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The Trumpcare Bill That You Couldn't Possibly Imagine Being Worse Is Actually Worse

By Dustin Rowles | Politics | May 4, 2017 |

By Dustin Rowles | Politics | May 4, 2017 |


Last night, I outlined some of the most evil key details of Trump’s AHCA bill that’s due to be voted on today by the House of Representatives and, inexplicably, expected to pass, though many of the GOP reps have not read it and there is not yet a CBO score.

It’s a really bad bill that will screw over poor people so that the top 2 percent of income earners will get a huge tax cut.

Well, it turns out, it doesn’t just screw over poor people and women, it could potentially screw over those with employer-based health plans and children who receive special education.

According to the Wall Street Journal, there’s a backdoor provision in the AHCA that would allow employer-based providers to obtain waivers for certain Obamacare requirements, like maternity care, prescription drugs, mental health treatment and hospitalization.

That’s not good. But it’s not like all employers would try and obtain this waiver. Not now, at least. But for those of you who have employer-based plans, most of you have probably had your plans switched once every year or three, because your employer is always trying to find a way to cut costs. So, if we have a minor recession or something, and your employer decided that it needs to cut costs, then maybe they obtain a waiver, and suddenly, your prescription coverage and maternity care isn’t covered, because the non-profit you work at needs to scale back costs.

Oh, and another thing: The AHCA will also target special education. That’s because, according to the NYTimes, it cuts Medicaid by $880 billion, or 25 percent, and places a cap for spending on certain groups such as children and the elderly. This provision would force schools to ration healthcare to children, particularly those with special education needs, which make up about 16 percent of the school-aged population. It would make it even more difficult to provide services under the federal Individuals With Disabilities Education Act.

In other words, the AHCA is even more evil than previously believed.