Since the election of Donald Trump, by Electoral College, the Trump administration thinks that somehow they have a mandate to do anything, and I mean anything.
When a candidate loses an election by 3 million votes, yet still "wins," it does not indicate any kind of mandate. It is a time when the elected official should be trying to court the American people and learn what they, more than the 25% or so who put Mr. Trump over the top, feel they need and want. This has not happened.
Net Neutrality? There is no evidence that a majority of Americans want to end net neutrality and want a few corporations to have a say as to what and how much goes over the internet, and for how much. Congress has passed a law giving permission to corporations to even sell your personal information to other companies if they choose. I did not see/hear anywhere that Americans want that, yet, Congress and Mr. Trump did it anyway.
Tax Reform? Has anyone officially weighed in on whether they are in favor of the huge tax cut for the richest Americans proposed by Mr. Trump's tax reform plan (the (ACHA as well)? Do Americans want the largest corporations to have such a low tax rate that they will hardly be obligated for taxes to cover the public resources they use up? Of course not. Does anyone believe these corporations will in a positive way, invest the windfall in more jobs? Not likely.
Health Care? When the ACA was being worked out, many individuals and medical organizations, as well as the insurance industry were asked for their input. There were public hearings. However, citizens were told by people with bigger mouths than the average that this law would be tragic and would bankrupt us all. Of course there was no evidence, but so what. The people, mostly Middle America bought the lies and no Republican lawmakers voted for ACA (Affordable Care Act). They named it Obamacare and dismissed it at every turn, trying to repeal it 60 times and parts of it even more often.
Something strange happened when coverage began, though, people started to like what it offered them: lower premiums, health care they had not had for a long time (if ever), the ability to have their children on their plans to age 26, pre-existing conditions covered, contraception covered, assistance with maintaining better health through regular monitoring, prescriptions covered, Medicaid expanded to help more of the "least of these.". You get the picture. People were actually being served. Now, who wants it eliminated? Who wants it changed to uninclude the aspects mentioned above? Mr. Trump, of course, and the House of Representatives who have already voted to do just that.
The Senate currently has 13 men meeting together in secret to make up a new health care law to please a small sector of their supporters to "Repeal and Replace." They call their work in progress "the American Health Care Act."
Like nearly everything else the Republicans in Congress come up with, the bill's title means exactly the opposite of what the law will actually do. It will not provide health care to any but those who already have it through their jobs. It will lower or eliminate the number of people served by Medicaid. The House bill allows insurance companies to determine who and what will be covered. Pre-existing conditions will only be covered if the company says it will be. Serious, potentially expensive health care will be handled by some kind of inadequately funded state pool for those horrible sick people, implying they are sick by their own actions.
If you want maternity care, or reproductive health care of any kind and you are not covered on your job, too bad. That's on you. Nearly everything is a pre-existing condition, even having had a C-section in the past.
Who came up with this appalling bill (which, of course, we have not seen yet), 13 white men who could not possibly care less about people's health care. They care only that they help the corporations who support their campaigns and look like they are cutting money from the budget. (Even the insurance companies are not pleased with the House bill.)
Mr. Trump and his few supporters have way too much power and influence. They are trying to push through legislation to please a particular minority who will, alas, be hurt by it too.
The one thing that is certain. If the bill were going to be good for all Americans, it would not be drawn up in secret by a few Senators who really don't know much about health care. Something that might help here would be a law stating that the Congress must participate in whatever bill they pass. They would get no other financial support for health care, and have to use their "hard-earned" bucks to pay out of pocket the thousands of dollars many health conditions cost.
If they have a disabled child, they will have to pay the cost the way any other citizen without another plan would pay. You or your wife pregnant, no problem, you pay for all of it. You can't afford another child, pay for the contraception. Shot while practicing for a baseball game, no problem, pay out of pocket the percentage you must pay for the deductible and whatever percentage you agree is the one insurance companies can charge.
If you put yourself in the place of the people being served by the health care programs in this country, you will ditch the plans you are working on, and start over with hearings, a variety of people in the room helping to develop the legislation. Serious discussion and input from a wide range of Americans of all backgrounds would take place, and you would welcome it because that is how a democracy should work.
I don't see this happening, but I hope your actions and the people you injure by your indifference and need to bow to Mr. Trump, who knows nothing about health care and cares less, will, in time, come back to bite you and you will feel some of the pain they have been feeling. Americans don't want your brand of health care.
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