The maniacs in the Senate and popular vote loser Donald Trump are getting their way. Their tax cuts for the wealthy bill will also include a repeal of the individual mandate in Obamacare. The CBO has estimated that in the next decade, 13 million people would lose health insurance if it were repealed, and by 2019, 4 million will lose their insurance.
Sen. John Thune (S.D.), the Senate's No. 3 Republican, told reporters there has been a whip count and he is confident Republicans can pass a tax bill that includes a measure to repeal the mandate.
Thune said the Alexander-Murray bill, aimed at stabilizing markets, would be brought up separately. That bill funds key payments to insurers for two years in exchange for more flexibility for states to change ObamaCare rules. […]
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said the bulk of the GOP's policy luncheon Tuesday was focused on repealing the individual mandate through tax reform.
He said the decision wasn't unanimous, but that no one threatened to vote against tax reform if it were included.
"This is totally different from health care. Nobody was standing up saying 'if you do this, I'm not going to vote for the bill.' There's none of that. Everybody wants to get to yes," he said.
This is ALL about health care. This is more than a tax bill, it's an attack on health care, both Obamacare and Medicare. That's why the nation's insurers, hospitals, and doctors immediately announced their opposition and blasted Senate Republicans. They say, based on knowing how this shit works, that the bill will destabilize the market and "result in a significant increase in premiums, which would in turn substantially increase the number of uninsured Americans."
As of now, the repeal isn't in the House version of the bill, which could come to the floor as soon as tomorrow. But the Republican Study Committee has formally asked that it be included. House Speaker Paul Ryan wants to jam this through as fast as he can, before opposition really has a chance to build.
The Republican tax giveaway to the super wealthy is an attack on our health care, an attack as dangerous as Trumpcare was. Please, call your member of the House of Representatives and your senators at (202) 224-3121 and tell them to vote "no" on the Republican tax bill.