HealthCare Notes

6/17/17

Senate Republicans intend to ram through secret health care bill

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/senate-republicans-intend-ram-through-secret-health-care-bill
"In the meantime, there’s still the underlying scandal of how the bill is being constructed: in a process unlike anything in the American tradition, Republicans are still trying to overhaul behind closed doors, in total secrecy, without so much as a single committee hearing. Even many GOP lawmakers have publicly conceded that they have no idea what their party has in mind because Republican members of the Senate “working group” haven’t shared the uncompleted bill. Several GOP senators have complained about the process, but none of them has used his or her power to change the party’s strategy. For his part, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters this week that “nobody is hiding the ball here” and people are “free to ask anybody anything.” This is, of course, ridiculous. McConnell is trying to pass a secret bill that affects one-sixth of the world’s largest economy, and which will have a life-or-death impact on millions of Americans. Because he knows the bill will be unpopular, he’s keeping it hidden, even from many of his own members. The fact that we’re all “free to ask anybody anything” is irrelevant – since the only people with answers about the legislation refuse to share information with the public."