Here I was, all set to write about the first season of The West Wing — and I have finished it, and it was spectacular — and then the GOP had to release their grand health care replacement plan. It has raised some eyebrows from some who say that it appears to be about neither health nor care. Because it was only barely released to the public in advance of a vote by lawmakers who also did not read the bill, there’s a lot of misinformation being released about the bill. At least I think it is. Is rape a pre-existing condition? C-sections? Pregnancy? So I decided to do what I’ve always been trained to do — go to the source. I printed out House Resolution 1628, or the American Health Care Act, and resolved to read it myself. How hard could it be, right?
Have you ever heard of Sanskrit?
I mean, geez. We got a one-page tax plan, but this bill is 124 pages of “If you’ll refer to Code 1986 of the Internal Revenue Code blahblahblah …” So it’s gonna take a while. But here are a couple of early observations as I soldier through this thing:
- Without comment, I just want to share the table of contents from the Affordable Care Act passed during President Barack Obama’s term versus the first page of the AHCA and see if anything sticks out to you.
- Also presented without comment
OK, almost without comment. - So in the Community Health Center program got $422 billion more money for this fiscal year, which doesn’t seem bad, but in the very next section, federal reimbursement to states for several services will be cut for at least one year:
That’s a lot of services — well-baby immunization, maternal/child health services, foster care, drug rehab, etc. Is the infusion into the CHC program supposed to cover that or something? That’s what I don’t know yet. If you know, feel free to pass on your info.
I’m only on page 6! It’s gonna take a while, but I’ll share anything I’ve learned. First impression? I just wish the Republicans would just say that this bill is about money. Take another look at those TOC pages. I’ve heard a lot of talk lately about how, as a country, we need to figure out what our values are — if we think everyone should have access to affordable health care, or if we think people who commit minor crimes should be able to do their time and be given a chance to rehabilitate their lives. That is true, and it’s maybe very pie-in-the-sky of me to think that if we simply strip down the issues we debate against to the basics and start there, we might actually move past partisanship into meaningful dialogue and action.