in the past, is protected now, and will be protected in future (maybe) from health insurance companies predatory shenanigans, especially when it comes to critical things like pre-existing conditions.

In this new republican plan, the Marshall Amendment has states in charge of covering pre-existing conditions-- when having states taking care of high risk pools hasn't worked in 30 plus different states, including California.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (R-N.Y.) said the proposal "is like administering cough medicine to someone with stage 4 cancer."

He added: "This Republican amendment leaves Americans with pre-existing conditions as vulnerable as they were before under this bill. High-risk pools are the real death panels: they mean waiting forever in line for unaffordable health insurance.”

http://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-house-gop-tacks-8-billion-fix-onto-1493830169-htmlstory.html 

The GOP's big lie: Healthcare bill 'protects people with preexisting conditions'

The MacArthur Amendment would empower states to waive protections for those with preexisting conditions as long as they come up with some alternative way of making insurance available.

The catch, however, is that the amendment would not require insurers to charge the same rates that healthy people enjoy. That’s why the likes of the American Medical Assn. and AARP have warned that, under the Republican plan, sick people could face rates so high that they’d be unaffordable for any but the wealthy...

We know that because this isn’t a theoretical idea. High-risk pools have been tried in nearly three-dozen states, and in almost all cases resulted in limited access to coverage and skyrocketing costs.

California’s high-risk pool was the Major Risk Medical Insurance Program, which was intended only as insurance of last resort for the up to 400,000 people with preexisting conditions who, prior to Obamacare, kept having doors slammed in their face by profit-hungry insurers.

The program was chronically underfunded, meaning that it eventually had to limit the number of people covered to only about 7,000 — a small fraction of the state’s uninsured. Thousands languished on the waiting list.

http://www.latimes.com/business/lazarus/la-fi-lazarus-gop-healthcare-macarthur-amendment-20170504-story.html

* * * * * 
The People At The State Level Who Choose Who Goes On The Waiting List = Schumer's Death Panel

It's the poor people working for very small companies and the old that are getting in the neck. The only saving grace is that lot of those getting it in the neck are the worst of the Trumpthuglicans.

One of the worst features of this new Obamacare Very Light involves removing and/or raising catastrophic cover out-of-pocket limits. I'm hearing those limits will rise into the stratosphere or be non-existent.

So, if a person gets a really catastophic illness like cancer? There's not a yearly out-of-pocket expense limit set at 2500. You'll either be able to pay the thousands and thousands of dollars per year or you'll die. 

Thing is, if this is allowed to pass for poor people? The health insurance companies are going to come for the rest of us. They are going to claim there should never be a cap on out of pocket expenses. It's going to be a matter of time.

The republicans are setting precedent here...if it makes it through the Senate. The republicans own cadillac insurance will be no more, eventually.

Maybe that's why they are trying to exempt themselves from Obamacare Light Rules NOW while it doesn't seem to relevant at all. They've looked into their evil crystal ball and seen into the free-market future they profess to love. They just want to make damn sure they still have Obamacare 1.0 type coverage --the poor, the elderly, and the small company employed be damned.


These racist Trumpthuglican idiots are not going to see that the black and brown folks are not the enemies poised to slit their throats until it's way too late. They're not going to see that the white one-percenters have gotten the republican party to do the throat slitting for them either.

Most of me is thinking "Good riddance to bad rubbish" But black and brown folk will get caught up in this too -- if it makes it past the Senate.

I still think this damage-- however bad it gets-- will be reversible in the long run... if we can slow the health insurers' roll before they come for the rest of us that have still currently have decent "standard" health insurance. But I am wondering how many people will die first.  And people will die with these kinds of limits on their health insurance until the Cheeto Satanettes have been run out of D.C.