Trumpcare (Not)

   As expected, the Trumpians had lots to complain about when the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its preliminary cost estimate of the proposed revision of the health care law.
   "I disagree strenuously" with the CBO report, said Tom Price, head of the Health and Human Services department. "The CBO has it wrong," Price said, and the report "is not believable."
   The CBO said more than 14 million Americans would be uninsured by next year, and a total of 24 million over the next ten years would lose their health insurance coverage.
   At the same time, the legislation would reduce the federal budget by $337 through the year 2026, largely by cutting Medicaid and expenses and eliminating subsidies under the present Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
   The biggest costs, the CBO added, would come from repealing changes in the federal tax code that brought in revenue from high income earners  as well as fees imposed on health insurers.
   Instead of a government subsidy to low income citizens enabling them to buy health insurance, the new plan would provide a tax credit.
   The problem here is that there will be no mandate that everyone buy a health insurance policy, so those who cannot afford a policy will simply go without. If they then get sick, will likely go to a hospital emergency room, where they will be treated for free. The costs are then passed on to other patients and their insurors.
   In addition, a tax credit to help buy a health insurance policy is of little or no use to low income individuals and families, since they don't make enough money as to be taxable anyway.
   Democrats were quick to condemn the proposed act.
   "Trumpcare will be a nightmare," said Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York. It will lead to 58 million Americans without health care coverage, he said, and will bring premium increases of as much as 25 percent. Moreover, the government would spend "twice as much on tax cuts for the wealthy as credits for others."
   As a candidate, Donald Trump promised that everyone will be covered and costs will go down, Schumer noted. But the Trumpcare plan would also cut $170 million from the Medicare budget, Schumer noted.
   House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California charged the proposed act as "immoral, indecent, and wrong," adding the hope that Republican sponsors pull the bill.
   Trump supporter Mick Mulvaney, the federal budget director known to be a fierce advocate of spending cuts,  in defending the plan, insisted that "competition lowers costs."
   But if potential buyers have little or no money to spare, they simply drop out of the market.
   Finally, it's important to note that the House of Representatives approved the Trumpcare bill last week during an all night session, before the CBO analysis of the proposal became available.
   Typically, important legislation is not voted on until after members of Congress have had input from the CBO.
   This time, they didn't wait.