The Grand Casualty Act

That's what the Graham-Cassidy Act should be called.

Republican Senators Lindsey Graham (SC) and William Cassidy (LA) have this really dandy idea to replace the Affordable Care Act - give block grants to the states and let them decide how to allocate health care coverage to their residents.  Well, what could be so terrible about that?

The answer would take more paper than was used to write the Dead Sea Scrolls.  But here are the highlights - heavily Democratic states that signed up for Medicaid expansion would get stiffed, more money would be diverted to Republican states before it dried up completely by 2026 - a "sucker punch" as Democratic Senator Tim Kaine would call it - with each state seeing an average 17 percent cut in funding overall in the meantime, premiums would go up for everyone by 20 percent each year, there'd be no protection from higher  insurance costs due to previously existing conditions, and up to 32 million people would lose coverage.  

The Republican leadership in Washington - and Donald Trump - want this bill rammed through the Senate before September 30 so it can pass with only 50 votes plus Vice President Mike Pence's vote due to arcane rules requiring a three-fifths majority when the new fiscal year begins October 1.  (Don't ask me to explain it any further because I'm too angry to bother!)   Then the House would have to pass it as is, without amendments. Why?  Because Speaker Paul Ryan said so.

Right now, Rand Paul of Kentucky refuses to support this repeal of the Affordable Care Act - because it doesn't go far enough! -  and John McCain refuses to do so because it's being rushed without any meaningful debate.  If one more Republican votes no - count on Susan Collins of Maine to be that one more Republican - the bill won't go anywhere.  And then the effort to repeal and "replace" the Affordable Care Act - will be dead for good.

Ha ha!  You thought  I was serious just now, didn't you?  No, efforts to repeal this law are going to go on for as long as there is a Republican Party, and right now it's the Democrats who are in danger of disappearing due to their inability to reverse years of sucking and lameness and become a competently functioning political organization.  Health care repeal is the Hurricane Jose of legislation . . . it just . . . won't . . . go away!    

On the other hand, Hurricane Jose has probably adversely affected fewer people's lives than this bill would if it became law, and even that storm finally dissipated. :-O :-(