The Freedom Caucus Wants to Let You Die

By Scott Galindez, Reader Supported News

24 March 17

or the past couple of weeks, every time I heard the Freedom Caucus say, “The bill does not do enough to lower premiums,” I scratched my head and agreed. I wondered why we were on the same side of the issue. I should have known better; we are still on opposite sides of the issue.

I don’t see anything in this bill that will control the rising costs of health care. Rep. Mark Meadows and the Freedom Caucus spin their position that way, but it is not really what they care about. What they are saying is they want health care companies to be able to provide you with junk policies again.

It is not the price tag that the Freedom Caucus objects to, it’s the product. You see, they don’t want just to get rid of the individual mandate, they want to get rid of minimum standards that every health care plan must reach.

The Koch brothers and their ilk want to return to the days when insurance companies could provide plans that didn’t cover 10 essential services that Obamacare mandates.

Under Obamacare, every health plan must cover the following services:

1. Ambulatory patient services (outpatient care you get without being admitted to a hospital)


2. Emergency services


3. Hospitalization (like surgery and overnight stays)


4. Pregnancy, maternity, and newborn care (both before and after birth)


5. Mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment (this includes counseling and psychotherapy)


6. Prescription drugs


7. Rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices (services and devices to help people with injuries, disabilities, or chronic conditions gain or recover mental and physical skills)


8. Laboratory services


9. Preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management


10. Pediatric services, including oral and vision care (but adult dental and vision coverage aren’t essential health benefits)

So the next time you see Rand Paul or a member of the Freedom Caucus say the bill needs to do more to cut premiums they mean cut services.

They want to return to the days when mental health services were not covered. They want to go back to the days when patients went without the medicine they needed because they couldn’t afford their prescriptions. They want to go back to the days when physical therapy only went to those who could afford it.

To sum it up, they want to go back to the days when insurance companies could choose to let you die instead of paying for services. Don’t be fooled; the Freedom Caucus is not on the side of the people. You see, they don’t believe in shared responsibility, they believe in everyone for themselves. For the Freedom Caucus and other followers of Ayn Rand, if you can’t afford health care, that’s your fault.

Scott Galindez attended Syracuse University, where he first became politically active. The writings of El Salvador's slain archbishop Oscar Romero and the on-campus South Africa divestment movement converted him from a Reagan supporter to an activist for Peace and Justice. Over the years he has been influenced by the likes of Philip Berrigan, William Thomas, Mitch Snyder, Don White, Lisa Fithian, and Paul Wellstone. Scott met Marc Ash while organizing counterinaugural events after George W. Bush's first stolen election. Scott moved to Des Moines in 2015 to cover the Iowa Caucus.

Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.