Donald Trump’s lies about healthcare go down in flames
In yet another move to hurt the American people, “President” Donald Trump is trying to rid us of the little healthcare coverage that we have. Trump throws out sound bites that have absolutely no grounding in either substance or fact. His tweet that the Republicans will be “the party of health care” is merely another example of what he does best: try to bullshit the American public. It is unfortunate that so many exist who believe his nonsense, but thankfully, people knowledgeable about the subject have plenty of things to say.
In a new article titled “There Is No GOP Obamacare Replacement And There Never Has Been,” Jeffrey Young of the Huffington Post writes that those who “pay attention to the world around [them]” know that Trump is lying. Young states: “Trump’s latest vow to reform the health care system is as bogus and disingenuous as all his others.” Let’s be real: Trump has never had a good idea about anything, let alone health care. He will, of course, never admit that, and instead he lies. Young points out a great example of that. Last year, Trump publicly bragged about having “record sales of health plans his administration authorized.” What? They have authorized nothing, just as they have done nothing.
AP Fact Check decided to look at Trump’s claim that if the Supreme Court were to overturn Obamacare, “we will have a plan that’s far better than Obamacare.” The fact is that neither Republicans in Congress nor Trump’s Health and Human Services group have any type of plans to provide “far better health care than the Affordable Care Act.” AP further states that they have seen no indications that the Trump administration is even working on a plan, let alone has one.
In a rebuke of Trump and his lies about health care, Judge John Bates (appointed by Bush) ruled Thursday that any effort by this administration to introduce plans that don’t meet coverage rules under the ACA “is a deliberate and illegal ‘end run’ around the federal health care law.” This ruling refers to something the Trump administration calls “association health plans,” which do offer lower premiums but also offer substandard benefits. Judge Bates’ ruling followed another federal judge’s ruling against work requirements for people on Medicaid, which he defined as “violat[ing] the program’s primary goal of delivering health care coverage to low-income Americans.”
Ending the ACA will effectively remove 20+ million Americans from the insurance rolls, according to Young. He reminds us that throughout the nine years of the ACA’s existence, Republicans have repeatedly promised a “great plan” that “reduced health care costs” and ensured that “people had access to affordable health care,” promises that will never materialize. Republicans are the party of NO health care, and they know it. Even Mitch McConnell is backing away from this fight according to Politico because he is up for re-election in 2020, and talk as they all might, the Republicans are well aware that affordable health care is at the top of most voters’ lists. Personally, I hope they continue to push it so that we will be ensured of having a Democratic president in 2020.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years