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As Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell uses this recess to go looking for Trumpcare votes, guess who’s reportedly going to be offered major long-term policy shifts and who’s going to be offered short-term money that won’t have a positive impact. That’s right! The far right will get the policy concessions and the “moderates” will get some show money for opioid treatment even as the rest of the bill guts what’s needed to treat addiction. An administration source tells Axios:
"I think we're going to pass this. I really think they'll bribe off the moderates with opioid money and then actually move policy to shore up Mike Lee and Ted Cruz. ... If it was going to fail, McConnell would've put it on the floor. He wants people on the record — put up or shut up. He would've said: 'F--- it, let's fail now and move onto tax reform.' ... Now he's going to eat up another two weeks of floor time. He's not going to waste those weeks unless he thinks he can do this."
Politico echoes the expectation that McConnell will offer up more opioid money—as much as $45 billion—but makes clear why that won’t be helpful when it’s the sop for kicking people off Medicaid and ending the requirement that Medicaid expansion cover substance abuse:
People struggling with addiction need regular access to the health system so they can be treated for the conditions that often lead to, or develop due to, their substance abuse — among them, chronic pain, untreated broken bones, traumatic brain injury, dental problems, diabetes, breathing conditions, and heart and liver disease, said Lori Criss, associate director of the Ohio Council of Behavioral Health and Family Services Providers.
State-specific opioid grants won’t cover those things, and without such care, abusers are unlikely to remain stable and employable, Criss said.
McConnell would basically be offering people 12-step programs while taking away their medical care, giving them “treatment” for addiction divorced from anything else going on with their health. Will the so-called moderate Republicans allow themselves to be bought off by something that won’t help their addicted constituents nearly as much as the bill its part of hurts them? Unfortunately, given who we’re talking about the answer is very likely yes.
Make your Republican senator feel the heat. Call their office EVERY DAY at (202) 224-3121 to demand that they say NO to ripping health care away from millions of Americans. No on Trumpcare. Then, tell us how it went.
