The hidden, vast cruelty of this health care bill: An attack on care for the elderly, disabled and m

FRIDAY, JUL 7, 2017 8:15 AM EDT

For a tax cut, Republicans want to slash funding for nursing care urgently needed by most American families
HEATHER DIGBY PARTON



As we continue to watch the health care debate unfold in town halls and protests around the country, you can see why Mitch McConnell was so eager to have this vote over with before the July 4 recess. The last thing he wanted was for his senators to have to go home and face constituents who cannot understand why their representatives are so eager to pass a bill with a 12 percent approval rating. As I observed on Thursday, the politics of this are very difficult for Republicans. They shouldn’t be. Their party ran on a very specific platform and won control of the entire federal government and most of the states. Passing their agenda should be a cakewalk.

Unfortunately for the Republicans, however, they lied about their agenda and its devastating consequences for many of their constituents. The Congressional Budget Office score stopped their momentum on health care, and now rigid ideologues, led by Sen. Ted Cruz and like-minded outside groups like the Club for Growth, are pushing for changes that go after people with pre-existing conditions. If there is a sacred cow for both parties, it’s that one, so naturally Cruz wants to gut it. According to this report from The Hill, McConnell is none too pleased.

So the politics are getting more complicated every day for the Republicans and maybe they’ll get so tangled up that they can’t pass any health care bill at all. But I wouldn’t count on it. They’ve been trying to get the tax cuts from slashing Medicaid that are at the center of both the House and Senate versions of their repeal bills for 30 years. They aren’t going to give that up without a fight.

But there is more to it than just money. Republicans have been fighting the Medicaid program since its inception, when it was not only used to help the poorest Americans get access to health care, but also became a tool to force hospitals and other medical facilities to desegregate in the South. (As always, race plays a central role in the right’s antipathy toward government programs.)

More:
http://www.salon.com/2017/07/07/the-hidden-vast-cruelty-of-this-health-care-bill-an-attack-on-care-for-the-elderly-disabled-and-most-vulnerable/