Don’t waste your time watching this pampered cretin trying to muddy his way through a briefing at NIH today, with his arms folded in a self-protective gesture of either belligerent defiance, crass ineptitude or both. Just go to the 22:27 mark.
Reporter’s Question: How much money should go to hospitals for the uninsured?
Trump: Well we’re gonna look at the uninsured, because they have a big problem and we’re gonna look at the uninsured people that, you know this came as a surprise to all of us, uh, just happened, shows what can happen in life, eh, but we’re gonna be looking at the uninsured, see if we can help ‘em out.
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Yes, it’s really a big surprise...it “shows what can happen in life.”
You could get sick. When that happens, yeah, it’s a “surprise to all of us.”
You might even have to go to the hospital for treatment. They might send you a bill for that treatment.
And when you’re uninsured, paying that bill could be a “big problem.”
If Trump had succeeded in repealing the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) without a viable replacement-- which is exactly what he wanted to do in 2017—18 million Americans would have immediately lost their health insurance. The number would have risen to 26 million a few years later, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
26 million more people without health insurance. And for those who had the bad luck to get sick, well I guess it would really "show what can happen in life.”
After failing to repeal the ACA, Trump then threw his support behind four separate plans to “replace” the Affordable Care Act. Each one of those plans would have rendered millions more Americans uninsured. Each was rejected by Congress.
Trump then embraced a Republican “replacement” plan called “Cassidy Graham” which also repeals the Affordable Care Act. In his 2020 budget he called on Congress to pass “Cassidy Graham” and then cut $785 Billion from health care programs over ten years.
According to the Urban Institute, full repeal of the ACA would increase the number of non-elderly uninsured to 50 million people (it is currently about 30 million). The “Cassidy Graham” plan would also leave 50 million uninsured. Even without ACA repeal, under Trump the number of uninsured Americans has gone up since he took office, thanks mostly to Trump’s efforts to sabotage the legislation.
This week the Supreme Court said it will hear arguments this fall from the Trump Administration and 20 Republican Attorneys-general, as they try to invalidate the entire Affordable Care Act.
Yep, it shows what can happen in life...when the wrong person is president.