Healthcare in the Senate

June 12, 2017

DOWNWARD SPIRAL

With the Trumpcare ball in their court, the Senate has been tasked with drafting a bill that will be much less cruel than the House’s version--which, ICYMI, would strip coverage from 23 million people, cut more than $830 billion from Medicaid, and dismantle protections for people with pre-existing conditions.

Senate Majority Leaders have put forth a couple proposals that they claim will do this. First, they’ve proposed phasing out Medicaid expansion over a longer period of time. In other words, they don’t mind kicking millions of people off Medicaid as long as it happens slowly. And second, they have proposed dropping a provision included in the House bill that would allow insurers to raise premiums for people with pre-existing conditions.

Sounds good right? Not so much. The Senate’s version of Trumpcare would still eviscerate coverage and protections for people with pre-existing conditions and create a downward spiral in benefits offered. As a new Center for American Progress report explains, even if the Senate’s version of Trumpcare doesn’t explicitly lift the ban on insurers raising premiums for people with pre-existing conditions, it would still have the effect of doing so. Get the full explanation here.

Bottom line: the Senate is holding the fate of millions of people in their hands. And, no matter how they spin it, all signs suggest they are drafting a bill as cruel as the version the House passed.