This weekend, across all five major networks, reporters and Republicans debunked the Trump administration’s lies and exposed the dangers Trumpcare poses to the American people. The end result wasn’t pretty for the White House.
“Trumpcare is a disaster and despite the White House’s best efforts, no one is buying their spin. In reality, this bill violates all of Trump’s health care promises and the public is going to hold Republicans accountable for pushing this reckless plan,” said American Bridge spokesperson Andrew Bates.
Here’s just a sampling of what the country saw about Trumpcare this weekend:
PREEXISTING CONDITIONS
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) on ABC’s “This Week”
STEPHANOPOULOS: So do you agree with the Speaker Ryan and President Trump who are saying people with preexisting conditions are going have the same coverage they have now, even better, Speaker Ryan said, in some cases, letters of protection, than under Obamacare?
COLLINS: I think that’s unlikely.
Gov. John Kasich (R-OH)on CNN’s State of the Union
KASICH: This business of these low-risk pools, they are not funded.
TAPPER: Eight billion — the $8 billion they’re adding is not enough, you’re saying?
KASICH: Eight billion dollars is not enough to fund — it’s ridiculous. And the fact is, states are not going to opt for that.
[…]
TAPPER: So, let me just — just to be clear here, you are not going to seek any waivers for the state of Ohio when it comes to the requirements for insurance companies with people with preexisting conditions, when it comes to essential health benefits? You are fine with the rules as they are?
KASICH: I would say that I would like some flexibility. I know there is a push to try to have some kind of a work requirement for able- bodied Medicaid recipients. And I will work with my legislature to be — to respect the kind of things that they want. But there would be no reason to move to a high-risk pool, because a high-risk pool is not funded. So, I would just stay in the traditional program on the exchange.
Atul Gawande, Surgeon with Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard University Professor on ABC’s “This Week”
GAWANDE: “Well, it’s hard for me to watch that Jimmy Kimmel clip, because my own son, who is 20s, and he has almost the same heart condition. When he turns 27, he goes out on the market. And most of the jobs he has had are freelance jobs with no benefits. He’s like 1 in 4 Americans that are, with histories of cancers, to diabetes, to heart conditions. And my worry as father, as a cancer surgeon, is that when we say we’re going to put people into high-risk pools, we have seen what that is. High-risk pools are separate insurance plans for people with preexisting conditions. And they’ve historically had very low coverage, waiting lists, poorer coverage, and high costs.”
WOMEN’S HEALTH
Andrea Mitchell, GuestHost of NBC’s “Meet the Press”
MITCHELL: “Well, let’s talk about women. I mean, when we looked at the Rose Garden and the celebration of this on Thursday, they were mostly all men and white men at that. There was no diversity there. Women’s health issues arguably are going to be disproportionately affected. Take a look at this. Obamacare includes maternity and newborn care, preventative care, mammograms, cervical cancer screenings, birth control, all of this under the essential package, no longer required under this House bill.”
BREAKING TRUMP’S HEALTHCARE PROMISES
Susan Page, USA Today, on CBS’s “Face the Nation
PAGE: And you heard the budget director and other administration officials and the president making promises they will not be able to keep, that everyone will be covered, that premiums will go down, that deductibles will go down, that people with pre-existing conditions will not lose any of their protections. That combination of things cannot happen.
Chris Wallace, Host of Fox News Sunday
WALLACE: But here are some of the features of the House bill. Under ObamaCare, older people, let’s say 55 to 64, could be charged three times as much as younger people. In a House built, it’s five times as much or even more. Under ObamaCare, people with pre-existing conditions could not be charged more. In the House plan, if states opt out, folks with pre-existing conditions can be charged more. Given all of that, can you really stand by the president’s pledge that everybody will be taken care of?”
John Dickerson, Host of CBS’s “Face the Nation”
DICKERSON: So, Avik Roy and a lot of others have said, older voters will see their premiums go up. People — working-class people will face costs that will cause them to not have insurance coverage. That seems to be a direct blow to a promise the president made.”
Andrea Mitchell, Guest Host of NBC’s “Meet the Press”
MITCHELL: “That said, the House did just hand a skeptical Senate a bill not scored by the Congressional Budget Office, not read by most of those who voted for it, and that counts among its winners those with high incomes, wealthier people without preexisting conditions, the young, and large employers. And among its losers, the poor, older Americans, people with preexisting conditions, and those who counted on Obamacare’s essential health benefits.”
Published: May 8, 2017