Healthcare is a red herring

Guest Editorial

Yesterday, May 4th, republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives voted on a party-line to repeal and replace Obamacare. 

The recent vote of our congressional representatives would harm citizens’ health care, and help the rich get richer.   At least 24 million Americans would lose coverage.   Insurance companies would raise your rates based upon your health.  Patient premiums would rise dramatically - $140,510 per year for cancer, diabetes $5,500 and arthritis $26,000.   Medicaid funding would be cut by 880 billion dollars.  60 million Americans rely on Medicaid, including children, pregnant women, seniors, individuals with disabilities, and two thirds of nursing home residents.

The health care debate, like most debates, has serious racial implications.  

In 2011, Blacks were almost twice as likely as whites to be uninsured. And though they made up just 14 percent of the U.S. population, blacks accounted for 20 percent of Medicaid rolls. Hispanics were almost three times as likely as white non-Hispanics to be uninsured and while they make up about 16 percent of the population, made up 29 percent of Medicaid beneficiaries.

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2013-06-07/medicaid-debate-is-also-about-race

  The harm from the republican's plan to gut Medicaid would be shouldered disproportionately by ethnic minorities.

Everyone over age 47 would experience a premium increase.  The average premium increase would be $3,200 for people age 50 to 64. 

  Representatives are not doing much for most Americans, but they are enriching the wealthiest among us:  The top .1% of taxpayers would get a $207,000 tax break from this so-called health care bill!

  We know economic inequality causes many social problems, and that we are standing on a precipice -- inequality is worse than ever.  Yet republicans are trying to push us off the cliff.  Their proposals deceptively intensify wealth-transfer from the taxpayers and the government to the wealthiest Americans through bills they call “health care” and “tax reform”.  They hope these red herrings conceal their insidious efforts.

It is not too late to stop this.  We all should be discussing this issue with our friends and family, and with our representatives.  Unfortunately, many of our representatives now adopt a new policy -- they do not meet with constituents at town halls or public events, and increasingly avoid their districts altogether.   Perhaps they will see you if you are among the economic elite that would receive a $207,000 tax break from this so-called health care bill. 
-Denny Kubal