The first month of his time in office, Trump said that he would have a great new healthcare plan that would be so wonderful it would have more in it that the Affordable Care Act and cost less. He also said that "No one knew that healthcare was so hard," so, you know there's that. (And yes, pretty much everyone knew that healthcare was really incredibly hard.)
Over the past 3-1/2 years, Trump kept talking about his wonderful new healthcare plan that would be better and cheaper and nowhere in sight. And in July, he told Chris Wallace on "Fox News" that his big, beautiful, new healthcare plan would be announced in two weeks. For the record, "two weeks" was August 2, which as the calendar flies was 53 days ago. But what's two months when we're quibbling over...well, never. But...but...Good News! Yesterday, Trump finally released his big, beautiful, new healthcare plan!!. Honest. And it was really cool, as long as you're only into the environment and conserving paper. And not actual providing healthcare to anyone. Trump's plan does the following (sort of, bear with me, don't jump to any conclusions) -- It gets rid of "surprise billing," where people go into the hospital under their insurance plan, and work is farmed out to third parties who aren't covered by the plan, and the patient gets a big bill that they have to pay. It also protects coverage of pre-existing conditions. And in addition, it's important to note that if you were expect more, no, that's pretty much it. Like I said, it's great if you're into saving paper. There's also a "However...", which I would imagine most people were expecting, even with something this dismal. The first "However" is that it doesn't actually get rid of surprise billing. It's just a non-binding executive order. He directs Congress to work with him to get rid of surprise billing. And the second "However" is that Trump's Justice Department is currently in the Supreme Court working with 28 Republican states to argue on behalf of eliminating the entire Affordable Care Act which would mean getting rid of protections of pre-existing conditions. So, that's it. Pretty much two bullet points, and two "However's..." to go with them. Trump's big, beautiful, new healthcare plan. In the middle of a pandemic. Where 207,516 Americans have died, so far. Personally, I think Trump would have been much better served to do what he always does, promise and do nothing, just keep putting it off. He could have said that his big, beautiful new healthcare plan was still on its way, and you'll love it because it will be so amazing. Few people would believe him, but he couldn't be criticized for the details. But this -- releasing this as his big, beautiful new health care plan -- this is nuts. This shows he's got nothing. This is reaching into your pockets and pulling them out, showing that you have a gum wrapper and a torn, used tissue. Given that Joe Biden was on the team that passed the Affordable Care Act, I suspect that the topic will come up in the debates. And that he will have a whole lot more to say about healthcare than Trump. Especially since we're in the middle of a pandemic where healthcare is really quite important. And make no mistake, this isn't just Trump's big, beautiful new healthcare plan. This is the new healthcare "plan" of the Republican Party. Because, yes, this isn't about Trump, we know who he is. This is about the elected members of the Republican Party who enable him, support this "plan" and are complicit.
1 Comment
Douglas Abramson
9/25/2020 07:31:16 pm
Don't forget the $200 check cards being mailed "immediately" to 33 million seniors to help them cover medical costs. Forget that the House never even heard of the idea, much less passed a bill for the Senate; so there's no money appropriated for the program. He is claiming that they are using the horrible USPS. So they can't be trusted with ballots, even though they have been since 1864, but they can be trusted with 33 million unsecured visa gift cards? Of course, there's nothing shady about a Trump saying that the check is in the mail.
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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