‘Health care bill’ a wicked, wicked game

Republicans have promised to repeal Obamacare to “please the base,” which is 35 percent or so of Americans. So, are we scrapping an existing health care structure simply to satisfy the base? What about the other 65 percent?

I would like one brave Republican to explain why we can’t keep the basic structure already in place, and make it better, more efficient and more affordable. Call it whatever you like.

How can President Donald Trump pressure Carrier, Ford, Boeing, etc., to keep jobs here or lower prices, but he can’t apply that same kind of pressure on health insurers to lower premiums and offer better coverage? He claims to be the ultimate dealmaker, so show us what you got. If there were ever a time to pull off a grand bargain, now is that time.

Last I checked, the stock prices for these companies are in record territory. CEOs are taking home ungodly annual bonuses. Whatever happens, the same health insurers will be writing the policies. It’s a win-win for them. They have baked-in excuses to raise our premiums — either Obamacare is imploding, dissolving, failing, collapsing, dead (choose your adjective ); or uncertainty is roiling the markets.

Either way, insurance companies make out like bandits. Lobbyists are literally stuffing money into our senators’ pockets, and, oh, did I mention that the top 2 percent are going to get gigantic tax breaks?

Don’t be fooled. This is a wicked, wicked game and you are the loser. This is not a health care bill at all.

This story was originally published July 5, 2017 at 11:50 AM with the headline "‘Health care bill’ a wicked, wicked game."