Campaign Action
After seven years of dithering around and using every trick in the book to find ways to repeal and defund Obamacare, Republicans got caught with their pants around their ankles when it came time to do that other thing they promised—replacing it. Now that they're in the position of having to, they're showing just how insular, out-of-touch, and inept the House under Speaker Paul Ryan and popular vote loser Donald Trump's White House really are. And now much this is not about health policy but about tax cuts.
[T]hey continue to refuse to reach out to Democrats. Even Senate Republicans have been largely sidelined, though their support will be crucial to putting a measure on Trump’s desk.
And senior House Republicans and White House officials have almost completely shut out doctors, hospitals, patient advocates and others who work in the healthcare system, industry officials say, despite pleas from many healthcare leaders to seek an alternative path that doesn’t threaten protections for tens of millions of Americans. […]
“To think you are going to revamp the entire American healthcare system without involving any of the people who actually deliver healthcare is insanity,” said Sister Carol Keehan, president of the Catholic Health Assn., whose members include many of the nation’s largest medical systems. […]
“They’re not interested in how health policy actually works,” said one insurance company official, who asked not to be identified discussing conversations with GOP officials. “It’s incredibly frustrating.”
Another longtime healthcare lobbyist, who also did not want to be identified criticizing Republicans, said he’d never seen legislation developed with such disregard for expert input. “It is totally divorced from reality,” he said.
This isn't real life to Republicans. It's the political game. Consequences are of no importance. Policy only matters as far as the next massive tax cut. Which, by the way, is the main point of the bill. The end goal isn't making sure anyone has health insurance (or really even access to health insurance, despite their talking points). It's all about slashing enough out of Medicaid and Obamacare's subsidies to make great big tax cuts for the wealthy possible.
There is no other policy as far as Republicans are concerned. Cutting taxes is the be all and end all. Gutting services for everybody who isn't in a tax bracket that benefits is just an added bonus for them.