PUBLISHED TO
The White House that decided it should push a federal court to completely dismantle the Affordable Care Act is now worried
that Democrats are once again going to win on health care. But it has a
plan, a totally unrealistic plan: "rolling out a measure every two to
three weeks until the 2020 election."
Just one of Trump's problems is that Republicans hate one of the centerpieces, measures to reduce the costs of prescription drugs. Those include allowing states to import prescription drugs from overseas and Canada and capping Medicare payments for drugs at the maximum paid in other countries. Big Pharma hates these ideas, so Republicans in Congress do too, and the industry is vowing to sue if Trump tries to do it. Wheeee!
This is even more fun: Domestic Policy Council Director Joe Grogan told top industry executives in a recent meeting that "it wasn't in the industry's best interests" to block a bipartisan Senate bill Trump likes that caps Medicare drug price increases at the rate of inflation. A person with knowledge of the meeting told The Washington Post that Grogan threatened that industry opposition to the bill would lead to "the president of the United States negotiating with Nancy Pelosi [on allowing the government to negotiate drug prices in Medicare]." Right. That'll happen.
Republicans in the administration are also supposedly working on Trumpcare 2020, yet another Affordable Care Act replacement plan it would pass after the election.
Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. After the election because everyone knows the American public will be dumb enough to believe that after 11 years and hundreds of repeal attempts later, the Republicans finally have that replacement plan. But going along with the game for the sake of a laugh, they say it will include "a Medicare plan to contrast with Democratic Medicare-for-all proposals, help for beleaguered rural hospitals and steps to reduce maternal death rates, according to two senior administration officials."
Senate Republicans aren't any less delusional. They all say with a straight face that the pressure of having the law struck down by the courts will force them to come up with a plan this time, after all these years, and Democrats will have to join them.
To which Democrat Joe Manchin, yes, that Joe Manchin, had the appropriate response. "Nine years! […] Oh my god do your job, would you? Son of a bitch."
That pretty much sums up how the American voting public that cares about health care—which is most of it—will react.
Just one of Trump's problems is that Republicans hate one of the centerpieces, measures to reduce the costs of prescription drugs. Those include allowing states to import prescription drugs from overseas and Canada and capping Medicare payments for drugs at the maximum paid in other countries. Big Pharma hates these ideas, so Republicans in Congress do too, and the industry is vowing to sue if Trump tries to do it. Wheeee!
This is even more fun: Domestic Policy Council Director Joe Grogan told top industry executives in a recent meeting that "it wasn't in the industry's best interests" to block a bipartisan Senate bill Trump likes that caps Medicare drug price increases at the rate of inflation. A person with knowledge of the meeting told The Washington Post that Grogan threatened that industry opposition to the bill would lead to "the president of the United States negotiating with Nancy Pelosi [on allowing the government to negotiate drug prices in Medicare]." Right. That'll happen.
Republicans in the administration are also supposedly working on Trumpcare 2020, yet another Affordable Care Act replacement plan it would pass after the election.
Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. After the election because everyone knows the American public will be dumb enough to believe that after 11 years and hundreds of repeal attempts later, the Republicans finally have that replacement plan. But going along with the game for the sake of a laugh, they say it will include "a Medicare plan to contrast with Democratic Medicare-for-all proposals, help for beleaguered rural hospitals and steps to reduce maternal death rates, according to two senior administration officials."
Senate Republicans aren't any less delusional. They all say with a straight face that the pressure of having the law struck down by the courts will force them to come up with a plan this time, after all these years, and Democrats will have to join them.
To which Democrat Joe Manchin, yes, that Joe Manchin, had the appropriate response. "Nine years! […] Oh my god do your job, would you? Son of a bitch."
That pretty much sums up how the American voting public that cares about health care—which is most of it—will react.
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