Tag Archives: ACA

9/25 Sanders/Klobuchar – Cassidy/Graham CNN Debate Liveblog & OT

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Greetings!

In a couple of hours, CNN will be hosting a debate on whether or not the Affordable Care Act of 2010 should be repealed and replaced with a GOP version offered by Senators Bill Cassidy and Lindsey Graham. While every Democrat has thus far indicated they will not support the passage of the bill, it’s not dead in the pipeline yet, at least technically. Only 51 yes votes are required to pass it, but under the senate rules, the window for a simple majority is available only until September 30th.

The C/G bill has not had no vetting in terms of CBO financial/budgetary scores or substantive hearings, except for one hearing this afternoon. Thus CNN has offered a venue for the public (if one is a subscriber of cable or some streaming bundle packages) to debate the merits of keeping ACA intact for now, or repealing the bill altogether and replacing it with this new bill. The debate will be moderated by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, and the event starts at 9ET/8CT/6PT.

Update: Senator Susan Collins of Maine has issued a written statement that she opposes the Graham-Cassidy bill.

This post serves as an open thread for other news today as well as liveblogging the event.

Maxine Waters, Bobby Scott, Elijah Cummings, Barbara Lee and Jim Clyburn support Medicare for All.

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhuman.” — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Chicago, March 25, 1966 — Medical Committee for Human Rights) Rep. Barbara Lee (CA-13), Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-3) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (MD-7) were all among the original co-sponsors of HR-676 when Conyers first introduced the bill in February 2003. Rep. Maxine Waters (CA-43) joined them in December 2005. Rep. Jim Clyburn (SC-6) signed up as a co-sponsor in April 2008. All five are members of the Congressional Black Caucus. The CBC provides core support for HR-676, 38 out of 47 … Continue reading →

7/10 News Roundup – Bernie’s Covington, KY & Morgantown, WV ‘Care Not Cuts’ Rallies & More

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Bernie Sanders dissects GOP health-care bill for Kentucky crowd

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders invaded U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell’s home state Sunday night to lambaste the Senate majority leader’s plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

Sanders, an independent from Vermont who ran unsuccessfully for president last year, told about 2,100 people at a free “Care Not Cuts Rally” at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center that states like Kentucky that voted for President Trump and other Republicans will be punished the most by the McConnell plan.

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In his 46-minute speech in Covington, Sanders, 75, said he is not the only one calling for the defeat of the GOP plan.

He noted that the AARP, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, March of Dimes and the American Nurses Association are among the medical groups opposing the bill.

Sander said, “I don’t get it” why McConnell opposes the current law, which has reduced the uninsured rate for adults in Kentucky from 20.4 percent in 2013 to just 7.8 percent in 2016 — the largest reduction in America.

Today, as a result of the ACA, only 4 percent of children in Kentucky are uninsured, said Sanders.

https://youtu.be/0aQWqKjh56s

The video of the KY rally that includes all the speakers as well the one of the Morgantown rally are in the comments followed by the rest of the weekend news I am catching up on. See you there!

5/5 News Roundup & Open Thread – Sanders On Trumpcare: “Thousands Of Americans Will Die”, The DNC Digs Itself Into A Hole & More

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

https://youtu.be/nThd9ahNG1Y

Thousands will die if House bill becomes law, Bernie Sanders says

Sen. Bernie Sanders did not hold anything back Thursday when he condemned the House passage of the Republican-backed bill to replace Obamacare.

“If the bill passed today in the House became law, thousands of Americans would die, because they would no longer have access to health care,” Sanders told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on “AC360.”

The Vermont lawmaker and former presidential candidate claimed the Obamacare replacement provides billions of dollars in tax breaks to the wealthiest 2%.

“What kind of health care bill are we talking about when you throw 24 million people off of health insurance,” Sanders said.

Cooper asked Sanders to weigh in on health care giant Aetna pulling out of Obamacare in Virginia, citing major losses.

“What (Republicans) are doing now is consciously sabotaging the Affordable Care Act,” Sanders said. “For example, not enforce the individual mandate — many billions of dollars are not coming into the system and then rates are going up. And then they say, ‘Oh look, it’s a terrible situation rates are going up’.”

Republicans vote to make rape a pre-existing condition again.

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

As several news sources have pointed out, prior to the ACA, insurers could deny coverage to victims of sexual assault. Prior to the passage of Obamacare, survivors of sexual assault who sought medical attention for injuries sustained during the assault could be denied coverage later on because rape was considered a pre-existing condition. The National Women’s Law Center launched a campaign at the time “Being a Woman is Not a Pre-Existing Condition,” as Gina Scaramella from the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center recalled. Under the new MacArthur-Meadows Amendment in Trumpcare, states would be allowed to waive the ban on denying coverage for pre-existing conditions. It … Continue reading →

5/4 House of Barons Passes ACA Replacement Bill, including Exemptions for Congress to Duck Pre-existing Conditions, Afternoon/Evening Open Thread

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

The House just passed the ACHA , 217-213.  Twenty GOP’ers did vote against it.  However, none of those same 20 did not vote against the exemption of Congress from the pre-existing conditions and other things in the bill.    Tax breaks for the Koch Brothers, commoners may lose access because why?  Follow me after the jump. 

Continue reading →

2/8 News Roundup & Open Thread – Bernie Debates Cruz, DAPL Approved, Warren Silenced Over Sessions & More

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Well there is no shortage of things happening in the world, so lets get right to it with the Bernie & Cruz debate. The rest of the news/videos/etc will go in the comments, always glad to see familiar faces and certainly am welcome to some new ones as well!

https://youtu.be/2ugBYg1zbuY

Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders battle over Obamacare: the highlights

Echoing the populist message that earned him millions of supporters in his bid for the White House, Sanders called on the United States to join “every major country on earth” to declare that “healthcare is a right,” not a privilege.

But when Sanders asked Cruz if he agrees that Americans are entitled to healthcare, the Republican — and Princeton University champion debater — turned the question back on Sanders.

“Rights mean you have a right for government not to mess with you,” Cruz said, rattling off a litany of rights under the Constitution. “It’s access to healthcare….If you think healthcare is a right, why on earth did you help write Obamacare that caused six million people to have their health insurance canceled?”

Referencing Hunter, the Texas salon owner, Cruz accused Sanders of “denying her what you say is her right.”

Sanders wasn’t amused. He countered that Americans, including Hunter, the salon owner, have “access” to purchase multi-million dollar properties owned by people like Trump, for example, but that doesn’t mean they can afford to buy them.

“Access doesn’t mean a damn thing,” he said.