The Republicans Are Back to Take Your Healthcare

By Scott Galindez, Reader Supported News

29 April 17

onald Trump thinks he can make a deal on healthcare. The recent threat by Trump, to not pay the subsidies the federal government is responsible for paying under Obamacare, was met with legislation for single-payer healthcare. Trump is gambling that if he sabotages Obamacare, the Democrats will be forced to come to the table.

In Congress, Obamacare opponents are gearing up for another attempt at repeal. The Freedom Caucus is on board; they made a deal that allows states to opt out of Obamacare coverage standards. That is the real formation of death panels, since insurance companies will be able to provide junk policies again.

Bernie Sanders and advocates for single payer are not taking the bait. Instead of cowering to Trump, the Democrats are proposing a single-payer “Medicare for All” system to replace Obamacare. Fresh off a stinging defeat on healthcare, the Republicans find themselves on the defensive. After nearly a decade of vowing to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the GOP failed – even with control of both houses of Congress and the White House.

In another move last week, Trump issued a regulation aimed at sabotaging Obamacare. According to Organizing for Action: “The new rule forces people who need health insurance to jump through more hoops to get coverage. It cuts the open enrollment period in half and holds Obamacare plans to looser standards, leading to higher deductibles and out-of-pocket costs for families and neighbors who depend on this law for coverage.”

It is time to gear up the opposition to the Republican attempt to take away people’s health care coverage. They may have the Freedom Caucus on board, but the compromise will make the bill harder to support for moderate Republicans, who are afraid that lowering coverage standards will make them vulnerable in 2018.

We must say no to repealing Obamacare and yes to expanding healthcare coverage with Medicare for All. This is a fight we can win – the people are on our side. Contact your members of Congress and let them know that they won’t have your vote if they vote to repeal Obamacare. Go to town halls and protests and make it clear that the opposition to repealing Obamacare has not gone away.

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.

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