Time To Stop Calling The GOP Obamacare Plan A Replacement

[PsychoBabble]

None of this should be surprising, because the whole point of repeal is to scale back the federal government’s commitment to providing health care, not just financially but conceptually as well.

The ultimate purpose of both the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid is to make sure all Americans have access to medical care without fear of financial ruin. Neither program has accomplished the goal fully, and the Affordable Care Act in particular remains a wobbly enterprise. But the result of the two programs has been better access and less financial distress. The legislation from Republicans would not even attempt to offer a similar guarantee. And unless it evolves in a radically different direction, it would ultimately offer a lot less help to people who need it.

Trump, House Speaker Paul Ryan and other GOP leaders can call that a “replacement.” To the millions of people who could be forced to choose between crippling debt and health care, it would probably seem like something else.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gop-obamacare-replacement_us_58bb414be4b0b99894180a54?

[dchill]

1. Yes. It's more of an ersatz substitute.

Like wartime "coffee."