Republicans Have No Healthcare Plan Other Than Stealing From You to Enrich Billionaires

Republicans keep saying they are about to release a healthcare plan. But they never release anything remotely adequate to meet the American people’s needs. That’s because they don’t want to say their real plan out loud: Take healthcare away from as many Americans as possible, all to give giant tax cuts to billionaires.

This week, the Senate is scheduled to vote on healthcare. Democrats have a plan: Extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies for three years, so that millions of Americans can keep their healthcare. But not a single Senate Republican is expected to vote with them.

Republicans have yet to release a healthcare plan of their own. They know that 24 million Americans are going to see their healthcare premiums double on average (in some cases, triple) when the ACA subsidies expire on January 1. They know that Americans in rural areas, many of them Republican voters, will get hit the hardest. But Republicans don’t care.

The Republican north star is to take healthcare away from non-billionaires to give tax cuts to billionaires. Republicans are so focused on this goal that they are willing to throw their own voters under the bus, and risk a massive political backlash.

The bottom line is that Republicans are plunging us into a healthcare apocalypse. If you aren’t a billionaire, your healthcare is about to get worse.

The ACA cuts are just one of the body blows Republicans are inflicting on our healthcare system. In the spring, they voted to cut $1 trillion from Medicaid—which is forcing hospitals and nursing homes that rely on Medicaid funding to close. Once again, rural areas are hit hardest. In the same legislation, Republicans gave billionaires and big corporations a multi-trillion dollar tax cut.

Republican politicians don’t believe that non-billionaires deserve healthcare. They think working people exist to serve the interests of the billionaires. If we get sick, we’re no longer of any benefit to the billionaires. When Republican Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) was asked about the impact of Medicaid cuts, she replied, “We are all going to die.” The unspoken part: And if you’re not a billionaire, we want you to die quickly and painfully, without the healthcare you need.

Here’s what we can expect this week: The Senate will hold a vote on extending the ACA subsidies. Every Republican will vote no, which is a vote to double and triple the healthcare premiums of millions of Americans.

The House likely won’t even hold a vote, because not a single Republican has signed onto the discharge petition to bring the ACA subsidy extension to the House floor. Some Republicans in competitive congressional districts claim they support extending the subsidies, but that’s a lie. They won’t even work with Democrats to bring it to a vote.

If, by some miracle, the Senate and House pass legislation extending the subsidies, President Donald Trump will veto it. He has made it clear that he stands with his fellow billionaires, not working people.

As for the ever-anticipated Republican healthcare plan? If they release anything it will be a fig leaf like expanded health savings accounts—which can’t be used to pay for insurance premiums. These are just attempts to shift blame, not get anyone healthcare.

The bottom line is that Republicans are plunging us into a healthcare apocalypse. If you aren’t a billionaire, your healthcare is about to get worse. Despite Democrats giving them every opportunity to change course, Republicans are full stream ahead with their destruction of our healthcare system. They will pay the price next November.