EDITORIAL: Senate’s unseemly rush to vote on health bill
And that was from his fellow
The bill, drafted behind closed doors by a small group of senators and staff members, would eliminate health insurance mandates; slash funding for Medicaid, a program that covers tens of millions of poor and working-class Americans; scale back premium subsidies for people who purchase individual policies and deliver substantial tax cuts to the wealthy, pharmaceutical companies and makers of medical devices.
President
Yet McConnell plans to bring his bill to the floor without so much as a public hearing -- and under rules that limit debate and prohibit a filibuster.
Obamacare, by comparison, was developed over the course of months, including 60 hours of hearings in the
McConnell wants a vote before his members head home to face their constituents over
Acting on such sweeping legislation without a thorough public vetting is, at best, an abuse of congressional power.
But if the initial
Four of the
With
The full impact of McConnell's bill won't be clear until the nonpartisan
As we have said before, Obamacare isn't sacrosanct. But any replacement should cover more people, not fewer. And health insurance, like auto insurance, should be mandatory, with basic coverage including maternity care and mental health. To accomplish that, subsidies for lower- and even many middle-income Americans are necessary and must be paid for.
It wasn't easy to craft a plan that met those benchmarks. McConnell's bill almost certainly will not, which may explain his haste. He wants a vote before people realize his bill is hazardous to their health.
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