As promised, Senate Republicans revealed the new version of Trumpcare yesterday.
They say it's a step forward - but is it really any better than the Medicaid-destroying tax-cut-for-the-rich-in-disguise they came out with a few weeks ago?
Even if it passes and decimates the healthcare system as we know it, has Trumpcare already made single-payer inevitable?
The bill does have some notable differences from its predecessor.
For example - it doesn't include as many absurd tax cuts for the rich, although it does give billion-dollar tax cuts to industry.
It also sets aside $45 billion to help with the nationwide opioid epidemic - and an additional $70 billion for high-risk patients.
Thanks to Ted Cruz, this bill would also allow insurance companies to sell plans that don't include Obamacare protections - something experts warn could cause an industry death spiral.
At it's core, though: the new version of Trumpcare is just like every other version of Trumpcare:
- it repeals the individual mandate
- it defunds Planned Parenthood
- it guts protections for people with pre-existing conditions
- and - most importantly - it slashes hundreds of billions from Medicaid and repeals its expansion under Obamacare.
Rand Paul is a "no." Susan Collins is a "no." Only one more "vote" kills this bill.
Will it pass?
Will the Ugly Trumpcare Pass?
By Thom Hartmann A...