Republicans Take Lead in Defining ACA
Replacement, Act Now!
By
Margaret Flowers
February
19, 2017 "Information
Clearing House"
- "Health
Over Profit"
- Roll Call reports that
the Republicans introduced legislation, the
Obamacare Replacement Act, in both the House and
the Senate. The plan, known as the Sanford-Paul
Plan for its lead sponsors, has the support of
the strongest Republican caucus, the Freedom
Caucus.
Summaries
of the legislation are not yet available.
According to Roll Call, the legislation would
“de-link insurance coverage from employment and
remove minimum coverage mandates, allowing
consumers to purchase plans that fit their
individual needs.” It appears that people would
purchase health insurance on the private market
and receive a non-refundable tax credit to
subsidize the purchase. The plan also includes
Health Savings Accounts.
Tax-credits and health savings accounts benefit
people who have money, but will be of little use
to most people in the United States. And rather
than raising taxes on the wealthy to cover funds
needed for the tax credit, Senator Rand Paul,
the lead sponsor of the legislation in the
senate, is calling for cuts to other government
programs, otherwise known as austerity measures.
Leaving
insurance plans up to the market to determine
means that low cost plans will cover very little
and the fact will remain that people in the US
will only be able to receive health care if they
can afford it.
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The United
States is an outlier among industrialized
nations for being the only country that relies
in large part on a private market for health
insurance. Private insurers are financial
institutions designed to create profit for
shareholders. They are nothing like private
insurers in the European Union, such as in
Germany or Switzerland, which were designed as
mutual insurances that have the mission to pay
for health care.
Reliance
on the market for health care means rising
prices and greater inequality and health
disparities. The best way to create health
security and health equity is through a
universal, comprehensive publicly-financed
health system. This is why we advocate for a
National Improved Medicare for All.
Right now
the Republicans have the upper hand, not only
because they are the majority but also because
they have legislation in both bodies of
Congress. The Democrats, who do not have single
payer health care in their party platform, are
largely focused on preserving the failing
Affordable Care Act. The legislation that we
support, HR 676: the Expanded and Improved
Medicare for All Act, has been introduced in the
House, but not in the Senate.
In order
to make progress in the demand for National
Improved Medicare for All, we need a companion
bill to HR 676 in the Senate. Senator Sanders, a
long-time advocate for single payer health care,
is the most obvious senator to be the lead
sponsor but he has refused to make a commitment
to introducing single payer legislation.
We must
push Senator Sanders to introduce a senate
companion bill to HR 676 quickly so that people
can build support for it by their senators.
PLEASE USE
THIS NEW CALL-IN TOOL TO CONTACT SENATOR
SANDERS’ OFFICE:
CLICK HERE TO USE IT.
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takes a few minutes to make the call. Phone
calls have the greatest impact on legislators.
